It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas! Yes, it is only September but shops are already filled with decorations and Christmas mince pies. It may seem a tad early but if you are one of those amazingly orgnanised individuals who already has their list ready, have a look at our range of beautiful gifts. We gift wrap them too so that is another thing to check off your long list.
Have a look at our lovely gifts here http://ow.ly/dt9Q304DtEj
Today is officially the start of Autumn. It is also the perfect time to enjoy one of our special Exotic Teapot Flowering teas, bringing a bit of blooming magic to warm chilly Autumn days. Enjoy one of our favourites, Mango Splash, it’s exotic smell is guaranteed to whisk you away to a tropical island, even if only for a moment you can enjoy a splash of sunshine. The light, delicate taste is naturally accented with a hint of fresh mango. Hand picked in early Spring, our flowering green teas are high in antioxidants and can be steeped 3 times or more without tasting bitter. Just one flowering tea bloom can make up to 2 litres of tea. Click here to find other flavours: https://www.exoticteapot.co.uk/tea/flowering-tea
Traditional black tea might have fallen out of the limelight and been replaced by the tantalising tisanes and interesting infusions, but the brew that built this nation must not be forgotten. We must take it out of the dusty tea bag and put it back into the teapot and drink it in the way it was intended. Doing this we will reignite the romance that drove us to distant shore in it's pursuit. Indeed, we will fall in love with it all over again. Join us in the cause to bring black back. Start your journey with our beautiful range of loose leaf black tea. https://www.exoticteapot.co.uk/tea/black-tea
Ru ware got it’s name from the Ruzhou territory, Henan Yu Chau, Baofeng area. Ru ware made up some of the most treasured pieces of the royal house. It came in hues ranging from Celeste blue, Pearl White and Jade Green. The colour was created by adding small amount of iron oxide to the glaze. The surface was covered in tiny cracks through which glimpses of the brown clay below could be seen. This effect was called “crazing” which is achieved by cooling the glaze quickly causing it to crack away from the clay beneath.
Ru ware was only produced for a period of approximately twenty years. And today it’s estimated there are only sixty seven pieces that survive. In 2012 one piece set a record at auction selling for a whopping HK$ 207,860,000 that’s over £20 million!
War ended the production and the art of Ru Yao was lost to history until 900 years later. In 1983 the Chinese government commissioned hundreds experts to rediscover the lost secrets of the Ru Yao technique. It took them ten years to master the art but today everyone can enjoy what was once only meant for emperors.
Our Jun ware range is made using techniques that hark back to the time of the Northern Song Dynasty in China (960 AD -1279 AD). Originally the teaware of the Imperial Court. Jun ware came from the famouse kiln in Yuzhou, in an area called Jun Tai, hence the name Jun Yao.
No two pieces of Jun ware are alike, each piece has it’s own magic, and is given life with it’s own colours and textures. Jun ware is typically thickly glazed in bright turquoise and purple and had the effect of it melting off the golden-brown clay vessel. The unique features are created through the a combination of the quality of the clay, the raw materials and chemicals used in the glaze and the all important firing process.
These pieces were so prized that the Royal Government decreed that they were ‘Royal Treasures’ and therefore should only be used by royalty. In China they say that "Gold has a price, but Jun Yao is priceless." They are still highly prized today, in 1995, an authentic Song Jun piece was sold at auction price of HK$ 1.45 million and in 1999 another piece sold for the princely sum of HK$6 million.
One of the Exotic Teapot team, Shan Iliffe, spent a month this summer volunteering at an orphanage in Singaraja, North of Bali. Narayan Seva Children’s Home is a residence for children whose families cannot afford their education or live too far away from a school. If they still have parents they visit them once every few months but most of them are orphans.
Shan took some of the Exotic Teapot Flowering Blooms with her to show the children. She was overwhelmed by their response; ”The kids were stunned by the blooming tea, and they were cheering on when the flower opened and they also all wanted to taste the tea. One little girl called Kiiran (the girl in the pink floral dress, see photo) kept the flower, a Jasmine Fairy, to make tea over and over again for the next few days. She was only 6 years old! They were all fascinated by the flowering tea, they made me show them three times!”
For more information about the home please visit http://www.narayanaseva.com/
Rooibos has a fascinating history (which you can read more about here). At one point the seeds of the Rooibos plant sold for £80 a pound and were the most expensive vegetable seeds in the world!
Have a look at our range of delicious rooibos teas: https://www.exoticteapot.co.uk/tea/rooibos
We have a very exciting new feature on our website that we want to tell you about. You can now view our teapot designs in all their glory, a full 360 degrees. Whenever you see the 360º symbol, you can inspect the pot of your choice from every angle. So why not give it a spin...VIEW 360º
Pomegranate, Blueberry, Apple, Rosehip, Hibiscus, Elderberry, Cornflower and Mallow Blossom; all ingredients that conjure up the delights of the summer, no matter the time of year. Blue Pomegranate Fruit Infusions is our latest flavour to indulge your senses. This tisane can be served hot or ice cold for a refreshing summer thirst-quencher. We recommend steeping it longer as this enhances the intensity of the flavour. Enjoy!
You can’t have a tea party without tea -Try our range of black tea to keep it traditional or wow your guests with some of our flowering teas.
Find the perfect teapot - Why not enjoy your afternoon tea in one of our gorgeous new ceramic jun or ru ware teapots or if you are looking for an unusual centerpiece, a glass teapot can certainly create an impression.
Pinkies up - Our lovely glass teacups and saucers are the ideal way to treat your guests to the full afternoon tea experience - remember no chunky mugs allowed!
The British apparently drink 165 million cups of tea everyday, making a total of 60.2 billion cups per year! That is why there is not just a national day celebrating afternoon tea but rather a whole week. Here are three of our favourite black teas we suggest as the perfect accompaniment to your Victoria Sponge and cucumber sandwiches;
Assam Breakfast Tea: This high grade 2nd flush tea boasts a wiry, colourful leaf that produces a rich, malty taste with a spicy twist. Our Supreme Assam is sourced from the famous Mokalbari East Estate, one of the top tea gardens in the Assam region of India.
Darjeeling:'The champagne of black teas'. Our Supreme variety is a delightfully intense Darjeeling with a delicate floral bouquet. A truly exceptional example of this tea. It is sourced from the famous and highly reputable Happy Valley tea estate and boasts a fresh, clean taste with a zesty afternote.
Supreme Earl Grey:Our Supreme Earl Grey tea is an aromatic blend of the finest spicy Yunnan leaves, real blue mallow blossoms and natural Bergamot. We only use high quality leaves to ensure a rich, slightly spicy flavour. Usually enjoyed best with a little milk.
Get all three delicious teas in our triple selection box ORDER HERE
This must be one of our favourite times of the year, when we do what we do best and drink lots of delicious tea. We have the task of tasting the subtle, the succulent and the sublime to find the very best flavours for you. We have some enticing teas to choose from this season, so keep a lookout on our social media and we will let you know which ones we select.
We are excited to announce the arrival of our new range of ceramic ware. The shipment arrived this week and filled the office with boxes of gorgeous new products. The beautiful Jun and Ru teapots and cups are available in a range of fashionable colours. We have created new Discovery and Loose Leaf Sets for the perfect gift to yourself or someone special. Take a look for yourself...
Lithuanian born artist Rimas VisGirda depicts attitude, fashion, fads and urban living with teapots and cups. Using porcelain and china paint, he transforms his ceramic pieces into cubistic cartoon-like characters. Notice how he uses the spout of the teapot to extend the presence of smoke from the lit cigarette. He also makes sure to adorn all of his female characters with red painted lips, blue eye shadow and earrings. He titles his teapots just as sassy as they appear. VisGirda calls this one "Smoking Blonde."
Some unique teapots...
STEVE HANSEN's pots appear to be metal and have interesting themes to them ... this series "Politics and Propaganda"
BARBARA FREY's porcelain pots look like stones.
Both even more amazing in person!
This sterling silver tea infuser with cabochons and gold accenting was made for one of Kevin Ard's clients. The designer starts with a single sheet of sterling silver or gold then applies jewels and detailed patterns according to each commissioned order. Should you wish to put this on your gift list, first consider the base price of a custom-made one cup tea infuser, £1609; labor costs for ornamental complexity and desired jewels are extra.
I have discovered that I am not the only one in a quandary for unique centerpieces. Ellen Easton's "Tea Infused Marble Eggs" is an all natural, simple yet elegant idea. Boiled eggs are rolled in a towel to create cracks in the shells then placed in water and black tea leaves for one hour. After chilling, the shells are removed to reveal a shiny marbleized decoration, which can later be used in a salad.
One of the worlds largest collections of novelty teapots can be found at the fascinating Teapot Museum in Conwy, North Wales. The museum was established by Paul and Christine Gibbs back in 1989 and now houses over 1000 different teapots.
We also particulary loved this ode to a cup of tea that hangs there:
"When the world is all at odds
And the mind is all at sea
Then cease the useless tedium
And brew a cup of tea.
There is magic in its fragrance
There is solace in its taste
And then laden moments vanish
Somehow into space
And the world becomes a lovely thing
There's beauty as you'll see
All because you briefly stopped
To brew a cup of tea".
From her South London studio Madeline Boulesteix converts humble teacups into lavish chandeliers. She keeps a collection of shiny metal objects, glassware, beads and other items found at ship yards, charity shops and car boot sales. Madeline believes these objects are just waiting to be liberated from there once domestic uses.
Perhaps it is the subtropical atmosphere where artist Judy Freeman resides or just her vibrate personality but her teapots are fantastically vibrant and unique compared to traditional British teapots. Each reef fish teapot has plump colorful lips and takes weeks to complete. They are hand formed in constructive stages, fired at least twice then decorated with bling, such as Floridian rhinestone sunglasses and dorsal earrings.
