|
Tea symbolizes the best things in life: health and prosperity, tradition
and ceremony, warmth and friendship. A pot of tea is a perfectly
justifiable cause for a party, while a solitary cup of tea can be healing,
meditative and refreshing. It wasn't until the mid-fourteenth
century in China that the concept of a 'teapot' emerged.
Contemporary teapots are variations on centuries-old forms. A potter will
often take the creation of the perfect teapot - lid, handle, spout
and feet - as the ultimate challenge.
Just as often, the artist creating a teapot
will make the leap into pure sculpture,
using the traditional shape as a jumping off point. The resulting piece
could be a miniature teapot, delicately made of silver, pewter or porcelain, or
it could reach a monumental five feet tall, covered with expressionistic painting!
Collectors love teapots. Maybe it's the seductiveness of the shape,
or the appealing functionality, or perhaps it's really the complexity of
skills required to make a pleasing and useful teapot. Sometimes these
collections are eclectic compilations of contemporary, antique, folk or
art nouveau teapots. Most serious collectors do have a focus that can
be as narrow as 'functional ash-glazed, woodfired teapots' or 'narrative, figurative
sculptural teapots' or even 'nineteenth century English Chintz teapots'.
|
A Tea Party
Afternoon Tea can be as simple as a pretty pot of tea with little sandwiches and cakes in the garden,
or it can run to three elaborately prepared courses with multiple choices of brewed tea.
It is certainly an occasion to bring out you prized collection of teapots and teacups!
The Perfect Pot of Tea
Use one type of tea per teapot (match the tea to
the pot: perhaps a flowered pot for jasmine).
Preheat the teapot by filling with hot water and
draining it.
Place one teaspoon of loose tea per person in the
pot, or use an infuser or teabag.
Fill with hot water and wait one to five minutes. The length
of time depends on the strength of tea desired and the
type of tea.
Pour and enjoy, and pass the scones, jam and Devonshire
cream!
|
