Bat-tea Pet

$15.00

Clay tea pets originated way back in Yixing during the Yuan dynasty, 13th century China. Tea pets are small clay figurines intended to accompany you on tea-drinking sojourns. Animal-shaped figures were first molded from extra pieces of clay. Once they were molded, a teapot artisan put the teapot, cups, and these “pets” together as a full tea set. Although not limited to animals, these tea pets are used during traditional Chinese tea ceremonies for various purposes; most often as decoration, but also used by tea drinkers for good luck.
Some tea masters believe when we adopt a tea pet it has no soul. Pouring tea over it, which is believed to have a soul, in turn, gives the tea pet a soul.

To feed your tea pet, you simply pour leftover tea over the tea pet. You can also use a soft brush to ensure that the tea covers your tea pet evenly. Pouring brewed tea over your tea pet causes the clay to gradually change its shading. Each time you feed your tea pet; it will become richer in color. The tea pets also develop a gloss and hold the fragrance of your chosen tea. Since tea pets are usually not glazed, this process allows you to add your own finish to your tea pet.

It is important that you feed the same type of tea to your tea pet each time. This gives you the best result (and we like to imagine it makes your tea pet happy too). You should also rinse your tea pet with pure water between tea sessions. Do not use any kind of soap or sanitizer on your tea pet, because this can damage the material.

Bat-tea Pet

HISTORY

HOW TO "FEED" YOUR TEA PET

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