Umi Tea Sets’ Teapot and Shou Mei

One popular site for teaware sets is Umi Tea Sets. They got practical tea sets, silver, miniature, novelty, but also loose leaf teas. Umi Tea Sets sent me one of their lovely teapots as well as a Shou Mei, so let’s get the whole set up a test run. Umi Tea Sets Teapot This cute lotus pot has a 150ml capacity and ergonomic kyusu design. I am left-handed and these right-handed kyusu pots tend to end in disaster for me, but the side lid knob that is offset makes it easier for me to get the right angle to pour,… Continue reading, hoot!

What is the Best Tea Knife?

Over the years I have collected a stash of different tea picks and knives for breaking compressed teas. Like any hobby, you grow to prefer certain tools, but I thought I’d try a few other tea tool options to see what is the best tea knife. Today I will be trying a number of tea knives as well as home/kitchen items that aren’t intended for tea cake breaking. Method I had the task of breaking down 3 Shou cakes, 2 white cakes, and 4 Fu Bricks, all with varying compression and leaf styles, for samples. This was the perfect opportunity… Continue reading, hoot!

Menna One Travel Tea Tumbler Review

Menna One is a stainless steel loose leaf tea tumbler that has the ability to start, stop, and resteep the tea leaves without having to remove the infusing basket! All you have to do is twist the button below the lid. Menna One Stats 12oz 350ml with filter Patented Double Infusion Baskets Steep Stop Resteep Ability Double Walled Stainless Steel Spill and Leak Proof Flip Top Locking Lid Hot or Cold for up to 6-8 Hours BPA and Lead Free Dishwasher Safe 2 colours (white and onyx, at this time) Wowza, the Onyx is lovely holographic black! In natural sunlight… Continue reading, hoot!

Ohelo Tumbler Review

Ohelo Tumbler is an attractive, low profile, temperature retention bottle with a filter. I have the Black Blossom model. Ohelo Tumbler Specs 400ml / 13.5oz Vacuum insulated double-walled 18/8 stainless steel Electropolished interior for extra resistance to bacteria and easy cleaning Stays hot for 6 hours, cold for 12 hours. Removable stainless steel mesh under the lid Leakproof sip twist lid BPA, BPS, BPF free Handwash only (though uncoated stainless steel designs are dishwasher safe) Offered in 4 different laser etched designs (plain, bee, blossom, swallows) and 6 colours (black, stainless steel, white, pink, blue, yellow) The laser etched design… Continue reading, hoot!

Comparing Silver Teapot to Silver Teacup and Regular Teaware

From my previous experiments, I found silver teaware produces an effect to change the taste of tea, especially with sheng, black, and funky teas. Silver cuts down the bitterness and other harsh elements such as over roasting, funky storage. The effect also works with silver-lined teacups. Silver teapots are expensive, usually at least $300, but a silver teacup is priced around $50 (sometimes as low as $20). That said, we are going to compare a silver pot to a silver cup and why not mix it up with silver on silver action too. Comparison Tasting Method I am using a… Continue reading, hoot!

Hooty Tea Travels – Traveling Gongfu Tea Style

During my last few cruises, I had a few readers ask that I go into more detail on my teaware set up. I just came back from (yet another) cruise through Alaska, so I have my travel teaware already set up. 2019 also brought some new tea gadgets so traveling with tea is even easier.   View this post on Instagram   A post shared by Char – Oolong Owl (@oolongowl) on Sep 10, 2019 at 2:04pm PDT Traveling Gongfu Tea Style – Hot Water When I road trip I take an electric kettle if I know my final destination… Continue reading, hoot!

Teaware Tea Owl Tuesday – Pocket Pipe Kyusu from Teaware.House

This Teaware Tea Owl Tuesday is the Pocket Pipe Kyusus from Teaware.House. I own three of them out of the 8 options available. The one I use the most is the Black Magda. These little guys clock in at 70ml. The coloured ones are unglazed inside, whereas the white Ruyao one has a glazed interior. I like these little pots. They aren’t hard to pour despite being a left-hander pouring a right-handed pot, but also the Black Magda teapot pours fast like at around 5 seconds. What is most appealing is the size and price. I’ve taken this teapot on… Continue reading, hoot!

Gongfu2go – Portable Gongfu Style Tea Brewer from Crimson Lotus Tea

The Gongfu2go is a portable gongfu and grandpa style tea tumbler that is able to gravity pour as well as flip tea filter. The double cap and separate chamber action give a lot of flexibility to this tea device. A Crimson Lotus Tea creation! I was sent a Gongfu2go a few months early to test. It quickly became my car gongfu teaware. Gongfu2go Specs Two 150ml/ 5oz chambers. Double-walled borosilicate glass. Ceramic twist valve with stainless steel filter. Stainless steel lid interiors. Food grade silicone lid seals. Carrying handle on both sides. 9.5” / 24cm tall, 2.75”/ 7cm diameter. Hand… Continue reading, hoot!

Teaware Tea Owl Tuesday – Crimson Lotus Tea’s Budget Jianshui Bian Xishi Teapot

This was one of those teaware purchases I didn’t think about, I just pulled the trigger as I knew these teapots would sell out fast. Crimson Lotus Tea briefly sold Budget Jianshui Zitao teapots back in 2018. These teapots are “seconds” so the price was slashed due to the imperfections of the teapot. I talked to Crimson Lotus Tea afterwards, and there were issues like the spout wasn’t aligned and other blips. The kind of thing if you paid that $120 and spotted, you might make a fuss about. I snagged the Matte black Bian Xishi style. In retrospect, I… Continue reading, hoot!

Teaware Tea Owl Tuesday – Kitchenables Ceylon Glass Teapot

Today’s piece of teaware is Kitchenables’ Ceylon Glass Teapot. The first impression is this glass teapot is perfect for a crowd of thirsty tea drinkers. Kitchenables Ceylon Glass Teapot Specs 40oz / 1200ml Size Hand Blown Borosilicate Glass Stainless Steel Removable Fine Mesh Filter and Lid Stovetop safe Dishwasher safe Comes with a hot pad I quite like the tall skinny profile of the Kitchenables Ceylon Glass Teapot. It looks modern and a bit different than the typical glass teapot. Pros Tight fitting parts – The lid, filter, and teapot snap on and off with ease. There is no rattling… Continue reading, hoot!