Ehi, well, I am member of TeaChat.com Forum. I just browsed through the „matcha tea bowl“ thread and some other threads on the beauty of tea bowls… mhmm… I can outline a total japanophilia when it comes to labelling those bowls. even though most of them are contemporary works and I’m pretty unsure if you can attach „ancient“ labels on those. They’re all very shiny and glossy too, remembered me of what John Clark stated at the farewell party at Münzsalon; that all the new things need to scream at you instead of giving a quiet warmth.
I also find that they have some members who like to sell stuff imported directly from japan (mhm… no chinese and korean ware so far), and people appreciate the „big labels“ such as hagi and shino. But the bowls… they dont look like what I consider as hagi/shino AT ALL…
Second point is gongfu tea and yixing pots. you got say, two groups there, the matcha lovers and the yixing lovers. so yixing is also a big point of discussion, and some people post their pots there and ask what kind it is, if its ancient, what’s the inscription on the stamp etc. Hmmm… i still don’t know WHY yixing is so „en vogue“. for some reason, „gongfu tea“ seems to be linked to „yixing“. i don’t know much about either, maybe that is why it makes me wondering.
I’ve seen some shops specialized on tea and teaware here in berlin, maybe i should write my application there and see what it’s like to sell. :\
I personally think it’s wohwhtrile to experiment rather than just stay wedded to the idea that teapots correspond to specific types of tea in a fixed manner.I also want to point out other ways of brewing, both traditional and not. A gaiwan, a Chinese lidded-bowl, is outstanding for some teas. It enables you to brew similarly to how you would with a Yixing teapot, but it has a more neutral flavor. Another completely different way to brew tea is to brew it directly in a mug, with or without an infuser. I find brewing whole-leaf oolong in a mug to be particularly compelled. I got this idea from .I’ve also tried other teapots of different materials and shapes from the ones here, sometimes with great success, sometimes not.I think the best advice I could give would be to experiment.