Not only its service life, but also the resulting emotions when used depend on the choice of quality dishes. It’s even more pleasant to drink tea from beautiful and comfortable cups that you don’t want to let go of your hands.
For this, back in ancient times, China began to produce whole tea sets, and then they appeared in Europe, but in a completely different form.
Equipment
European sets can contain a different number of items, but, as the name implies, a tea pair is designed for two people. Therefore, it usually includes two cups and two saucers. Saucers are considered an essential attribute of tea-ware in Europe. They are needed so that tea does not spill on the tablecloth, and it is also possible to put candy, cookies or another product somewhere in the tea.
Sometimes the kit includes a teapot made in the same style as a tea pair, as well as a milk jug (for English tea drinking with milk) and a sugar bowl. Some manufacturers also add teaspoons.
With a tea pair from China, the situation is different. If it is intended for the Gongfu-cha ceremony, then these are three objects for one person - a wide cup that looks like a small bowl, a tall and narrow glass and a rectangular saucer on which they are placed. Accordingly, for the second person you will need another tea pair, as well as a small teapot for brewing tea. Some manufacturers can produce them with a service or, conversely, limit themselves to only a cup and a glass, which are traditionally put into each other after tea drinking.
What are
Porcelain
The most popular material for tea pairs is, of course, porcelain. Once upon a time Dulevo Porcelain Factory He became famous all over the world for the excellent quality of the material and original designs of dishes, which more than once received awards at various exhibitions in Russia and the world. Now it is the largest plant in the country.
The second major porcelain factory with a long history is Imperial Porcelain Factory (LFZ). He became famous for bone china utensils and a cobalt mesh pattern. Bone china got its name due to the addition of crushed animal bones to the molten mass of kaolin, clay and other substances. This gave the dishes a special whiteness.
The white surface allows you to apply any pattern. These are not only contrasting, but also gentle pastel shades, drawings in the form of flowers, berries or fruits - poppies, roses, peonies, cherries, oranges and apples.
Earthenware
Earthenware tea pairs look similar to porcelain, and sometimes manufacturers even copy patterns and forms of porcelain products from leading factories. However, such cups are usually thinner and the gray contents of the walls are clearly visible on the chip.
From the slightest chip, the dishes take on an unpresentable appearance, when they may not be so noticeable on porcelain - inside it is also white.
Clay
Cups and saucers can also be made of clay. According to its characteristics, it is not inferior to other materials, but it allows you to fashion unusual shapes or create a tea pair in a folk style.
Glass
Glass unlike other materials allows you to make absolutely transparent materials. And due to this, extremely interesting cups are obtained in which you can observe the movement of tea leaves or sugar.
Classic glassware is made of clear glass, but darkened cups, as well as various color variations, have become much more popular in recent years. For example, a cup can be blue, orange, red, black, sometimes even white.
Usually men and women do not distinguish between sets, however, for example, a number of football clubs produce dishes with their own symbols, which are designed more for men.
There are also unusual solutions. For example, with a square saucer or with a cup larger than 250 ml. Czech tea pairs are usually, on the contrary, designed in the style of the 18th-19th centuries, as their manufacturers appreciate the centuries-old history of their factories. Sometimes such cups are produced with rhinestones, which make them as exquisite as possible.
Major manufacturers
In addition to the Imperial Porcelain Factory and the factory in Dulevo, there are several more tableware manufactures in Russia. Also, a large number of products from Germany, Italy, Turkey and, to a lesser extent, the Czech Republic are presented on the tableware market.
Tea pairs for Chinese ceremonies are traditionally produced in China and Japan. As a rule, their porcelain is considered the best, and such dishes are in high demand. Most often they buy it as a gift, therefore quite a few Chinese tea pairs that are sold in gift wrapping.
An overview of tea pairs see below.
