Mini tea bowls

(mini tea bowls are available here)

What did I say about prefering tea in a mug? Well most of the time it's true, but only if the tea is a generic English Breakfast type of black tea (milk, one sugar) out of a bargain box of dusty tea bags, and not if I'm drinking a proper, loose leaf, carefully prepared, Chinese green tea. There's something philosophically wrong about pouring green tea into a great big builder's mug however good that builder's mug might be. After all, builder's mugs are all about volume: they have no-nonsense handles large enough to grip (even if wearing gloves) and should make a rising bell-like sound when full of piping hot liquid and stirred vigorously with a metal spoon. And this particular form of tea ceremony is the very antithesis of green tea...

So I'm hoping that my mini tea bowls are more appropriate for the careful, considered drinking and enjoyment of speciality teas. They're only about 55mm high (that's just over 2 inches) and fit snugly in the palm. They're hand-thrown in stoneware and have been reduction fired in a gas kiln which has brought out the lovely iron fleck in the clay. I also chose a slightly closed form rather than a wide or open rim as I find the tea keeps hotter for longer. And I chose two very simple glazes - plain white and a clear, transparent glaze which reveals the natural stone-like beauty of the clay. I've listed three of these bowls on my Folksy shop today - but they can also be made to order individually or if a set is required.

Other news today. I just discovered that the lovely Jon and Sarah of Lapwing Printworks in Norwich have been styling their hand-bound journals with a raku jar in shot - one they purchased from me earlier this year. They've been kindly giving me name checks all over the place; in their folksy shop, blog and flickr sites. So thank you Jon and Sarah! You can purchase their gorgeous hand-bound journals and other printed goods from their folksy shop Lapwing Printworks.

Well that's it for today. I hope all the links work as I'm still new to all this blogging lark!