Tea is child's play

This Sunday, at the Taipei Story House, my children brewed tea for Teaparker's monthly public tea lecture! I had told him that they started to prepare tea like me and he suggested that they perform at this historical site, built by tea merchant Chen Chao-Jun in 1914. This Chinese tea merchant found his inspiration in the English Tudor revival style. In this house, he entertained his foreign customers, who came mostly from Southeast Asia to purchase scented Baozhong tea.

This mix of cultures and nationalities is well exemplified by my French-Taiwanese children! And it's further reflected in the diverse Cha Xi they created for the Big Arbor Dian Hong they brewed.

My daughter chose a pink Cha Bu (her favorite color) and qingbai porcelain from Yingge, a teaboat by David Louveau, Chinese Cha Tuo (saucers) and a waste water bowl she made in Shuili county (with the help of a potter)! 

My son is using the 'ivory' porcelain on a Sashiko quilt - made by his French grandmother, the wave patterns remind him of the sea he likes so much, he said -, 2 old Qing plates, a waste water bowl he also made in Shuili (central Taiwan). Porcelain is a good fit for red tea! And both used a Japanese silver kettle: it's lighter for them to hold (vs a tetsubin).

Note: To avoid them getting burned, we didn't use fire in the Nilu, but simply poured boiling water in the silver kettle. Don't let your children handle boiling water unattended!

Tea culture knows no boundaries.
Young and not so young enjoy a sweet cup of tea!