Tea pairs: varieties and best producers

The choice of high-quality dishes depends not only on its service life, but also on the emotions you get when using it. Even drinking tea is more pleasant from beautiful and comfortable cups that you don't want to let go of.

For this, in ancient times in China, they began to produce whole tea sets, and then they appeared in Europe, but in a completely different form.

European sets can contain a different number of items, but, as the name implies, a pair of tea is designed for two people. Therefore, it usually includes two cups and two saucers. Saucers are considered a must-have for tea ware in Europe. They are needed so that tea does not spill on the tablecloth, and also there is an opportunity to put candy, cookies or other product for tea somewhere.

This is not the case with a couple of tea from China. 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 pair of tea, as well as a small teapot for making tea. Some manufacturers may produce them as a set, or, conversely, limit themselves to only a cup and a glass, which are traditionally placed in each other after tea drinking.

The most popular material for tea couples is, of course, porcelain. Once upon a time Dulevo Porcelain Factory became famous all over the world for the excellent quality of material and original designs of tableware, which has repeatedly received awards at various exhibitions in Russia and the world. It is now the largest plant in the country.

The second large porcelain factory with a long history is Imperial Porcelain Factory (LFZ)... He became famous for his bone china tableware and cobalt mesh pattern. Bone china got its name from the addition of crushed animal bones to the molten mass of kaolin, clay and other substances. This gave the dishes a special whiteness.

Earthenware tea pairs are outwardly similar to porcelain ones, and sometimes manufacturers even copy the patterns and shapes of porcelain products from leading factories. However, such cups are usually thinner and the gray contents of the walls are clearly visible on the cleavage.

From the slightest chip, the dishes take on an unpresentable look, when, as on porcelain, they may not be so noticeable - inside it is also white.

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 sculpt unusual shapes or create a tea pair in the folk style.

Glass, unlike other materials, allows you to make absolutely transparent materials. And due to this, extremely interesting cups are obtained in which you can watch the movement of tea leaves or sugar.

Classic glassware is made of clear glass, but much more popular in recent years have become darkened cups, as well as various color variations... For example, a cup can be blue, orange, red, black, sometimes even white.

There are also unusual solutions. For example, with a square saucer or with a cup larger than 250 ml. On the contrary, Czech tea couples are designed in the style of the 18th-19th centuries, as their producers value the centuries-old history of their factories. Sometimes these cups come with rhinestones, which make them as exquisite as possible.

In addition to the Imperial Porcelain Factory and the Dulevo factory, there are several other 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 to be the best, and such dishes are in high demand. Most often it is bought as a gift, therefore there are quite a few Chinese tea pairs that are sold in gift wrapping.

See below for an overview of tea pairs.