Verdant Tea

Coasters are an indispensable part of modern gongfu ceremony. They can be placed on tea boards to protect yixing from scratching, or they can be paired with a tea boat to hold a pitcher, a strainer, and tea cups. These coasters are hand woven in Yunnan from bamboo and become darker over time as they absorb tea spills.

Every tea set up looks best framed off by a runner, and this classic bamboo runner  is a perfect size and shape for compact gongfu set-ups. Bamboo is a popular choice for gongfu set-ups since you can simply wash the runner in a sink if it gets tea stained- no need to launder like cloth runners. The bamboo is evocative of the Song dynasty scholarly tradition and offers an incredible backdrop for stunning tea ceremony and daily tasting.

This elegant saucer can work as a flexible base for any gaiwan, a presentation stand for small teapots and pitchers and tea animals. Flip the saucer over and it doubles as a coaster for your favorite tea cup. This clever design by Peng Yuan Qing Hua studio is entirely hand-painted with an elegant scene of cypress trees perched on a rocky mountainside- the landscape of tea growing country.

The Peng Yuan Qing Hua Studio shows off their skill with beautiful, highly stylized persimmons. This grandiose stand can double as a saucer for your gaiwan or a flexible tea boat for modern gongfu tea. It is hand-painted in the style of screen paintings, with each persimmon’s sculptural shape captured in their brushwork. The deep rich orange contrasts with classic porcelain blue for a deeply traditional old-school effect. 

Everything you could possibly need for a full modern gongfu tea set up - alll in a convenient travel gear case! Modern Gongfu is a versatile, adaptable evolution of classic gongfu that skips the tea board in favor of a bowl to collect excess tea and water. This allows the whole set up to travel from room to room, on trips, to the park, etc without the bulk of a board, but with absolutely every tool for full gongfu ritual. The high-fired vitrified porcelain is made by Pengyuan Qinghua Studio to bring out the aromatics of fine tea. The set includes a gaiwan, four guest cups and one taller host cup, a tea presentation boat or “chahe,” a glass pitcher, a water bowl, a porcelain canister to protect your favorite tea, a tea towel to catch any drips, a runner, bamboo tweezers for tea cups, a bamboo tea scoop, and finally, a porcelain lid holder for your gaiwan lid to rest while you pour.

We love modern gongfu. It’s versatility, the way it can incorporate into the everyday, the way pieces can be swapped out so easily depending on the tea, the weather and the mood. That’s why we wanted to finally offer a full modern gongfu set that shows off the ideals of this new style. What is modern gongfu? Simply, it’s tea without the draining board. Instead of a board, a runner is used and stands are put out for cups, pitchers and gaiwans. Without a board, the set is free to expand to accommodate more people, or fold up and be put away in tight spaces. Pieces can be swapped out to fit any occasion. This set includes a runner, a full set of tea tools, a Milk White Gaiwan, two aroma cup sets, a stunning glass pitcher, a tea boat for the gaiwan and a pitcher stand. The tea boat can double as a tea bowl for any rinse or extra brew. Aroma cups can be used with the tall cup to appreciate the aromatics of your tea, or you can pour directly into the tea bowl cups. All together- this set is our invitation to get into gongfu and enjoy your tea to the fullest.

This handy gongfu tea tool opens a whole new world in tea brewing. A strainer is traditionally used in gongfu tea ceremony to catch leaves from your gaiwan or yixing clay teapot while pouring into a pitcher. It can also be used to catch leaves when you steep more improvisationally, allowing you to use two tempered glasses or even mugs for brewing tea. This strainer does not use a metal or plastic mesh, but rather a extremely fine array of holes directly in the porcelain.

This dream-like, abstract hand-painted porcelain tea strainer from Peng Yuan Qing Hua studio shows off their masterful, gestural painting skills and the depth of color contrast they achieve between lustrous white porcelain and traditional blue glaze. Their inspiration point was the enveloping feeling of the aromatic steam that rises from the tea set and catches the light in misty waves. Their high-fired, highly-vitrified porcelain is completely non-reactive and perfect to show off a true sense of any tea. The strainer is uniquely made from fine hotels in the porcelain itself, not a plastic mesh, making the whole piece more durable.

We are excited to present Peng Hua Qing Yuan studio’s revival of Dehua’s most famous and classical style - milk white, also known as Blanc de Chine or “China White.” This unique, almost glowing milky glaze is achieved through a fusion of glaze and body, and the introduction of iron oxide for an oxidative firing environment, different from modern reductive kiln firing. This milky style was made famous in statues of Guanyin fired in Dehua’s ancient kilns, a style that looks like white jade, but with a thinness, luster and glow only possible in fine porcelain. This strainer does not use a metal or plastic mesh, but rather a extremely fine array of holes directly in the porcelain.

It's hard to capture the haughty elegance of a pampered cat, but artist Zhao Yonghui brings the spirit and character of a cat to life with his hand-made sculpture. This cat is ready for tea, but only the finest! Made from real Duan Ni Yixing clay, years of pouring a little of each brew over this tea animal will give it a lustrous patina and deep color.

Zhao Yonghui’s fully handmade lucky turtle makes for an auspicious teatime companion. the golden mottled clay is built up with intricate texture through layers to evoke a turtle shell, all in a way that will take on gorgeous deep patina over time.

This fully hand-made tea pet from artist Zhao Yonghui celebrates the story of Chang’e, who spirited away the recipe for the elixir of immortality to the moon. In the stories, she either becomes a rabbit, or is accompanied by a rabbit who produces the elixir with a mortar and pestle. The contrasting yellow and white Duan Ni clay, along with the intricate and adorable rabbit napping in the moon’s crescent make for a beautiful tea animal and an excellent example of Zhao Yonghui’s craft.

This gongdao bei or tea pitcher shows off an old-school scholar’s studio tea setup, complete with a sculptural rock for contemplation, and an ancient burner. The scene connects modern gongfu back to old traditions, a reminder of tea culture spanning the centuries. The stunning bright white porcelain is perfect for appreciating the color of your tea as you pour.

Thin, fine and lustrous, high-fired porcelain pitcher from De Hua is highly vitrified and non-reactive, presenting a clean focused aroma in your teas. The classic blue and white landscape motif was meticulously hand-painted by Peng Yuan Qing Hua Studio in De Hua, one of China’s ancient porcelain capitols. The fine brushwork of a detailed pattern like this take years of practice, a good eye and a steady hand.

This dream-like, abstract hand-painted pitcher from Peng Yuan Qing Hua studio shows off their masterful, gestural painting skills and the depth of color contrast they achieve between lustrous white porcelain and traditional blue glaze. Their inspiration point was the enveloping feeling of the aromatic steam that rises from the pitcher and catches the light in misty waves. Their high-fired, highly-vitrified porcelain work brings out the deepest aromatics in your tea.

Not all glass teaware is on the same level. This pitcher from Xiangfu shows off glass crafting technique with unusually lustrous and clear glass, perfect tempering, and beautiful curves thanks to the unique rippled design. These curves are crafted to help your tea light up in the afternoon sun, showing off its stunning natural color, providing a sense of drama and anticipation as you pour into each cup. Glass wares like this pair effortlessly with Yixing, celadon, Jian Zhan or porcelain, making them a great flexible addition to any gongfu set.

This thin, fine, lustrous porcelain features a meticulously hand painted bamboo motif in incredible detail, fired in both traditional blue and deep green for a stunning two tone effect. The modern sleek shape is perfect for any gongfu set up, and the fully-vitrified non-reactive high fired porcelain amplifies the aromatics of any tea you pour from it, perfect for serious and contemplative tasting.

This striking pitcher features a hand-painted motif of delicate bamboo swaying in the wind. Pengyuan Qinghua Studio turns all of their own ultra-thin porcelain, vitrified at an extremely high firing temperature for teaware fine enough to amplify tea’s aromatics and allow light to pass through, giving each piece a glowing quality. The red brushwork is an elegant contrast to the white, and an evocative reference to the bamboo groves that grow alongside tea in the mountains of Fujian.

This impressive pitcher features a peaceful hand-painted scene highlighting a secret tea pavilion in the mountains. Pengyuan Qinghua Studio turns all of their own ultra-thin porcelain, vitrified at an extremely high firing temperature for teaware fine enough to amplify tea’s aromatics and allow light to pass through, giving each piece a glowing quality. The brushwork on this piece shows off the artist's skill at both detail in the pavilion itself, and gestural washes and abstraction on the rock face and cherry blossoms.

Classical Chinese porcelain motifs were all about the deep blue brushwork, with early blue glaze being the best color to survive the intense heat of the kiln. This pitcher evokes that classical style with an elegant hand-painted pomegranate tree. Pengyuan Qinghua Studio turns all of their own ultra-thin porcelain, vitrified at an extremely high firing temperature for teaware fine enough to amplify tea’s aromatics and allow light to pass through, giving each piece a glowing quality. Striking detail in the brushwork around the branches is matched with a beautiful dream-like quality in the blue of the fruit itself, showing off the artist’s skill.

This lovely tempered glass pitcher shows off your tea in gorgeous clarity, its facets lighting up in the sun. The wide geometric design lets you hold the edges without burning your hands, even with a full pitcher. This piece was designed and commissioned by the Peng Yuan Qing Hua Studio in Dehua to pair with their hand-painted gaiwans, teapots and teacups for a beautiful contrast.

We are excited to present Peng Hua Qing Yuan studio’s revival of Dehua’s most famous and classical style - milk white, also known as Blanc de Chine or “China White.” This unique, almost glowing milky glaze is achieved through a fusion of glaze and body, and the introduction of iron oxide for an oxidative firing environment, different from modern reductive kiln firing. This milky style was made famous in statues of Guanyin fired in Dehua’s ancient kilns, a style that looks like white jade, but with a thinness, luster and glow only possible in fine porcelain. This pitcher almost glows in the light, a stunning effect as you fill it with tea that shimmers right through the porcelain.

This creamy blue-green Ru glaze pitcher celebrates the tradition of bringing new life to old pieces through gold repair work. As ancient pieces are excavated, instead of preserving cracked shards, modern collectors are repairing these relics with gold so that they can be used in tea brewing the way the original artist intended. This gold work has spurred the growth of a new craft, adding adornment to the repairs- a modern dialog with ancient pieces. This Ru pot draws on the goldwork tradition with a golden motif of its own, a contrast to the lightly-crackled Ru glaze itself.

This fully hand-thrown, hand shaped tea pitcher highlights Master lin Xi’s research into ancient Song Dynasty style glazing techniques, particularly the famous and sought after Hare’s Fur style of long brown lines against black- an effect Lin Xi is able to capture because he personally excavates his glaze materials from the same sites used by Song Dynasty kilns, and blends the glaze from raw natural minerals. This pitcher's unique shape is meant to be as close as possible to the classic Jian Zhan tea bowl shape, both for the heat reflection in the kiln and to show off the glazing at the widest angles of light.

Oil Spot, or you di is one of the oldest and most traditional Song Dynasty forms. Award-winning master-potter Lin Xi has done years of research on ancient techniques and in his unique one-man studio, is working to revive the ancient art of you di glazing, sourcing and blending his clay and glazing material from the original mineral deposits tapped in the Song Dynasty. This traditional gongfu pitcher was fully hand-thrown, with glazes hand blended and dipped, and fired in tiny batches dependent on the whims of weather and kiln heat patterns to achieve the desired effect.

This set includes a full canister of Manzhaya's Special Grade incense, a full canister of their wild foraged Reserve incense, and a package of classic temple incense, along with five of their hand-made incense cones. Nobody makes incense like Manzhaya. Their project was born out of living Buddha Danzing Qunpei’s lifetime of research into Tibetan Medicine Sutras, reviving ancient incense recipes formulated from wild herbs that can be foraged within the Meili Glacier National Park. The Special Grade, Reserve and Temple Incense are all balanced at different levels and proportions for their own unique qualities. All three are deep and evocative, like exploring an endless cedar grove. Manzhaya incense is made without chemical additives - a truly ancient old-school craft. This kit is the chance to try the full scope of Danzing Qunpei’s work and experience the very best of Tibet’s unique incense culture.

This set is a celebration of the Aloeswood incense - the cornerstone of Xiang Dao, or Incense Ceremony / Koh-do. Aloeswood has the ability to transport us like no other - an evocative quality that engages the senses and memory, inspiring a sense of place: a deep forest, a summer garden. This quality makes aloeswood perfect for pairing with gongfu tea for a truly contemplative experience. This set includes our three favorite aloeswood blends: Da Xin Tang’s reserve-level Honored Path (a Vietnamese aloeswood), their sweet comforting Cloud Song (a blend of Vietnamese and Singapore incense), and our new custom blend commissioned with Xin Yue workshop (a mix of Hongtu and Qirou aloeswood). Explore all three to compare how different origin and blending techniques can yield stunningly different aroma experiences. All three sets come with incense holders. The Hongtu and Qirou set includes a carved wooden incense holder. All three are wonderful examples of aloeswood incense, only possible to bring in thanks to long cultivated friendships with each workshop.

Our new custom aloeswood blend collaboration with Xin Yue workshop and researcher Long Bin. We used a combination of two rare aloeswoods- high end hongtu Vietnamese aloeswood for the salty smoldering qualities and a touch of Qirou aloeswood for the cooling undertones- all blended specifically to pair with tea. The incense itself is rich, thick and honeyed with a touch of cooling cedar, which builds up with the iconic saltiness of Vietnamese aloeswood evoking eucalytpus and ocean mist. The sweet depth has a smoldering intensity of star anise, goji berry and cardamom. This set is paired with a gorgeous mountainscape censer-box so that incense smoke wafting out looks like clouds and mist passing through the mountains. The box set comes with 14 sticks of special aloeswood in a wooden travel canister, a carved incense burner and stand. Each stick is about a 20 minute burn, but the aroma lingers all day. 

Created by Lide Manzhaya, this wild-foraged special grade incenseis a contemplative incense experience on par with fine aloeswood - deep, foresty, sweet and utterly complex.

Created by Da Xin Tang, this Cloud Song stick incense set blends Vietnamese & Singapore aloeswood bound with a 12% camphorwood mix.

Created by Da Xin Tang, this Honored Path stick incense set is true Vietnamese Hui An Aloeswood. This set of 7cm sticks of incense includes two compact tubes of incense and one small porcelain incense holder.

Created by Lide Manzhaya, this reserve wild-foraged Tibetan stick incense is made according to strict principles of Traditional Tibetan Medicine Lide Manzhaya’s wild-foraged reserve incense is a contemplative incense experience, with composed resinous spice.

Created by Lide Manzhaya, this classic temple Tibetan stick incense is made according to strict principles of Traditional Tibetan Medicine. Lide Manzhaya’s classic temple incense is soothing and transportive, with cozy sweetness and spice.

These fully hand blended and hand made incense cones are a beautiful celebration of the spices and herbs of the Tibetan highlands, carefully foraged and blended according to Living Buddha Danzing Qunpei’s recipe. The cones are hollow on the inside so that incense smoke can cascade out the bottom of the cone and create a beautiful mist, a visual treat to accompany the beautiful aromatics.