How to take care of porcelain cups and saucers
Follow these simple tips when taking care of your porcelain dinnerware.
- You should always handwash porcelain items. Never heat your food or beverages in a porcelain dishware. Oven or microware heat can damage porcelain surface. If an item is hand-painted you should be even more careful and use non-abrasive washing detergents.
- You should never wash thin, expensive, antique, gold-plated, or hand-painted porcelain under a stream of running water. You have to put your items in a small plastic basin. You should also put a towel on a bottom of a container. Water should not be too hot, since porcelain surface may suffer from high temperatures. Cups, jugs, coffee pots, teapots and other porcelain products that have handles or thin patterned details should be held by the body (not by the handles) and must be supported from the bottom.
- You should use no hard brushes or sponges, as they can scratch the surface of the porcelain. It is better to use a soft brush or cloth.
- Do not leave porcelain products in water for a long time because cracks may appear on the surface.
- Do not rub the items intensely, as this can cause scratches.
- After you washed the porcelain surface, you need to wipe your dishware items till they become dry and shiny.
- If you have unique and very rare porcelain items you should not wash them. It is better to use a painting or cosmetic brush. Also use a dry and soft piece of cloth to wipe your item.
- Don’t wash antique, gilded or hand-painted statues and porcelain sculptures. Dust can be brushed away with a natural bristle brush. You can choose an art or cosmetic brush for those purposes. If you do not have any brushes, simply wipe the porcelain with a soft and dry cloth.
World Tea Ceremony Traditions
It is a wonderful experience to enjoy your favorite tea from your beautiful porcelain cup that always fills you with positive emotions. Tea ceremony had always united people and made conversations more peaceful, slow and analytic. Consider the following interesting examples of international tea ceremony experiences.
Japanese Tea Traditions.
The art of tea the ceremony in Japan is imbued with the Buddhism philosophy. The main idea of the tea ritual is to make your spirit peaceful and calm.
The art of tea drinking reflects the Japanese lifestyle and traditions. All the tea ceremony traditions are passed down from generation to generation. They are unique and you will never meet the same traditions in any other country.
Consider the interesting details of the Japanese tea ceremony. In the middle of a Japanese tea room there is a square groove, in which charcoal is smoldering on a special tray. A pot, filled with hot water, is put above the smoldering charcoal. The ceremony guests sit on special zabuton pillows. During the tea ceremony process every detail means a lot. For example, by any means you cannot sit in cross-legged posture. This is considered a sign of disrespect towards a tea ceremony master. You have to sit on your heels and put a zabuton pillow under your knees.
Today, the Japanese tea ceremony art is a method of achieving a deeper understanding of life. It is also a part of many calming Japanese SPA procedures.
Interesting facts about the Japanese tea ceremony:
- No more than five people can take part in the Japanese tea ceremony.
- Only the closest people can be invited to the Japanese tea ceremony. The tea ceremony is also considered the perfect choice for an important business meeting.
- All guests must wear special clothes to participate in this solemn ceremony.
- The Japanese tea ceremony may last for several hours.
- All the participants need be in a peaceful mood.
Chinese tea traditions.
The chinese tea ceremony is not as strict as the Japanese, though. You do need to use beautiful porcelain teaware, as well. However, the feelings you have during the tea ceremony are more important than the extrinsic ceremony attributes. You can have conversations during the rituals. You should, however, never speak loudly or discuss unpleasant and annoying things.
The Gong Fu Cha ritual, which literally means the highest art of tea, is an opportunity to enjoy the four tea virtues: the color of a brew, the shape of a leaf, the taste and the aroma of a beverage.
The Gung Fu Cha ritual symbolic meaning is to turn the cups down and to feel the Yin and Yang energies.
Tea Traditions of England
The British tea ceremony appeared later than the Japanese or Chinese tea rituals. It doesn’t have such a long history. In 1662, when King Charles II married Catherine Bragança, a Portuguese princess, elegant tea ceremonies became popular for the first time. Queen Catherine passionately loved tea. A large tea box was even included in her dowry. That`s how tea became extremely popular among the aristocrats. Coffee was no longer a trend. Edmund Waller, a famous British poet, even wrote a poem dedicated to tea and a tea ceremony. The poem became a bestseller.
Thomas Twinning, the merchant, was the first to open a tea shop next to its own coffee shop. His tea shop was a first place, where you could not only buy tea leaves, but also have a cup of tea as well. Surprisingly, no women were allowed in coffee houses.
However, both women and men could drink tea together in a teashop!
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