The ideal teacup should have a smooth surface and be impervious. This stops tannins in the tea from binding to the cup instead of dissolving in the water. That's where the china cup comes in. It's smooth, glazed surfaces don't bind the tannins, leaving the flavour of the tea untouched.
Aesthetics aside, there are reasons why this much-coveted material makes a practical choice for tea drinkers too. The thinness of the rim on an English fine bone china teacup allows for maximum exposure of the liquid to your taste buds, so you can enjoy a full blooming of your tea's flavour.
Originally, tea was valued for its medicinal qualities. It has long been known that tea aids in digestion, which is why many Chinese prefer to consume it after their meal.
Fine bone china is proven to keep the tea hotter for longer. It's also lighter and more delicate to drink from.
Also a fine porcelain is not going to change the flavor of the tea at all, where a cheaper cup may impart some of its own characteristics to the broth.
Yet there is something else very special about white bone china mugs – or any colour, come to that – that really sets them apart from anything else, be it porcelain, plastic, or metal. The truth is, tea tastes better when it is drunk from bone china.
Ceramic teaware is certainly the classic choice, and has several advantages. Firstly, non-porous china won't leach unpleasant flavours.
It goes without saying that I enjoy Chinese tea without any additives, as do most. And yet, the Chinese haven't always drunk their tea the way they do today: steeping whole tea leaves in near-boiling water without adding anything. This way of making and drinking tea is in fact rather recent.
That's where the china cup comes in. It's smooth, glazed surfaces don't bind the tannins, leaving the flavour of the tea untouched. So science is telling us what our grannies already knew, tea really does tastes better in a china cup.
The aromatic compounds in tea dissolve in water at different rates. This is the basis for Gong Fu Cha where a small amount of leaves is brewed many times to concentrate the flavour. Each brew reveals a different taste as the different compounds dissolve.
In China, drinking tea is mostly a cultural thing with the majority of the people drink tea throughout the day. Chinese teas can be traced back all the way to the Tang Dynasty and were first discovered in 2737 BCE, by the Chinese Emperor Shen Nong.
What does that mean? Tapping the table with the index and middle fingers when being served drinks is a very common practice in China. It basically means “thank you” in an unintrusive way – with the welcome effect it won't interrupt conversations at the dining table.
Green tea is the most common type of tea consumed in China.
The fundamental drawbacks are that the finished product is significantly compromised aesthetically, the translucency is diminished, it is typically heavier, it is not as strong, and it is not as chip resistant. For these reasons, we do not sell new bone or low bone china products.
Disadvantages of Bone China
Expensive: Acquiring the raw materials for bone china is costly, and the production process has many overheads. This pushes up the price of bone china considerably, making it more of a luxury than a necessity.
Eases digestion:
Hot tea works wonders in washing down your food thereby keeping your throat clear. It eases off the mucus accumulation and helps in breaking down the food better. As a result, you can expect your meal to digest faster and smoother.
Asia has long tradition of tea-drinking. And China is no exception. However, lately more and more Chinese people are turning to a different drink. Coffee has become an increasingly popular choice of Chinese people living abroad and in the country's huge cities.
But the short answer to the safety of Chinese tea is yes, Chinese tea is safe to drink.
Other than water, green tea is the most commonly drunk beverage in China. Chinese produce more green tea than any other kind of tea (black, red, green, white). About 80% of the world's green tea is grown in China. Green tea is generally the least processed form of tea.
Mongolians drank tea with milk. Chinese did not. The simple fact is that China was never traditionally a country where cows grazed in vast numbers. Milk was available in England in the countryside and it was common to drink Chinese black tea with milk even before Indian tea arrived in the 1840s.
It became popular during British colonial rule when the British started importing tea. So while Hongkongers were already colossal tea drinkers, the art of tea drinking became even more popular during colonial rule. The Asian people put a twist to the British version by adding milk and sometimes sugar.
In China and most parts of Asia, tea is enjoyed straight, without any sugar or milk, and Japanese green teas are enjoyed in the same way.
Borosilicate glass mugs and teacups are the best material for your teaware. Borosilicate glass teacups don't leach toxins and chemicals into your tea. Borosilicate glass has a great reputation for quality and long-lasting safety. Its benefits shatter the negative health impacts of metallic and porcelain teacups.
Bone china and porcelain cups (which are also sometimes clubbed under ceramic) have been used for ages as teaware, and are the material of choice when it comes to drinking tea. When made the right way, porcelain is amazingly non-porous, and the vitrified glaze makes it non-reactive as well.
This is huge. The real reason why tea tastes better out of a teapot all boils down to the order that the milk goes in the cup. Putting milk into the cup before pouring in the tea makes the fat in the milk emulsifying in a certain way which results in a creamier flavour profile.