A tea waste bowl is simply a container where you discard water/tea used to wash the tea leaves or utensils. It is also used to contain used tea leaves when you have many teas to brew. In Japan, tea waste bowls are called kensui.
Tea waste bowls may seem like a fancy unnecessary item but it has its uses in a tea brewing session. If you are brewing more than 1 tea, like trying a few teas in a session, tea bowls may be very useful if you do not use a tea tray or in some cases, the tea tray may be too small to hold so much waste. Yes, any container would suffice as a tea waste bowl but having a proper utensil does show we take our tea seriously (a little show off too as well).
The 1st 2 pix show a Chinese made celadon waste bowl. I bought it for its nice crackled look. The 3rd/4th pix is an old Japan copper kensui. The top lid can be removed for throwing spent tea and also for easy washing. On a side note, I have noticed some owners lined their tea waste bowls with a plastic bag as they do not want these utensils to be badly stained with tea. I am one step better...I don't use them...they are too pretty.
The last pix is a sort of tea waste bowl. It is used to stand your teapot and any excess water or tea that flows out from the teapot is collected into the base of the bowl. This keep the base of the teapot dry and reduce excessive tea stains at the base of a teapot.
1 comment:
Nice collection! I just recently was gifted up my first waste bowl and I really enjoy it. I REALLY like your last two you posted!
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