White Magnolia teacup, set of 2

White Magnolia Teacup, set of 2

In the late 1980’s besides the emergence of chahai as a regular tea utensil in Taiwan, there was another innovative piece — the aroma cup, or wen xiang bei 聞香杯. It was basically a straight cylindrical intermediate vessel that was taller than it was wide.

The idea was to have the tea liquor decanted into it first for enjoying the smell, and then have the infusion further decanted into the drinking cup for drinking, while leaving some of the aromatic substances in this small cylinder for followup nasal pleasure. There were other ways of using the cup too, but basically the same idea. Although the intention was great, the process was quite clumsy and this particular piece could not be popularised. The idea, however, has reignited the old tea connoisseur practice of sniffing the gongfu cup after the liquid is consumed. The old tall proportion cup design has been more available, besides the classic shorter and wider ones.

This White Magnolia is a high quality example that is still at an accessible price.

Notice the slim and even brim of the cup in contrast with the relatively thicker body. This is not only just for the aesthetics, but also, more importantly, for the sipping experience. The thicker body is better for heat retainment and facilitation of the internal convection, thereby, maintaining the consistency of both the texture and taste of the liquor, or when after the sipping, works with the height of the cup to hold the aroma a tat longer for that olfactory pleasure.

The cup enhances better experience for teas that are higher in aroma, and more velvety, or oily, in texture. For teas infused using a high temperature, please do use a chahai to tune down the heat slightly before pouring into the cup, otherwise, let cool down properly before drinking. Enjoy the fragrance meanwhile.

If you like this but want to compare it with other similar products, try these: Celeste Green teacup, Moonlight teacup