Chris Clarke on mon 25 sep 00
You can also throw a small cylinder that sits in the gallery and then the
lid sits in that. Put holes in the cylinder and the tea leaves go in there.
It must be deep enough to set into the water and tight enough not to fall
off. But still be removable to clean
chris clarke
Temecula, CA
chris@ccpots.com
www.ccpots.com
look again
----- Original Message -----
From: Cindy Strnad
To:
Sent: Monday, September 25, 2000 1:57 PM
Subject: Re: teapots-form & function
Martin Howard on tue 26 sep 00
I saw something like this removable strainer in some Polish hand made tea
pots a few years ago.
Much easier to make the holes in the pot wall, IMHO.
Martin Howard
Webb's Cottage Pottery
Woolpits Road, Great Saling
BRAINTREE, Essex CM7 5DZ
England
martin@webbscottage.co.uk
Cindy Strnad on tue 26 sep 00
Great idea, Chris.
A removable tea strainer. I had seen this concept in glass teapots, but it
never occurred to me to use it in ceramics.
Thanks
Cindy Strnad
Earthen Vessels Pottery
RR 1, Box 51
Custer, SD 57730
USA
earthenv@gwtc.net
www.earthenvesselssd.com
Veena Raghavan on tue 26 sep 00
Message text written by Ceramic Arts Discussion List
>A removable tea strainer. I had seen this concept in glass teapots, but it
never occurred to me to use it in ceramics.
<
Hi Cindy,
I did not see Chris' e-mail regarding a removable strainer, but if
you are talking about the kind that fits onto the ledge of the teapot,
before you put on the lid, I too think it is a great idea, have made a
couple, and they are successful. I don't know if people appreciate them,
and could not figure out if it was worth the extra work, but I too think it
is a neat idea. I have seen commercially made ones in England but no
handmade ones.
Good luck.
All the best.
Veena
Veena Raghavan
75124.2520@compuserve.com
Chris Clarke on wed 27 sep 00
Yes it's easier to make holes in the pot. But you can make smaller holes in
the strainer, being removable it's easier to make sure the glaze doesn't
plug them up.
chris clarke
Temecula, CA
chris@ccpots.com
www.ccpots.com
look again
----- Original Message -----
From: Martin Howard
To:
Sent: Tuesday, September 26, 2000 3:18 PM
Subject: Re: teapots loose tea leaves
> I saw something like this removable strainer in some Polish hand made tea
> pots a few years ago.
>
> Much easier to make the holes in the pot wall, IMHO.
>
> Martin Howard
> Webb's Cottage Pottery
> Woolpits Road, Great Saling
> BRAINTREE, Essex CM7 5DZ
> England
> martin@webbscottage.co.uk
>
>
____________________________________________________________________________
__
> Send postings to clayart@lsv.ceramics.org
>
> You may look at the archives for the list or change your subscription
> settings from http://www.ceramics.org/clayart/
>
> Moderator of the list is Mel Jacobson who may be reached at
melpots@pclink.com.
Cindy Strnad on wed 27 sep 00
Martin wrote: I saw something like this removable strainer in some Polish
hand made tea
pots a few years ago.
Much easier to make the holes in the pot wall, IMHO.
__________________________________________
And, of course, I agree, Martin. However, for someone like meself, who don't
like the tea too strong, it's an attractive idea--though a tea ball is
easier. Still, I think I'll try it sometime, just for fun.
Cindy Strnad
Earthen Vessels Pottery
RR 1, Box 51
Custer, SD 57730
USA
earthenv@gwtc.net
www.earthenvesselssd.com
John Baymore on wed 27 sep 00
A removable tea strainer. I had seen this concept in glass teapots, but i=
t
never occurred to me to use it in ceramics.
We have a "commercial stoneware" one made by Arabia (Finland) that we've
had for 25 years. This idea had been around in clay for a long time.
Best,
.......................john
John Baymore
River Bend Pottery
22 Riverbend Way
Wilton, NH 03086 USA
603-654-2752 (s)
800-900-1110 (s)
JBaymore@compuserve.com
John.Baymore@GSD-CO.com
"Earth, Water, and Fire Noborigama Woodfiring Workshop August 18-27,
2000"
Janet Kaiser on thu 28 sep 00
Imagine a teapot with a spout attached and the
wall of the pot cut to that shape... So you have
a teapot with an "open" spout.
Now imagine a sphere cut in half with holes in
it. Attach over the spout (on the inside of the
pot) and you have an excellent inverted ceramic
"sieve".
It also makes cleaning the spout easier, because
the bottle brush goes down the _whole_spout.
And by the way, I use denture cleaner to "spring
clean" our teapots. A little bottle brush up and
down the spout is all that is then necessary...
Janet Kaiser - where we are constantly serving
tea to visiting friends, visitors, clients,
potters and other vagrants!!!
The Chapel of Art . Capel Celfyddyd
HOME OF THE INTERNATIONAL POTTERS' PATH
Criccieth LL52 0EA, GB-Wales Tel: (01766) 523570
E-mail: postbox@the-coa.org.uk
WEBSITE: http://www.the-coa.org.uk
----- Original Message -----
> Martin wrote: I saw something like this
removable strainer in some Polish
> hand made tea
> pots a few years ago.
>
> Much easier to make the holes in the pot wall,
IMHO.
Martin Howard on thu 28 sep 00
like the tea too strong, it's an attractive idea--though a tea ball is
easier. >
What's a tea ball? Not heard of it here in UK.
The Poles have another much easier idea for making a weak tea. Because the
new tea bags were so dear, compared with loose tea, they took them out very
quickly and hung them on the washing line to dry for tomorrow's cuppa.
By the end of the week the bag can be left in the cup.
Come to think of it (lateral thinking and all that jazz) why not colour
glazes in that way. Just take the bag out when the glaze produces the right
depth of colour. That method might mean that we do not have to search for
the protective gear, dust it down, insert a new diaphragm etc. each time we
add colorant to the basic glaze.
Martin Howard
Webb's Cottage Pottery
Woolpits Road, Great Saling
BRAINTREE, Essex CM7 5DZ
England
martin@webbscottage.co.uk
Khaimraj Seepersad on thu 28 sep 00
Uggh , what are you drinking !
[ chuckle ]
The stuff sold to the Europeans is usually , old leaves of
the tea tree , full of tannin , caffeine and other goodies .
Buy some good green tea , and use lower than boiling
water , you will know when the taste /flavour is out and the
tannin is flowing . [ chuckle ]
Here's to Lipton's , Red Rose and F.and M's crate
sweepings - Yummy !!
Out with glazed teapots , in with unglazed brewers .
A message from your local tannin society [ L.T.S ]
[ to preserve and to over -stimulate ]
-----Original Message-----
From: Martin Howard
To: CLAYART@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG
Date: 28 September 2000 5:55
Subject: Re: teapots loose tea leaves
>>like the tea too strong, it's an attractive idea--though a tea ball is
>easier. >
>
>What's a tea ball? Not heard of it here in UK.
>The Poles have another much easier idea for making a weak tea. Because the
>new tea bags were so dear, compared with loose tea, they took them out very
>quickly and hung them on the washing line to dry for tomorrow's cuppa.
>By the end of the week the bag can be left in the cup.
>
>Come to think of it (lateral thinking and all that jazz) why not colour
>glazes in that way. Just take the bag out when the glaze produces the right
>depth of colour. That method might mean that we do not have to search for
>the protective gear, dust it down, insert a new diaphragm etc. each time we
>add colorant to the basic glaze.
>
>Martin Howard
>Webb's Cottage Pottery
>Woolpits Road, Great Saling
>BRAINTREE, Essex CM7 5DZ
>England
>martin@webbscottage.co.uk
Cindy Strnad on thu 28 sep 00
Hi, Martin,
I'm not sure how your glaze tea idea would work , but a tea ball is a
kind of round screen basket which can be filled with whole tea leaves and
immersed in the tea pot. Cup-sized versions are also available, which have a
handle like a spoon.
Cindy Strnad
Earthen Vessels Pottery
RR 1, Box 51
Custer, SD 57730
USA
earthenv@gwtc.net
www.earthenvesselssd.com
Martin Howard on thu 28 sep 00
Janet posted:-
wall of the pot cut to that shape... So you have
a teapot with an "open" spout.
Now imagine a sphere cut in half with holes in
it. Attach over the spout (on the inside of the
pot) and you have an excellent inverted ceramic
"sieve".>
I may being dense, but I cannot get this word picture. Do you, Janet, have a
photo of it on your web site or elsewhere?
Martin Howard struggling to once-fire two orders for Sunday morning at
Webb's Cottage Pottery
Woolpits Road, Great Saling
BRAINTREE, Essex CM7 5DZ
England
martin@webbscottage.co.uk
DEBBYGrant@AOL.COM on thu 28 sep 00
I can't quite picture Janet's description of the half sphere tea strainer
either.
I have always made my tea pots with little holes before attaching the spout
and they pour just fine. I also can't imagine using anything but loose tea
in a tea pot, and the only types of tea strainers I have ever seen are metal
ones with a chain attached which are basically permanent tea bags or the
kind with a handle that you place over the tea cup when you pour the tea.
I must say I have been enjoying the limmericks from you talented people.
I'd also like to add that I don't see the point in so many posts which
basically
say the same thing. It can get very tiring pushing the delete key. I don't
think it's up to Mel to delete all the unneccessary posts but I think some of
you clay arters should use some restraint in adding your 2 cents. I also
think that some of your posts are just bantering with each other and are
sometime incomprehensible to the rest of us and should be sent privately
and not on the list.
I've been holding back for quite a long time but just have to vent at this
point.
I want Tony to know that I have not taken offense to his rug rant and even
agree with him when it comes to men. My husband has been quite bald
since he was a young man and it has not phased us at all. However, I
have just been fitted for a wig because I have recently lost so much
hair due to medication (not chemo). "Vanity, thy name is Woman". I
really enjoy the comments I get which mainly add up to "great haircut", and
I defy you to tell the difference.
Now I"ve gone and cluttered up the list. Sorry!
Debby Grant in NH
Janet Kaiser on thu 28 sep 00
Martin
Shame on you! When was the last time you were in
an old-fashioned hardware store or an up-market
catering shop?
Tea balls (unfortunate tag, eh??) are those
little metal or chrome egg shapes with holes in.
They sometimes have a little chain so you can
hang them into the pot and take it out after the
"brewing" time is up.
I suspect they are not called tea balls in the
UK. Would cause too much hilarity in this our
serious tea drinking culture. :-)
One reason why I prefer the idea of continental
tea bags (presentation not content) is they have
a long thread with a label at the end. They can
be used in two ways:
1. The tea bag goes in the pot. You hold onto
the label, put on the tea bag into the pot, pour
in the water and put on the lid. You then stick
the label in the spout or wrap it around the
handle. Once you have reached the strength tea
you want, you just unhook the label and lift the
bag/s out by the string.
2. The label/string is wrapped around the handle
of a mug. You pour in the water and then when
you are ready you lift the bag out by the
string, put in on a teaspoon and wrap the string
around the spoon and bag. This squeezes out the
tea and you don't drip across the kitchen to the
bin.
Making and designing tea pots in Europe is
(should be) influenced by the length of the
strings on teabags! Just another "specification"
for a good functional tea pot! :-)
Janet Kaiser
The Chapel of Art . Capel Celfyddyd
HOME OF THE INTERNATIONAL POTTERS' PATH
Criccieth LL52 0EA, GB-Wales Tel: (01766) 523570
E-mail: postbox@the-coa.org.uk
WEBSITE: http://www.the-coa.org.uk
----- Original Message -----
> What's a tea ball? Not heard of it here in UK.
Janet Kaiser on fri 29 sep 00
Sorry, but I cannot photograph inside a pot...
Have enough difficulty photographing the
outside!!
Just imagine a little round cage with holes over
the spout... A concave if you will. Does that
help?
Janet Kaiser
The Chapel of Art . Capel Celfyddyd
HOME OF THE INTERNATIONAL POTTERS' PATH
Criccieth LL52 0EA, GB-Wales Tel: (01766) 523570
E-mail: postbox@the-coa.org.uk
WEBSITE: http://www.the-coa.org.uk
----- Original Message -----
From: Martin Howard
To:
Sent: 28 September 2000 17:35
Subject: Re: teapots loose tea leaves
> Janet posted:-
> the
> wall of the pot cut to that shape... So you
have
> a teapot with an "open" spout.
>
> Now imagine a sphere cut in half with holes in
> it. Attach over the spout (on the inside of
the
> pot) and you have an excellent inverted
ceramic
> "sieve".>
>
> I may being dense, but I cannot get this word
picture. Do you, Janet, have a
> photo of it on your web site or elsewhere?
>
> Martin Howard struggling to once-fire two
orders for Sunday morning at
> Webb's Cottage Pottery
> Woolpits Road, Great Saling
> BRAINTREE, Essex CM7 5DZ
> England
> martin@webbscottage.co.uk
>
>
________________________________________________
______________________________
> Send postings to clayart@lsv.ceramics.org
>
> You may look at the archives for the list or
change your subscription
> settings from http://www.ceramics.org/clayart/
>
> Moderator of the list is Mel Jacobson who may
be reached at melpots@pclink.com.
>
Veena Raghavan on fri 29 sep 00
Message text written by Ceramic Arts Discussion List
>Making and designing tea pots in Europe is
(should be) influenced by the length of the
strings on teabags! Just another "specification"
for a good functional tea pot! :-)
<
Janet,
I just love it, a dissertation on teabags. Never thought to wrap
the string around the spout or the mug handle. One learns something new
every single day!
Of course, I have been told as a not-so-good Indian with a British
education I should know better than to use teabags at all. I guess the
Welsh escape that!
Another item for us potters, teabag holders, make good Christmas
sale items. Someone was asking sometime ago but items to sell for
Christmas. Much better than putting it in your saucer, which you don't
usually have with a mug anyway, and sort of solves people's problems of
what to do with the teabag.
Thanks, Janet, loved your post.
Veena
Veena Raghavan
75124.2520@compuserve.com
Cindy Strnad on fri 29 sep 00
I haven't seen Janet's teapot strainer, but having read her description, I
think I understand what she's talking about. She'll correct me if I'm wrong,
I trust.
I believe she's suggesting making the strainer as a separate, rounded piece,
piercing it appropriately, and attaching it over the inside spout hole. Am I
right, Janet?
Cindy Strnad
Earthen Vessels Pottery
RR 1, Box 51
Custer, SD 57730
USA
earthenv@gwtc.net
www.earthenvesselssd.com
Martin Howard on fri 29 sep 00
Thanks Cindy. We are used to the cup sized strainers with handles but I have
not seen the tea ball version over here.
The problem with the handle versions was that they never really closed well,
so it was a bit hit and miss as to whether the tea leaves stayed in the
strainer.
But I can see that a tea ball just a bit larger than the outlet between the
body of the pot and the spout, so that it lodged in front of but did not go
up the spout might be a great advantage. The water would always flow through
the tea leaves as it left the pot.
Talking myself into doing away with those strainer holes, when I have a
supply of your tea balls and can sell one with each tea pot.
Martin Howard
Webb's Cottage Pottery
Woolpits Road, Great Saling
BRAINTREE, Essex CM7 5DZ
England
martin@webbscottage.co.uk
Martin Howard on fri 29 sep 00
Janet writes:-
Shame on you! When was the last time you were in
an old-fashioned hardware store or an up-market
catering shop?
Well, I quite often take my wife out to tea, but never seen one of these
silvery balls on chains with lots of holes.
It must be something special to Wales, perhaps in memory of the large iron
balls they so often had to wear on their legs when in English prisons.:-)
Martin Howard
Webb's Cottage Pottery
Woolpits Road, Great Saling
BRAINTREE, Essex CM7 5DZ
England
martin@webbscottage.co.uk
Richard Jeffery on fri 29 sep 00
sorry to disenchant you, Martin, but they do exist in England, although hard
to find. When I last worked in an office (hooray!) I bought one so that I
could make leaf tea in place of the 'orrible stuff in the tea room (notice
how it gets into the language?). I did stick black Chinese tea in it,
broken off a small brick - just to make it easier for my colleagues to talk
about it. If they really annoyed me I used to take fresh warm croissants
in, and make a small plunger pot of coffee. Smell would go around the
building in about 4 minutes.
Glad to see me go, really....
-----Original Message-----
From: Ceramic Arts Discussion List [mailto:CLAYART@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG]On
Behalf Of Martin Howard
Sent: 29 September 2000 14:12
To: CLAYART@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG
Subject: Re: teapots loose tea leaves
Janet writes:-
Shame on you! When was the last time you were in
an old-fashioned hardware store or an up-market
catering shop?
Well, I quite often take my wife out to tea, but never seen one of these
silvery balls on chains with lots of holes.
It must be something special to Wales, perhaps in memory of the large iron
balls they so often had to wear on their legs when in English prisons.:-)
Martin Howard
Webb's Cottage Pottery
Woolpits Road, Great Saling
BRAINTREE, Essex CM7 5DZ
England
martin@webbscottage.co.uk
____________________________________________________________________________
__
Send postings to clayart@lsv.ceramics.org
You may look at the archives for the list or change your subscription
settings from http://www.ceramics.org/clayart/
Moderator of the list is Mel Jacobson who may be reached at
melpots@pclink.com.
Veena Raghavan on sat 30 sep 00
Message text written by Ceramic Arts Discussion List
>Just imagine a little round cage with holes over
the spout... A concave if you will. Does that
help?
<
I believe that a method to do this was described in an issue of Conact
Magazine. It was suggested that you mark out the area for the strainer,
make the holes in the oval disk you have cut out, clean the holes on both
sides (one of the advantages of having removed the strainer), then reverse
it and attach to the hole for the spout. You then have an concave (on the
outside) strainer, over this you attach the spout as usual. Hope this
helps. I have tried it, and it works.
All the best.
Veena
Veena Raghavan
75124.2520@compuserve.com
Millie Carpenter on sat 30 sep 00
one of my favorite tea balls is a stainless 12 sided tea pot, the metal chain
comes out of the lid. I got it ad a yard sale years ago because my husband said
that he remembered his grandmother had one that he thinks may have been silver.
Another one is a teaspoon with a hinged lid. anyone else have different shaped
tea balls?
Millie in MD
John Baymore on sat 30 sep 00
I learned this particular strainer trick many years ago......... I think =
I
first saw it in Herbert Sander's book "The World of Japenese Pottery",
published back in the early to mid-seventies....... but I may be wrong. =
I've used it and it works great..... but it does take a little time to do=
.. =
It is a very common solution to the "strainer problem" in Japanese
"production" teapots...saw it in many pots when I was there. =
Another variation on this technique is to indent the pot wall into a
semi-spherical indent... you can see this one done with a preshaped tool =
in
the "Japanese Teapots" book that I just gave the ISBN for in another post=
in the last couple of days. This "indent" approach is the technique tha=
t
I tend to use most of the time right now, except that I use my fingers to=
form the indent, not a tool.
I'll try to explain making the semispherical strainer that Janet mentione=
d.
Take a ping pong ball or something somewhat similar of appropriate size a=
nd
make a little press mold of a little less than half of it, adding a littl=
e
beveled flange or overhang on the edges along the end point of the almost=
half sphere. You now can quickly press mold a small almost half sphere
with a little "projection" around the circumfrnce. Do so. Let it get
leather hard. Use your hole making tool, and turn this into a tea
strainer. The beauty of this approach is that because you have full acce=
ss
to both sides of the piece, you can make very fine and well finished hole=
s
that don't tend to clog when glazing (or when using). =
This makes a really nice tea strainer. It is easy to wax the bulging
interior without getting a drip down the wall, the large surface area mak=
es
it pour well without clogging, and the overhang angle of the bulging
strainer lets the tea leaves fall back into the liquid in the bottom of t=
he
pot instead of remaining stuck to the strainer..... affecting pouring, an=
d
the holes on the inside face are not hard to finsih off smoothly when
making it.
Now.... take the teapot body, and cut a round open hole into which the
press molded half sphere you have already made just fits, so that the bev=
el
or flange just stops it from pushing through from the outside to the
inside. Snug fit. The little flange you added acts as a "stop" and an
attachment device. Wet/score the edge of the hole and the flange on the
strainer. Press the half sphere tea strainer into the hole in the body,
and smear the flange into the body to secure it. =
Place the spout over this strainer, and attach as normal. =
Bingo.
The main constraint of this type of "added" strainer is that the press
molded form sort of requires a specific spout diameter. If you don't do
pretty tight uniform production....you'll have to have a variety of tea
strainer press molds to meet your needs. Not really a problem....they ar=
e
easy to make.
Hope this description helps with this discussion. It is hard sometimes t=
o
work without a visual.... (or your hands ).
BEst,
................john
John Baymore
River Bend Pottery
22 Riverbend Way
Wilton, NH 03086 USA
603-654-2752 (s)
800-900-1110 (s)
JBaymore@compuserve.com
John.Baymore@GSD-CO.com
"Earth, Water, and Fire Noborigama Woodfiring Workshop August 18-27,
2000"
Janet Kaiser on sat 30 sep 00
Yes, Cindy, that's right. Following several
enquiries, I will try to take a photo tomorrow
if the lighting conditions improve... Or I could
draw one! Silly me. Will get to work...
In the meantime: The sieve looks like half a
hard boiled egg with holes in it on the inside
of the pot... You just attach a small holey half
sphere (with slip) over the spout on the inside
of the pot. It is an awful fiddle, but the best
sort of sieve or strainer IMHO.
Stainless steel tea strainers with silly little
holders replaced the humble tea strainer over
here too, just before tea bags took over the
mass market. And whatever Messieurs. Typhoo,
Brook Bond, Twinning & Co. say... Teabags are
full of shop-floor sweepings! Convenient, yes.
The best flavour tea? Never!
Anything used for infusing tea is not (usually)
English in origin. Those chrome tea balls are
made in China.
In Germany, they have little material sacks on
plastic-covered wire circles. You put the loose
tea into the sack and hook the wire over the
side of the teapot. Like a giant tea bag. All
very well in theory, but you end up with lots of
little sacks hanging up to dry, because you
cannot empty out wet tea leaves.
And that is, I promise, the last part of my talk
on tea bags (-:
Janet Kaiser - feeling sorry for Mel with no
loose tea... Only the caged variety! Time to
visit the UK to stock up Mel!
The Chapel of Art . Capel Celfyddyd
HOME OF THE INTERNATIONAL POTTERS' PATH
Criccieth LL52 0EA, GB-Wales Tel: (01766) 523570
E-mail: postbox@the-coa.org.uk
WEBSITE: http://www.the-coa.org.uk
----- Original Message -----
> I believe she's suggesting making the strainer
as a separate, rounded piece,
> piercing it appropriately, and attaching it
over the inside spout hole. Am I
> right, Janet?
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