Like tea, like tea

As a long-time tea enthusiast, Mr. Bui Huy Thong (36A Ton That Tung, Pleiku City) owns dozens of different teapot designs, from Tuyen Lo, Ho Lang, Tieu Anh, Song Tuyen Truc Co to Tho Dao, Bao Xuan Mai, Thuy Binh... Most of them are handmade purple clay teapots, worth tens to tens of millions of dong.

The beauty of the shape and the sophistication in the craftsmanship make the teapots an indispensable part of every tea session. “Each teapot is suitable for a type of tea. Over time, the teapot will retain the scent of the tea that is usually brewed, no matter how clean it is, the scent will still linger in the teapot,” Mr. Thong shared.

A suitable teapot will keep the “soul of tea” intact. For that reason, Mr. Thong is willing to spend tens of millions of VND to own a teapot. The most expensive teapot he has ever owned is a Ho Lang-shaped teapot, also known as Tu Phuong Kieu Dinh, which costs more than 20 million VND. On the lid of the teapot is a picture of a bridge.

The Tuyen Lo teapot has the strangest color in his collection and costs nearly 10 million VND. He cherishes this teapot and only uses it to brew Thai Nguyen green tea. The teapot turns a deep green color as if it has gathered the color of hundred-year-old green tea on the body of the teapot.

9Mr. Thong shared: The teapots he owns are just very ordinary types of purple clay teapots. But the value of a teapot does not depend on money but on time and commitment, on the process of nurturing the teapot of each person.

Each teapot is taken care of by him like a friend, only using clean water to wash the teapot and rinsing it with boiling water before brewing. After a long time of use, the teapot becomes shiny and smooth, which is also the process of "nourishing the teapot". Every time you touch the smooth, shiny body of the teapot, it is like touching a layer of time that has quietly permeated through many tea sessions with close friends.

“Each type of tea has its own pot” is also the unchangeable principle of Mr. Cao Thanh Dung (20 Nay Der, Pleiku City). Mr. Dung owns precious pots such as: Tieu Anh, Minh Lu, Song Tuyen Luc Truc, Nhu Y… Among them, the Nhu Y shaped pot with chicken fat yellow color costing nearly 30 million VND is his favorite, reserved only for brewing white tea. He said that each pot has its own tea is the way to preserve the pure flavor of the tea.

Mr. Dung is also very careful in the “tea care” stage: wash with clean water, then put in the dryer at the appropriate temperature. For him, the teapot is not only a tea-making tool but also a delicate work of art, with timeless beauty.

Although he is from the 9X generation, Mr. Dung is quite nostalgic. He also built an elegant tea room, facing a quiet garden with bonsai trees. At night, the laurel in the garden is filled with fragrance, permeating the tea-drinking space.

Inside the tea room, the most prominent feature is the driftwood statue of the tea god Lu Yu, a learned scholar of the Tang Dynasty, who was known as the “Tea Saint”. He wrote the “Tea Classic” – the first book about tea in human history. In it, he not only taught how to boil water and choose leaves, but also emphasized the tools and mindset. The drinker must be calm and have a peaceful mind to fully appreciate the flavor of tea.

For Mr. Dung, as well as many other tea lovers, they always carry that spirit in every tea session. There, the teapot is a silent friend connecting people with the quality of tea.

“Broken Rebirth”

The hobby of collecting teapots cannot avoid the times of “breaking”. Mr. Dung once bought a unique lotus-shaped teapot for nearly 20 million VND. The teapot has the exact shape of an upside-down old lotus, from color to shape, the lid of the teapot has the shape of a lotus stem. Relatives did not know that it was a clay teapot but thought it was a display item, so when they picked it up, they accidentally dropped and broke the lid.

It was also a limited edition teapot, with only a few copies on the market. Mr. Dung still kept the imperfect teapot and tried to find a way to recycle the broken lid. For those who play with clay teapots, such accidents are an inevitable part.

Mr. Thong also had two precious teapots broken. The Bao Xuan Mai teapot with a broken handle was sent to Ho Chi Minh City to be re-attached using the art of Kintsugi - a traditional Japanese ceramic repair technique. The light yellow patch did not detract from the aesthetics, but instead was like a "beautiful scar" that told the story of the precious teapot.

“Sometimes life breaks us into many pieces. But if we know how to regenerate, it will be even more beautiful,” Thong shared. The remaining broken teapot was a Lien Tu teapot, but he could not bear to throw it away and carefully put it in a cloth bag next to the intact teapots, because it was also a teapot he treasured very much.

Mr. Nguyen Quoc Tuan - Owner of Tam Viet Tra shop (45/7 Phan Dinh Giot, Pleiku city), one of the people with many years of experience selling tea utensils in the mountain town, has also witnessed many unfortunate "broken" stories. There was a customer who bought a teapot for 20 million VND, hid it from his wife and only told her the price was 500 thousand VND. His wife broke the faucet when washing it, he could only... swallow his anger and did not dare to tell the truth. For teapot collectors, sometimes the value is not in the money but also in the shape of the teapot that is very difficult to find again.

Mr. Tuan added: All tea lovers love teapots. The hobby of teapots is not only limited to the middle-aged class but has spread to the 9X generation, even Gen Z. Teapots are no longer old objects but have become a symbol of meticulousness in tea enjoyment and the spiritual depth of tea drinkers.

In an era where everything can be replaced by technology, people like Mr. Thong, Mr. Dung… still choose to cherish a crack, a broken teapot lid, a tea scent that lasts over time. Because they know that some things become more fragrant the longer they are used.

Source: https://baogialai.com.vn/giu-hon-tra-trong-tung-dang-am-post321224.html