HobbesOxon wrote:
> Human fallibility is a wonderful thing.
>
> I noticed a small chip in the underside of my favourite Yixing zisha
> hu, and smiled to myself for exactly this reason: it was no longer
> perfect, it was fallible, and that frailty had come about through being
> used and loved in the pursuit of its daily function.

I don't believe that the vast majority of these trendy new tea drinkers
understands much of anything, which is to be expected... but with tea
will not get them far and this will die out quickly. Coffee is quick
and gives a quick hit of caffeine, tea is none of that. I can;t tell
you how many people constantly inquire about my tea setup at work and
then proudly show me their "amazing" tea that I just have to try... and
it is a round republic of tea teabag or the mesh pyramid teabags from
Starbucks. To them, this is the pinnacle of tea... and they think it is
that I do not know about these teas and am missing out with "all the
work" I go through with my loose tea. While I kind of appreciate the
effort on their part, it just becomes frustrating.

As far as the Yixing, I proudly still use one of my teapots that has
had the bamboo shaped handle on the lid broken off. It gives it
character. I had the pleasure of seeing a womans Yixing teapot that was
handed down for hundreds of years in her family, and it actually seemed
alive. You could see and smell and feel the history and the travels and
the tea. It was battered and worn glass-smooth in other areas.

I would have no problem if folks just took a minute to attempt to
understand some history and insight as to what they are getting into.
As with anything though they will market the ultra-expensive junk to
gullible trendsetters, rake in the money and wait for the next big
thing. I grow and sometimes sell Bonsai trees and people are shocked
and astonished that I will refuse to sell them to them... if the person
has no clue or respect beyond buying the most expensive one to put on
their desk at work, I won't budge for all the money in the world. I
give them a list of books to read and get back to me in a year if they
are still interested. Surprisingly no one does.

- Dominic