Guide to tea accessories

Tea accessories were not designed as ornaments. They emerged wherever the gesture required support - water to be poured, a leaf to be held, heat to be preserved. The Yixing clay teapot, documented as early as the 15th century, arose with the practice of gong fu cha. In Japan, the matcha bowl - chawan - and the bamboo whisk - chasen - are shaped within the tea ceremony itself, where practice gives rise to form. This lineage, still alive today, distinguishes the tea accessory from the decorative object: it is first and foremost a precision tool.

The main centres of production remain China and Japan. In China, Yixing for zisha teapots, Jingdezhen for porcelain, Dehua for blanc de Chine. In Japan, Tokoname and Banko for teapots, Kyōto and Mino for bowls and cups, Takayama and Beppu for bamboo. New workshops are emerging, in Europe as in Southeast Asia, centred on a contemporary interpretation of these traditions. Hollin favours workshops where production remains on a human scale and each piece retains the irregularities of handcraftsmanship.

A well-chosen accessory changes how tea is perceived without diverting attention. A thin-walled teapot preserves the delicacy of a green tea; unglazed stoneware develops a patina over successive infusions and, with time, conveys part of the memory of the teas that have passed through it. A cup adjusts the distance between hand and lip, the thickness of a rim, the depth of the liquor observed. A tray organises the gesture without constraining it. The right object is one that recedes from notice in use, and is found again, intact, at the end of the moment.

A few guidelines for caring for pieces over time. Unglazed clay teapots: rinse with hot water, never use soap. Porcelain and glazed stoneware: wash gently by hand, leave to air-dry. Bamboo (chasen, chashaku): rinse with lukewarm water, leave to air-dry, store the chasen on its holder to preserve the shape of the tines. Wooden trays: wipe with a damp cloth, without immersing. Regular use is, more often than not, the best form of care. Pieces that are used keep better than those that lie dormant.