Posted by: Wendy
While at home over the Christmas holidays, I visited some of our teaware production sites. The majority of the teaware we sell is designed with our input and produced specifically for JING.Taking the elements of traditional teaware design which contribute to great tasting tea, each piece is designed to make tea-making as simple and enjoyable as possible. They're also tested to make sure that they are robust enough to withstand extended daily use.Our glass teaware is all made using borosilicate glass, renowned for its superior durability, chemical and heat resistance. It's also remarkably clear and doesn't have the green/creamy coloured tint around the rim often found in lower quality glassware.In our factory, all our glass teaware is heated over a flame to test the heat durability of the glass as shown below. The bases of all our glass teaware pieces is also made to the perfect thickness (3-4mm) for maintaining heat and durability.
At the porcelain production site, I saw our Blue Pearl Gaiwan and Crackle Glaze tasting cups being produced. From modelling to the final baking and cooling, each piece takes approximately five days to produce. The crackle glaze cups are first baked at 900°C for a few hours after which the glaze is applied as shown in the photo, before being baked in the kiln for the second time for sixteen hours at around 1200°C.
The final stage before packing is to cool down the teaware. The baked pieces are then passed through a long conveyor belt which gradually cools them down from 1000°C to around 80°C.
The resulting teaware looks beautiful and is a delight to use.
I also went to the Tea Research Institute to see a permanent exhibition on the history of tea production in Taiwan. The most fascinating exhibit was the tea rolling machine shown below; it was imported by the Japanese and was the first tea rolling machine used in Taiwan in the early 20th century.
The trip really opened my eyes to the great care and skill that goes into producing our teawares and to the rich and noble history of tea and teaware production in Taiwan. Of course, I also got to taste a lot of samples of fantastic high mountain oolong teas such as Ali Shan and Li Shan!
