What is a Tea Pet?

In the Gong-Fu tea ceremony, there’s often a small figurine on the side of the tray, made from leftover clay, to keep the drinker company so they never drink alone. This is called a Tea Pet! Think of them as your little tea drinking companions.

The first pour, known as a wash, is directed onto this adorable tiny figure, instead of being poured out elsewhere like on your tea tray or the sink. Additionally, pouring your offerings onto this tea companion adds an element of enjoyment to the Gong Fu ritual.

Tea Pets originated back in Yixing during the Yuan dynasty (1206-1368), where Yixing clay was first introduced. The Yixing clay teapot began to become very popular, causing Yixing clay to become a major production center for tea pots, mugs, and more. They then began to mold this clay into various creatures and/or animals for tea enthusiasts! Unfortunately, not much was ever written on the history or development of tea pets in Chinese history, so that's about as much as we know about their origins.

There are many reasons people own tea pets. Two of the biggest reasons are:

Gong-Fu Tea Ceremony

Gong-Fu Cha is a globally popular style of brewing tea originally from China and Taiwan. In this Gong Fu style of tea making, you do some prep work before actually drinking the tea. First, you pour hot water over your vessels and cups to warm them up, theoretically helping with taste. You can pour that water out over your pet. After that, you add hot water to your leaves, but don't drink this first steep. This is just to open up the leaves. It can even be considered bad luck to waste tea, so feed it to your tea pet instead! Same goes for any extra tea you don't want to finish.

A Tea Drinking Companion

You don't have to partake in a tea ceremony in order to own a tea pet. You can simply have one just because! They make a great tea drinking companion so that you always have someone to share your teatime with. They can even just sit with you for the pure purpose of making you smile, whether that's at home, at your desk at work, or even to bring with you during your travels.

There are various types of tea pets that come in many different shapes and sizes. These can range from animals and mystical creatures such as Chinese Dragon, Tiger, Cat, Pig, Elephant to even peeing children! 

Tea pets can be purchased at a few different local tea shops, as well as online through retailers like Etsy. If you're looking for a one-of-a-kind tea pet that represents you and are local to the Capital Region, consider making your very own at our upcoming Clay & Sip Tea Pet Making Workshop where you'll get to shape and glaze your very own tea pet!