Celadon tea ware
Ware finished with a thick translucent glaze coloured pale green to blue-grey by iron fired in a reducing atmosphere. For tea the relevant property is optical rather than chemical: a pale cool interior shows liquor colour clearly, which is why celadon cups and pitchers are used where colour is part of the judgement.
Identity
- Category
- Drinking vessel
- Native name
- 青瓷 / 청자
- Romanised
- qingci, cheongja, seiji
- Also called
- green ware, Longquan celadon, Goryeo celadon
- Material
- Porcelain or stoneware under a thick iron-bearing glaze fired in reduction
- Typical capacity
- 30–200 ml
- Skill level
- Beginner
Porosity
Not porous. It contributes nothing of its own to the liquor, so it can be moved between teas freely and washed with detergent without consequence.
The glaze is a sealed glassy layer and the vessel is inert. Some celadon is deliberately crazed, and a crazed glaze is a network of fine cracks that liquid can enter — those pieces stain along the cracks over time. That staining is the glaze doing what it was designed to do, not damage.
Where it comes from
Two distinct traditions that should not be collapsed into one: Chinese celadon, with Longquan in Zhejiang as the best-known centre, and Korean Goryeo celadon, whose inlaid decoration is a separate technical achievement. Japanese seiji follows from the Chinese line. TeaHQ names them separately because they are separate.
Named here rather than presented as generic equipment. The object belongs to a practice, and TeaHQ describes it from the outside.
If you do not own one
Any white or pale-interior porcelain shows liquor colour as well or better. Celadon is chosen for how it looks, and the frequent claim that the glaze softens a tea is not something TeaHQ can source.
This one is not marked essential. The tea can be made without it.
Brewing methods it is used for
- Gongfu brewing (gaiwan) — A high-leaf, low-volume, many-infusions approach: a great deal of leaf in a small vessel, steeped for seconds at a time and poured off completely, repeatedly.
- Korean green tea brewing — A low-temperature approach to Korean green tea in which the water is cooled through a separate open vessel before it ever meets the leaf, and the pot is emptied entirely into the cups each time. Darye names the etiquette; the brewing approach below is shared by everyday practice outside any formal setting.
Tea types it suits
Care and maintenance
Uncrazed celadon takes detergent without consequence. Crazed pieces should be rinsed rather than soaked, and should not be left standing full — the cracks draw liquid in and hold it.
Other drinking vessels
Sources
This page is TeaHQ synthesis. No external source stands behind the description, the material or the account of how the object is cared for. Where the record names a tradition, that attribution is TeaHQ’s own reading of common practice rather than a citation.
TeaHQ names no maker, brand or shop and has nothing to sell. Nothing on this page should be read as advice to buy the object — the substitute note above exists because owning it is usually optional.