Tea boat
A shallow dish that sits under a teapot or gaiwan to catch the water poured over and around it during a gongfu session. Rinsing water, the discarded first infusion and the water used to warm the vessels all end up here rather than on the table.
Identity
- Category
- Accessory
- Native name
- 茶船
- Romanised
- cha chuan
- Also called
- cha chuan, pot stand
- Material
- Porcelain, clay, bamboo or stone
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.
Where it comes from
Chinese, and integral to gongfu practice rather than optional decoration.
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
A deep plate or a small tray with a lip does the same job. What matters is a rim, since the volume of water involved surprises people the first time.
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.
- Gongfu brewing (Yixing pot) — The same short-steep, high-leaf approach as gaiwan gongfu, carried out in a small unglazed clay pot that seasons over time and is dedicated to one tea.
Care and maintenance
Empty it during the session rather than after. A full boat overflows at the least convenient moment.
Other accessorys
- Alcohol burner
- Cha dao utensil set
- Cha he (tea presentation vessel)
- Charcoal brazier (fenglu)
- Cup stand (chatuo)
- Electric ceramic tea stove
- Futaoki (lid and ladle rest)
- Hishaku (bamboo water ladle)
- Induction plate
- Kensui (waste water vessel)
- Kusenaoshi (whisk stand)
- Mortar and pestle
- Podstakannik (glass holder)
- Ro and furo (hearth and brazier)
- Ryoro (senchado charcoal stove)
- Stone tea mill
- Tea cloth
- Tea cosy
- Tea mat (chaxi cloth)
- Tea pet
- Tea pick (cha dao)
- Tea tongs
- Tea tray (cha pan)
- Teapot warmer
- Waste water bowl (jianshui)
- Water cooling bowl (sukwoo)
- Water filter jug
- Yuzamashi (water cooler)
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.
Written comparisons
Where TeaHQ has set this piece of teaware against something it is routinely confused with, and argued the differences out in full.
- Tea boat vs tea tray — Gongfu brewing produces a surprising volume of waste water — rinses, cup warming, the discarded first infusion — and two different objects exist to deal with it. They are frequently bought as a pair by people who only needed one.
- Waste water bowl vs tea boat — Two solutions to the water a gongfu session generates — rinsing, warming, discarded first infusions — and the choice is a choice about the table. The bowl sits beside the pot and takes everything; the boat sits under it and catches what runs off.