Handmade Stoneware Tea Cup

$19.99 USD

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Color Khaki

Pack Size Single Pack of 2 Pack of 4

Hand thrown, so no two are identical

Coarse stoneware holds heat to the last sip

Unglazed foot grips a wet tray

Hand-thrown, which means the wall thickness varies slightly and the glaze breaks differently on every cup. A flambe glaze pools where the form turns and thins where it rises, so the colour is not painted on so much as it happened. Buy four and you get four related objects rather than four copies. It is the opposite of a matched set, deliberately.

The body is coarse stoneware, heavier in the hand than porcelain and slower to give up heat, which suits tea drunk in small amounts over a long sitting. It also holds heat long enough that the last mouthful is still worth drinking. The size is gongfu rather than mug: enough for a few mouthfuls at the right temperature, refilled from a pot, rather than a large cup that is too hot at the start and cold by the end.

The retro khaki reads warm against wood and against darker ceramic, and the unglazed foot gives it grip on a tray. Buy a single to try, a pair, or a set of four for a table. Hand wash rather than putting it through a dishwasher, where the glaze surface will dull over time. Expect variation between pieces; that is what you are buying.

Material: coarse stoneware
Finish: flambe glaze, varies piece to piece
Colour: retro khaki
Sizes: single, pack of 2, pack of 4
Sized for gongfu-style tea
Hand-thrown, no two identical
Care: hand wash only

In stock

Dimensions

Gongfu size, a few mouthfuls rather than a mugful. Sold as a single, a pack of 2 or a pack of 4. Material: coarse stoneware with a flambe glaze in retro khaki. Hand thrown, so no two are identical. Care: hand wash only.

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Hand thrown stoneware tea cups showing glaze variation

No Two Come Out The Same

The flambe glaze pools where the form turns and thins where it rises, so the colour happened rather than being painted on. Buy four and you get four related objects instead of four copies.

Stoneware tea cup held in both hands keeping its heat

Stoneware Holds The Heat

The body is coarse stoneware, heavier in the hand than porcelain and slower to give up warmth. The last mouthful is still worth drinking, which is the whole point of a cup you sit with.

Small gongfu sized stoneware cups on a tea tray

Sized For The Long Sitting

This is gongfu size rather than mug size: a few mouthfuls at the right temperature, refilled from the pot. A large cup is too hot at the start and cold by the end, which is the problem this solves.

Frequently Asked Questions

Will the cups match if I buy several?

They will relate rather than match, and that is deliberate. Each one is thrown by hand, so the wall thickness varies slightly and the glaze breaks differently. A set of four reads as a family, which is a warmer thing on a table than four identical copies.

How big is it?

Gongfu size, so a few mouthfuls rather than a mugful. That is the point: tea stays at the right temperature the whole time because you refill from the pot instead of nursing a large cup that goes cold.

Is it only for tea?

It suits anything you drink slowly in small amounts. Espresso and small pours of coffee work well, and the heat retention of coarse stoneware is a real advantage there too. It is simply sized for sipping rather than gulping.

Will the khaki work with what is already on my table?

The retro khaki reads warm against wood and against darker ceramic, which is where most tea gets served. It sits alongside the rest of the ZELVIVO stoneware without demanding to be the centre of the table.

Can it go in the dishwasher?

Hand wash it. A dishwasher will dull the glaze surface over time, and the depth of a flambe glaze is the reason to own the cup. Warm water and a cloth is the whole routine.