Cha He
A shallow open dish, often shaped like a leaf or a boat, that holds the dry leaf before it goes into the pot. It is the piece of teaware most often dismissed as decorative, and it does three practical things.
- Capacity
- one session of leaf
- Material
- porcelain, bamboo or wood
- Origin
- China
- Best for
- seeing and smelling the leaf before it is committed
What it is
Porcelain usually, sometimes bamboo or wood, with a narrowed end you pour the leaf out of. Small: it holds one session's worth.
What it does to your tea
It lets you look at and smell the leaf before committing it. Dry leaf tells you a lot, and warming the cha he in your hands releases the dry aroma, which is the first honest signal you get about a tea. It also lets you measure away from the brewing area, so steam never reaches the bag or caddy, and dried leaf takes up moisture readily enough that this matters over a year of daily use.
What it suits
Any session where the tea is worth looking at, which is most gongfu brewing, and any occasion with a guest, since passing the cha he round is how everyone sees and smells the leaf before it disappears into the pot.
How to use one
Tip the leaf in from the caddy, cup it in your hands for a moment to warm it, smell it, then pour it into the warmed vessel through the narrow end. Warming the brewing vessel first and adding leaf to the hot dry vessel gives a stronger dry aroma still.
How to choose one
A shape that actually pours. Some are beautiful and have no narrowed end, which turns decanting the leaf into a small argument. Pale interiors show the leaf better than dark ones.
Care and cleaning
Wipe it dry. It only ever holds dry leaf, so it needs nothing more, and it should never be put away damp.
What people get wrong
Skipping it and pouring straight from the packet into the pot. That is fine, but it costs you the one look at the dry leaf you get, and it steams the inside of the packet.
What it is made of
