The Tiniest Drinking Buddy
Today we continue our foray into the experience of gongfu cha and meet the one component that does have meowgical attributes even in its culture of provenance. I'm talking about the tea mascot, or tea pet.
Tea pets are small figurines made of unglazed purple clay, just like other traditional teawares. They are supposed to be doused with the water of the first infusion as a lucky gesture and so, over time, they too absorb the scent of tea and change their colour, in a process known as "growing" or "raising" the tea pet. It is not known when they first arose, but is likely that the Yixin artisan just wanted to put the leftover clay scraps to good use.
The rinsing of the pet is where the meowgic happens, and of course pets can be modeled after various creatures to attract different bounties. Choosing a tea mascot is then a rather serious matter, as it shows the aspirations and values of the owner. You can follow tradition and pick just one pet, but it is allowed to have several and choose every time what you want to attract. Whatever option you go for, however, I would advise to be mindful of the culture those figurine come from. That means, be sure you know the meaning and context of the figure, and maybe don't pick a zodiac animal if your knowledge of the Chinese zodiac is limited to magazine "horoscopes". Even if this is not a closed cultural practice, it is never good to meddle with things you only have a superficial, whitewashed understanding of.
The placement of the tea pet on the table is dictated by feng shui and depends on the specific figurine, however the one rule that you must always follow is that the pet should never face away from the area where the brewing is taking place. After all, they are meant to be a participant, right?
Mythological creatures
Probably the most common type of tea mascot is the one that represent a mythological creature. Dragons are very popular, since they represent strength, power and nobility in addition to good fortune. According to feng shui, this pet should sit on the east side of the table.
Pi Xiu is a winged lion that eats jewels but has no anus to poop them out, therefore it represent the slow and constant accumulation of wealth. Like all tea pets that concern money, it should always face towards the inside of the house.
The Qilin looks like a mixture between a dragon and a hooved creature such as a deer, horse or goat, and is analogous to the better-known Japanese Kirin. It is associated mainly with protection and good omens, but also wisdom, since it was said to live for 2000 years. Place this pet so that it faces the door or a window (but not away from the tea tray!).
Jin Chan, the "golden toad", is the three-legged toad that you can see in the picture from my previous posts. Of course, given that it carries a string of coins on its back and a coin in its mouth, what else could this pet bring you but money? If the toad has a coin in its mouth, place it facing you, so that it can "give" the money to you; if it doesn't, place it besides you, facing in your same direction, so it will attract money to where you are. Whatever the case, though, never place it facing towards the door, or it is said that the money will run out of the household, instead of in!
Zodiac Animals
Another popular choice for a tea mascot is one that depicts your zodiac animal. While the western zodiac signs cover a period of about a month and cycle over the year, Chinese zodiac signs cover a full year and thus repeat over a much longer period. If you are familiar with your zodiac animal and recognise yourself in it, this can be a good choice for you.
Pee-pee Boy
This one is very popular, for some reasons that completely escape me. It is shaped like a peeing kid and is submerged in cold water before the tea brewing. Then, when it is doused with the hot water of the first rinse, the cold water it had absorbed previously comes out... from its willy. Allegedly, the length of the squirt is an indicator of the temperature of the tea water, so I guess it has its purpose. However, since tea is also warm and yellow, I think I'll pass.
Other Animals and Shapes
There are many, many shapes for tea mascots, so here I will only highlight a few of the most common ones.
The second pet in my pictures is the shy cat, which is said to bring vitality and good feelings. Toads and frogs have the same meaning and rules of the Jin Chan, while elephants represent patience, strength and commitment to family. A tiger will give you courage and willpower if it sits on the corner facing you, and protect you if it faces the door. A turtle brings longevity, tranquility and the balancing of Yin and Yang; a turtle riding on top of another is a blessing for the future generations. The turtle should always sit facing you unless your grandparents are participating, in which case it should face them. A piggy is a symbol of wealth, good luck and contentment, plus its round shape makes it absolutely adorable. Gourds and cabbages represent abundance.
Finally, it is not uncommon for tea mascots to come in the shape of a deity or legendary figure, such as Buddha and Guanyin. I guess the cat's out of the bag when it comes to Buddha, which has been commodified to the Moon and back, but I still think you should best avoid those unless you are a Buddhist yourself, or at least knowledgeable on the subject.
Both my tea pets have been gifts from people very close to me, which makes them even more special. As a witch, I consider them as familiars, with the one specific task of bringing me their gift. Also like familiars, they are supposed to be taken care of: you should always have one partaking in your gongfu cha, and keep all of them clean of dust and leaf residues, and sitting in a comfy spot when they are not in use. You can even talk to them, if you don't mind being a bit weird. In fact, you should not be afraid of looking weird: we take ourselves too seriously all the time, a little bit of play can only be good for us.
Next time, we'll go over the many types of teas you can taste and then finally, finally, I'll explain you how to do the damn thing. Have a good one!