Private tea symphony

A private tea moment is best enjoyed with soothing background music and thanks to the Drip with Song teacup design you can do both at once. The musical gadget features a CD player inside the saucer with built-in speakers, while the cup can be used to adjust the volume. Other controls are also placed on the saucer to ensure easy control of the player.

Although this idea is a bit outdated and CDs have been mostly replaced by audio files, it is nevertheless noteworthy. Who knows, a player like this, with a hard drive inside could be a handy element of a daily relaxation routine. The design is also universal and simple to use. If you think about it, a tea cub is a very simple piece of kitchenware, but the design ideas can be endless. Brought to you by designer Jongmin Kim.

The Yellow Submarine

Joining the lines of such quirky infusers as Sharky, we present the cute little yellow submarine – Tea Sub. Although it does bring down the sophisticated tea culture to lower levels of tackiness, one must admit that it is quite adorable. If you don’t like tacky gadgets, but you are a Beatles fan, you might want to bring this along to Octopus’s garden party anyway.

The yellow infuser is made of silicon and is dishwasher safe, designed by Ototo available at Monkey Business.

If you’re tough – Knuckle Duster Mug

The nature if tea is usually a peaceful one, but now there is a way of drinking tea for the violent and aggressive without loosing face – the Knuckle Duster MUG! from the London design studio Thabto is the answer.

This is the perfect way to enjoy your favorite hot drinks without loosing the tough appearance – ideal for mafia bosses, thugs, prisoners, professional fighters and many more. But seriously, apart from the skilled and pleasing design, these mugs carry a sense of humor and can attract a lot of interest. They are made of porcelain and the a knuckle duster handle is titanium plated. Available in three different colors – white, white/gold and black/silver. To not subtract from a man’s manliness they also come truly ‘man sized’, which doesn’t mean that a woman can’t have one (cause there are some very manly and dangerous women out there too).

The good things is, they are not overpriced. For £10.95 you can impress your coworkers, be original and ensure that nobody will mess with you ever again.

Electric teapots with traditional elegance

The Polish company Haen has come up with a series of electric kettles with inspiration from different places around the world. The ceramic kettles have classic tea pot shapes and they will appeal to those who look for modern appliances, with a retained traditional elegance. Below you can see Tokyo – a design that combines the traditional and modernistic Tokyo vibe, Barcelona – with an art deco feel and Amsterdam clearly inspired by traditional Dutch ceramics from Delft.

The electric kettles boil water to 100ºC and turn off automatically when done, or when you take them off the heating element. They also feature a water level indicator, cordless serving and a 70 cm long heating element cord. They are available in 3 sizes – 0,6 liters, 1 liter and 1,2 liters. The Plus sets also include four cups and a tea pot with a matching design.

I think these are a great idea, but you have to be extra careful with the kettle, since it’s ceramic. The only problem I have with these are the somewhat low quality design patterns – they could be better, more detailed and more tasteful. Right now these are available in stores around Poland and you can preview more models on the website.

Simply Tea Mug

A very simple design for a practical tea mug couldn’t be more simple then this. The Tea Mug has an inbuilt filter, to filter away the tea leaves while you drink, but you’d probably have to finish your brew fast for it not to become bitter. Even a child could figure out how to use this piece of teaware.

This design won a honorable mention at “The Intelligent Hand” Macef Design Awards 2010. By designers from Korea Jiyoon Yum, Jee-Yoon Yum and In-Sook Rhee.

Wood with a splash of color

This tea set from the Jim Kuramoto Studio emphasizes the traditional Japanese tableware style, but a splash of color adds the designs a contemporary twist. They are meant to be not only functional, but also pleasing to the eye. Made of wood, using a spin forming technique the pieces have a soft and delicate finish, that underlines the simplicity of these everyday items. Even the dessert has its own place on the wagashi plate. I have never had tea from a wooden cup to be honest, but maybe it is time to try now?

Mini Tea Set back to full size

Here is a tea set entitled ‘Mini’, which is one of the projects by design studio Designerette. These pieces are inspired by a miniature dollhouse version of a tea set, brought back to a normal size, thus the somewhat cartoonesque and toy-like look. The porcelain set regains its original function – serving tea, but the inspiration and origin of the idea is still visible in the design. A little clumsy, but surely adorable.

Tea Infuser – An Artistic Expression

This abstract infuser is the work of silversmith Terri Gelenian-Wood. The piece comes from 1999 and is made of sterling silver. To me, this is a very Picassoesque take on tableware and the infuser is only one part of the unique collection. At the same time the design feels organic with its leaf-like shapes and smooth, curvy lines.

 

Tea Hocus Pokus

The Hot-T Wand is a design by Minimal Inc. is a water heater, that heats the amount of water that you need. It turns on when you put it into the water and turns off when you take it out – completely magical! The heat sensor tells you when the water is done and most importantly this device is wireless, so you can prepare your tea anywhere, without risking electrocution. It also has a perforated heat cover for safe cooling down. In other words it’s a clean, minimalistic, beautiful little thing!

 

Tea Set from Dr. Frankenstein’s Lab

When I saw this, I though “Wow! This must be one of the coolest tea sets I’ve seen thus far!” My first impression of the Dione Tea Set was that it’s something taken out of a dodgy lab, where a crazy scientist prepares his afternoon tea in-between experiments. It looks like a clash between the antique and the futuristic, as if stylized for a movie set in a completely different, fictional reality (like something out of Franklyn). Designed by Vuk Dragovic, this set features two spheric teacups and a pot. Each tea cup consists of two hemispheres separated by a net, that prevents the leaves from entering the hemisphere that you will drink from. Sounds complicated? Well… it is. Here is how to use it.

The teacup is made up of two hemispheres. Between the hemispheres is a thin net which prevents the tea leaves from entering the cup. While the aroma from the tea leaves is mixed with hot water, the cup is covered with the top hemisphere, preventing the aroma from evaporating into the air. After 3 minutes, when the tea leaves have released their flavor, the tea cup is ready to be flipped 180 degrees and the leaves will be separated from the tea.

With this set-up you can prepare the tea in the cups, just for yourself, or in the pot for more people. Dione will requite you to make quite a ritual of your tea-making routine, but it surely does leave quite an impression.