These tea utensils are essential items for brewing tea Gongfu style (in a small teapot with a pitcher and small cups).
Tea Scoop: 18cm x 7cm (7.25 x 2.8 inches) Size varies slightly.
Tea Pick: 18.2 cm x 0.9cm (7.2 x 0.34 inches) Size varies slightly.
The bamboo scoop is elegantly fashioned, using a particularly thin-walled type of bamboo, and then beveled at the open end to a thin edge. This makes it very light in the hand, giving a finely crafted feel. The width of the scoop offers ample space for a good quantity of tea leaves to be placed in the scoop for viewing the dried leaves before brewing. And the slight concave bevel at the edge allows for easier dispensing of the tea leaves into the teapot or gaiwan.
The sleek, symmetrical design of the tea pick also gives it a finely crafted feel. The pick can be used to gently nudge the tea leaves from the scoop into the teapot — rather than pouring them from the scoop. This not only enhances the movements of the ritual of brewing tea, but it allows for better control over the amount of leaves dispensed. The tea pick also serves the function of scooping the brewed leaves from the teapot after you are done brewing. And the thin end of the pick can serve the purpose of moving the tea leaves away from the spout hole on the inside of the teapot to allow for a proper pour.
These simple utensils make it easy to portion and admire the tea leaves you are about to brew. Beautiful and useful, and beyond the minimum. Why not? People put a lot of knowledge and work into the tea.
