Thursday, November 13, 2008

A Flowering Buncheong Tea Bowl by Kim Jeong Pill


This tea bowl style is typical of Kim Jeong Pill. It is covered with coin sized blotches that resemble flowering blossoms. These blotches are not painted on, they are the results of rocks erupting in the kiln just as flowers blossom in the heat of the summer. The bright green matcha like the dense vegetation after monsoon rain only acts to draw out lifeless blossoms.

As flowers bloom in cool Autumn fields, one drinks tea and ponders these things.

Peace

2 comments:

yan-cha said...

WOW These are amazing, they truly have that grounding effect. How do the teas taste is these bowls, is there a difference in the way you feel or perceive things, when drinking teas from one of these bowls, and are they available for sale somewhere?

Matt said...

Yan-Cha,

When you drink tea from a tea drinking bowl it subtly changes the taste of the tea.

A few features of the bowl supposedly affect the taste of the tea.

The materials used effects the taste. For instance, if a porous clay is used it allows for the tea to be exposed to the minerals of the clay as well as to more air. If there are many cracks in the glaze such as with these bowls the tea is allowed to breathe a bit more, allowing for a softer bowl of matcha.

The shape of the bowl also affects the taste. The inner shape of the bowl impacts the movement of the whisk which in turn affect the final product. Also, how much of the tea is exposed to air effects how it will cool and this also effects taste. This is why summer bowls have a different shape than winter bowls. The shape of the lip and angle of the inner wall affects the path tea will travel into the mouth thereby affecting taste.

One checked out your blog and enjoy the work you put into it. Please keep at it.

Is there snow covering the trees in your neck of the woods yet?

Peace