The philosophy of teapots

Published 2025-05-27

tag(s): #infusions #random-thoughts

A couple weeks ago, I saw in a store in a cute ceramic teapot. I almost buy it, but decided against since I already had a teapot and I am trying to live a leaner life: buying and using less things (with mixed success).

The morning after I broke my (big) teapot, I had the thought of driving to the store to get the ceramic one. But decided that was silly and impulsive, so instead I started looking online for recommendations (in /r/tea, mostly) to get THE BESTEST, PERFECTEST TEAPOT.
One usually mentioned was the Hario ChaCha Kyusu "Maru"[1] glass teapot.

(direct link to image)

It is perfectly functional. And unlike the one I had before, the strainer is low enough that I can make half a teapot. Still, I got the smaller 600cc model. And, bear with me, because I am getting pseudo philosophical here. Unsurprisingly.

A couple days into using the teapot, I realized that I made a bad impulsive decision buying this item:

I got it because of a touted and obvious feature of glass teapots that is misguided, or at least of little value to me in particular: that you can see the brew.
The fact that it was cheap really pushed me over the fence.
I got it in Amazon, just to get it faster.

These are all terrible choices.

And here is the philosophical part: What's the point of being able to see the brew?
The color won't let me know how it will taste, unless it is a tea I've been brewing often enough that I have a reference point. And it creates preconceptions, instead of letting me evaluate it just for the taste.
I can always throw the tea away if I don't like it.[2], but maybe I find that the way it turned out this time is better than last time. I just have to give it a try!
And also, obsessing on something I can't control is silly: I add some tea, then hot water, and wait a fixed amount of time. By the time I am ready to pour the tea, I cannot change anything about the outcome. Unless I plan to sit and stare at the pot, to remove the strainer at the perfect time. Or keep checking regularly for the color - and again, what if a happy accident happens and I like it better, after trying it?

Well, last-last weekend we happened to be in Montclair again and, against my initial instinct (because, you know, I already had a functional teapot) I just decided to go for it...

A small ceramic teapot, in blueberry blue. Made by Zero.

(direct link to image)

Now, the points for this teapot are:

Ceramic keeps the tea hotter longer, which turns out to be a feature that's really important for me.
I bought it because I like it, so I simply enjoy more using it.
I got it in a small store, in person. Support small business. 👏

I think the bigger lesson here is to stop trying to find the perfect and most recommended of anything, and just enjoy things as they are.
Just like my tea. And I think I can extrapolate from this experience to other aspects of life.

Also, I learned that not all impulsive choices are equal, once you think a bit about them.
Mmmmmm although I guess if you think long enough, then it stops being an impulsive choice...

And, if I had given in to the initial impulse, I would be writing a post about how following your impulses blindly is great. I guess?

Conclusion

I really like my ceramic teapot.[3]
And you can't control everything. Even if you can, you probably shouldn't. Brew your tea, and enjoy the little variations in the outcome.

Footnotes

You can tell it is Japanese because of the long, contrived name.
This is an almost revolutionary act for me. Topic for another post.
And I have a spare teapot, too.

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