“Every Teapot Has a Soul”

Teapots are fascinating. I have a nice collection of them that I use often depending on my mood, the guests or the Tea event. My troupe of Teapots include; an Italian Spode, Robur silver, and bright yellow breakfast Teapot. A 1980’s Laura Ashley fine teapot, Aladdin’s lamp shaped Teapot, and a dainty white Coalport countryware teapot plus several others.

Where would we be without The Teapot? Forever reliant on tea bags. I like teabags because they make tea so quickly, but there is nothing better than a proper pot of Tea made for everyone and shared around the table. As Francois de la Rochefoucauld wrote in 1784,

“Throughout the whole of England the drinking of tea is general. You have it twice a day and though the expense is considerable, the humblest peasant has his tea, just like the rich man”.

It is the same today. We can grab a quick Tea in a takeaway cup, sit down and enjoy a Tea in an enamel mug, choose the best mug in the workplace kitchen, to enjoy a Tea on a break. Just drop a tea bag in, add boiling water, a splash of milk and you’re done.

A designers dream is the teapot, and for 400 years designers have had the perfect item to test their creativity and millions of Teapot designers worldwide have done so. The adage ‘form follows function’ provides the ideal opportunity to design a well balanced, functional, yet beautiful object.

The practical Teapot has inspired whimsical, fun, outlandish and fanciful designs in bold, eccentric shapes as fantasy or novelty Teapots. There are thousands and thousands of teapots made; exquisite fine porcelain, stylish minimalist Asian designs, elegant and sleek or the humble, earthy pottery and silver, aluminium, copper and pewter teapots, all have their place at the table or kitchen bench.

No matter the style cost or make of Teapots, they add an extra level of charm to having Tea. A teapot adds a quiet air of elegance to the table instead of teabags, even an enamel teapot in the kitchen at breakfast is more enjoyable.