The Tea Set Saga

I have recently added a tea set to my gift list for 2009. And, sadly, I can say that this is because there has been another casualty in the Severance house. Tea sets do not live long under my roof, or so it seems.

I love tea. I’ll drink green tea, black tea, fruit teas, herbal teas, and pretty much anything else that can be tasty when infused in hot water. I enjoy English teas that are taken with a bit of milk, a bit of lemon, and a pinch of sugar. I fancy Japanese and Chinese teas which are prepared with ceremony and care.

I have had a love-hate relationship with tea sets, both pots and cups included.

Green, dragon emblem goodness.

The very first tea set I ever bought was purchased off of eBay for $10.00. When I received it, it was, naturally, not as advertised. Two of the six cups had shattered in transit. One of them was doing its best impression of a powder. I couldn’t recontact the seller. They wouldn’t respond to my inquiries. I had purchased the shipping insurance for a reason.

What started as a rocky relationship, ended as a rocky relationship. The tea pot took a dive, along with an ink pot filled with India ink, onto a concrete floor when Spaz decided she wanted up on the rickety folding-table they were on. I had a stain to try to remove from the floor and the wall, and had to start looking for a new set.

My second set was purchased from a company named Season Woman. When I walked into the store, the ladies at the counter stared at me as though I was a good 20 years too young to be at the store. That may be true, but they had a nice tea-pot, damn it. This one lasted me three or four months before the same rickety table claimed its life.

Wait... size may be an issue here.

Time went on. The teapot was not replaced for quite a while. Then, I decided it was time. I wanted to drink tea like I had once upon a teapot (or two). I pursued a new tea set on eBay once more. I discovered an adorable, green set with dragons on the cups and pot. Perfect! A friend even wanted to purchase it for me. Even better.

A few weeks later, it arrives. The box is not what it should be. Did they ship it in separate boxes? There is no way this tiny little box can hold the teaset. I was wrong. I was very, very wrong.

The next, black set arrived without incident or alarm. You can be sure that I checked the volume of the cups and of the pot itself.

The problem now is that I’ve managed to split a few of the cups for the problem-less tea set nearly in half.  I suppose it’s time to start the saga again. Now, do I need that tea cozy or no?