Tyger, Tyger, Brewing Bright

Remember how I mentioned Spousal Unit and I were going to wait and slowly add to our teapot savings as people came to visit us? Remember that good plan we had in place, where every time we saved money on something (such as with coupons) we would put that money toward our new cast iron?

Some plans aren't meant to be followed.

This is our awesome new teapot, from Teavana. As you can see, one side has a tiger growling and prowling through the grass; the other side has a tiger sleeping under bamboo with a sun overhead. (Yes, I have a favorite side: it's the sleeping tiger.) On top of the cover is a little tiger statuette.

We ended up choosing one that we hadn't considered before, and I'm glad we chose the tiger. The two sides together make it feel fierce, but peaceful. According to the little booklet of symbolism, it represents courage, determination, and bravery. I guess no one told their copy editor that courage and bravery are the same thing. But I like that symbolism - even if they have trouble with synonyms.

We've brewed several pots of tea with it so far, including black, oolong, and herbal. There's something about brewing it in the pot rather than in individual cups that really adds to the tea's flavor. All the sales people said that was the best way to brew it, but I don't know if I really believed them till I tried it. The taste difference is hard to describe - maybe richer, or fuller-bodied. It's like you can taste parts of the tea's flavor that you didn't know were there before (in a good way, of course).

We have some shelves in the kitchen area for our various teas and cups, and the new teapot just barely fits on it, a happy rounding out of our tea corner.

We didn't get any accessories to go with the teapot - things like a trivet to set the pot on, a teapot warmer to put a tea light under the pot, cups, coasters, etc. What we spent on the pot itself was good enough for now - plus, we have to have something to get each other for birthdays.

Now, when I sit down to write, I can have a whole pot of zen and inspiration all to myself.