Extended trips and Teaware Packing

Being a Grad student whose living situation at times is somewhat fluid. I am going into my second year of renting this apartment, but I often take lengthy trips to visit family when I have off time. Having just returned from one such trip, I have been thinking about how my teaware collection has vastly out grown what seems reasonable to pack up and bring on a month long trip or so. It is an interesting idea to think about what teaware you would bring on these trips to maximize your enjoyment of the tea and teaware, but minimize the space it takes up in the car.

I found my last trip rather ideal for the given situation, but there are a few key questions that should be asked first.

• What teas am I bringing with me?
• If I place any orders while gone, what types of tea will they likely be?

After answering those, move onto the teaware. Obviously if any of those teas requires a bit of more specialized equipment, i.e Fukamushi sencha can not be brewed in something without a high quality screen, be sure to pack at least one item to account for each. The rest is basically determined by personal desires, such as what cup size to go with the brewing vessels. I probably do not have to say this, but for most Chinese and Taiwanese teas, gaiwans are a travelers friend.

That being said I did miss some of my favorite pieces of teaware that I choose to leave behind over the course of a month, and I learned a thicker Korean cup of equal size is not quite the same as a standard thin porcelain cup in how quickly it cools. That last part would normally not be a problem, except that this was in the middle of summer, so items are already cooling especially slowly.

That being said, while I was actually proud with how much I cut down on the teaware I brought with me, I still think I need to cut it down even further.