So I have been wanting to buy a tea tray for Gong Fu Cha (Chinese method of tea-making) but I did not want to spend much money since the ones I usually liked were expensive. I saw a really simple modern designed tea tray at a tea shop in china town called
The Chinese Tea Shop so I studied it quickly, and thought that I might be able to just make one.
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| This is the tray that I studied for a basic design from The Chinese Tea Shop and the one I would buy if I could not make it. This tray is very reasonably priced, a good starter tray. |
My grandfather had built a 3 legged table using a beautiful chunk of Yew.
The table was left outside for a couple of years and the legs fell off but I kept the top. I thought it would be a good test piece that looked about the right size plus it had a nice natural feel being all beat-up and weathered.
I first tried hand carving the channels into it. After spending 30 minutes, not getting anywhere, I remembered that I had a router. I went out and bought a 1/8" round router bit and made the groves for the water to drain out.
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| Used router to make the grooves, sanded and varnished. |
For the drain I bought a 1/4" pipe connector drilled it into the side on a slight angle. Then attached a clear hose to drain water. I put the other end into a nice pottery vase to catch the water.
The Finished Tea Tray for Gong Fu Cha handmade and it works great! Oh and it's one of a kind!
Ha ha ... now I can spend more money on good quality tea which tends to be quite expensive ... but so worth it! I think it's TEA TIME!!! Who wants tea?
Cheers!
Adam.
