Cup winners

Tea connoisseurs have long known that a superior cuppa depends just as much on the shape of the teapot and cups as it does on the tea leaves. The Paris-based founder of Maison des Trois Thés, yu hui Tseng, believes she knows the secret of the perfect infusion. a collaboration with porcelain brand ruyi has resulted in the aroma collection of tea accoutrements. ‘an oolong tea will never brew in the same way as a green tea,’ Tseng says. Which explains the varied shapes of the teapots in the collection, each designed to control oxygenation, moisture and temperature according to the tea leaf being brewed. even the bijoux cups follow a specific shape, not least the angle of the rim, which Tseng designed to mould just-so with one’s lips. ‘Aroma’ teacup and stand, €70 each; tea decanter, €75, both by Desmond Chang and Yu Hui Tseng, for Ruyi, ruyi.global

Tea-pairing Tips

not only does vessel shape affect how different teas taste, so too does the food they are served with – so much so that top restaurants, like Fera in london and clooney’s in auckland, have rolled out tea-pairing menus. We’ve concocted our own tea pairings to get you started.

cup A serve: deep roasted oolong, pu’er, aged oolong. pair with: steak

cup B serve: green, white and yellow, lightly fermented oolong. pair with: seafood

cup c serve: aged pu’er (sheng cha), pu’er (shu cha). pair with: foie gras

cup D serve: red, fermented oolong, first flush darjeeling. pair with: chocolate