About Us
At TeaVessel, we don’t just make cups—we craft vessels that honor the art of tea. For us, a tea cup is never just a “cup”: it’s the final, vital link between the brewer’s care and the drinker’s enjoyment, shaping how you taste jasmine’s sweetness, matcha’s umami, or oolong’s floral notes. Founded in 2017 by a third-generation ceramic artist and a lifelong tea sommelier, our brand was born from a shared frustration: too many “tea cups” on the market were designed for looks alone—too small to let tea breathe, too thick to feel the warmth of the brew, or made from materials that muted the tea’s true flavor. We set out to create cups that work in harmony with tea, blending time-honored craftsmanship with the needs of modern tea lovers.
Every TeaVessel piece is rooted in two truths: tea deserves purpose-built design, and quality starts with the right materials. We source materials that enhance, not distract from, tea’s essence:
- Porcelain Cups: Our signature fine porcelain (fired at 1,300°C for 12 hours) is thin enough to let you feel the tea’s warmth, smooth enough to let the liquid glide across your palate, and non-porous to avoid absorbing residual flavors (so your morning green tea doesn’t taste like last night’s black tea).
- Ceramic Cups: For bold teas like pu-erh or hojicha, we use unglazed Yixing-style clay—slightly porous to absorb subtle notes over time, creating a “personalized” cup that gets better with every use.
- Glass Cups: Our borosilicate glass cups (heat-resistant up to 300°C) let you watch tea leaves unfurl (a joy of brewing white or blooming teas) while keeping the drink’s temperature steady.
Our designs are tailored to different tea styles, too. We make 80ml “gongfu cups” for traditional Chinese tea ceremonies (small, to savor concentrated sips), 200ml “everyday cups” for casual afternoon brews, and even double-walled glass cups for iced tea (to prevent condensation from wetting your hands). We skip flashy logos or overly busy patterns—instead, we add subtle details that matter: a slightly wider rim for easy sipping, a weighted base to prevent tipping, and hand-painted accents (soft blue willow, delicate bamboo) that nod to tea’s cultural roots without feeling outdated.
What sets us apart is our commitment to tea’s community. We don’t just sell cups—we share knowledge. Every TeaVessel order includes a “Tea & Cup Pairing Guide” (e.g., “use porcelain for green tea, clay for pu-erh”) and a small sample of loose-leaf tea (sourced from our partner farms in Fujian and Kyoto) so you can test your new cup right away. We also host monthly virtual workshops, where our ceramic artist demonstrates how cup shape affects flavor, and our sommelier shares tips for brewing.
Today, TeaVessel cups are used in tea houses from Tokyo to Toronto, and in homes where tea is more than a drink—it’s a ritual. For us, success isn’t in sales; it’s in the messages we get: a customer telling us their new porcelain cup made them notice hints of honey in their tea they’d never tasted before, or a young person sharing that our gongfu set helped them connect with their grandma’s tea traditions. At TeaVessel, we’re here to make every tea moment a little more intentional—one well-crafted cup at a time.