An newly discovered vice…

It’s official—I’m back in the United States! I’ve loved the past two months and I’ve enjoyed all of my adventures (save one or two), but it’s good to be back home for a bit. China is fantastic, but I must say that the lack of both cheese and granola in the Central Kingdom has been a little depressing. Luckily I’ve had a certain hot, and sometimes cold, liquid in which to drown my sorrows. Seriously, I can’t over-emphasize the prevalence of tea there. I’ll admit that this came with a few drawbacks though. For one, I’ve discovered a new vice of mine.

I had my first taste just in the last few weeks of my trip. I had seen them online back in the US and throughout my time in China, and had previously sort of liked the idea so I didn’t feel too guilty about it. Then I started to see one everywhere I went. As I headed into my final weekend in China, that first buzz still hadn’t worn off. I had to have another. Sure, I can handle one more, I thought. But even after a second dose, I was still greedy. I began inventing reasons—“I’ll never get this chance again,” “The price is unbeatable!” and even “They’re more authentic here.” And I gave in. It’s an addiction. I’m referring, of course, to teapots. Somehow, unbeknownst to me (okay, fine, it was totally “beknownst”), I wound up with three teapots within the last two weeks of my trip.

An edgy red set for my own kitchen...
assuming my roommate lets me.

A lovely blue set for my mom.

Trust me, it’s been no simple feat either. Being a “Laowai” (or “foreigner”) there can easily mark up the price of anything you want to purchase by a few orders of magnitude. The blue set began at 750 yuan and the red set at around 350 yuan, but with some intense haggling (naming an impossibly low price and walking away usually does the trick) I got them for 70 yuan each (about 11 US dollars). The really unique (and supposedly antique) teapot I bought at the Panjiayuan Antique Market started around 450 itself. The vendor didn’t speak too much English but he kept saying something like “Look, old,” presumably as a major selling point. He’d groan dramatically each time I entered a number into his calculator, then sigh heavily, enter his own number, and offer it to me with a flourish. That battle ended at a higher than expected but still reasonable 90 yuan. Guess what was in my carry-on luggage.

My favorite purchase: an antique teapot from the Panjiayuan Antique Market

It may come as a surprise that these three teapots (two of them in whole tea sets) are my three first… ever. But that’s the great thing about tea—you don’t need anything fancy to fully enjoy the finest. However, that’s not to say I won’t be having a cup or several with the help of my recent acquisitions. Come and join :)