---
title: 'Tea utensils'
url: 'https://howtotea.me/teaware/utensils'
markdown: 'https://howtotea.me/teaware/utensils.md'
lang: en
date: '2026-11-03'
description: 'The tea utensils around the brewing vessel: kettle, heat source, scale and thermometer, tongs and scoop, strainer, caddy. What to buy first, what later.'
---

# Tea utensils

Tea is brewed in the vessel and poured through the fair cup into the cups. Utensils handle the rest: heating water to the right temperature, measuring the leaf, lifting hot cups and catching stray leaf.

 ![A bamboo holder with tea tools, a pewter tea caddy and a cast-iron kettle](https://howtotea.me/images/c/o/v/e/r/cover-eac09710.webp) Illustration 

Boiling water and a gaiwan are enough to brew tea. Utensils make a good infusion easier to repeat. A [kettle](https://howtotea.me/teaware/utensils/kettles) holds the set temperature, a scoop and scale measure the same amount of leaf each time, [tongs](https://howtotea.me/teaware/utensils/tea-tools) lift hot cups off the tea tray, and a [strainer](https://howtotea.me/teaware/utensils/strainers) catches fine leaf on its way into the [fair cup](https://howtotea.me/teaware/brewing-vessels/chahai). You heat the water on [a hot plate, burner or charcoal](https://howtotea.me/teaware/utensils/heat-sources), check temperature and weight with a [thermometer and scale](https://howtotea.me/teaware/utensils/measuring-tools), and keep dry leaf in a [tea caddy](https://howtotea.me/teaware/utensils/tea-caddies).

After the [gaiwan](https://howtotea.me/teaware/brewing-vessels/gaiwan), the first purchase is usually a kettle with temperature control: the [water](https://howtotea.me/brewing/basics/water) shapes the liquor as much as the leaf does. The rest can wait until tea becomes a habit.

In this section

- [![](https://howtotea.me/images/c/o/v/e/r/cover-28c6353e.webp) Water kettles 煮水壶 Water kettles for tea: the Chaozhou clay shadiao, glass, stovetop steel and electric models with temperature control. What to buy, how to care for it. ](https://howtotea.me/teaware/utensils/kettles)
- [![](https://howtotea.me/images/c/o/v/e/r/cover-47e5edd5.webp) Tea tools 茶道六君子 Small tea tools: the six items of the "six gentlemen" set, the chahe, pu-erh knives and awls, and tea pets. What each one is for and what to buy first. ](https://howtotea.me/teaware/utensils/tea-tools)
- [![](https://howtotea.me/images/c/o/v/e/r/cover-ec0cdfa9.webp) Strainers and tea bags 茶滤 Strainer, tea ball, basket, press-button flask and tea bag: how they differ, where they came from, which tea each one suits and how to pick the right one. ](https://howtotea.me/teaware/utensils/strainers)
- [![](https://howtotea.me/images/c/o/v/e/r/cover-ca199c28.webp) Heat sources What to heat tea water on: the Chaozhou charcoal brazier, alcohol burner, electric kettle, induction. Which charcoal to buy and why a closed room is risky. ](https://howtotea.me/teaware/utensils/heat-sources)
- [![](https://howtotea.me/images/c/o/v/e/r/cover-86bc3903.webp) Scales and thermometers Scales, thermometer and timer for tea: how much accuracy you need, why a spoon misleads, how to check a thermometer and where to start the clock. ](https://howtotea.me/teaware/utensils/measuring-tools)
- [![](https://howtotea.me/images/c/o/v/e/r/cover-51ac0ce3.webp) Tea caddies 茶叶罐 Tea caddies for dry leaf: pewter with a double lid, tinplate, clay for pu-erh, Japanese chazutsu and chatsubo. Materials, and which tea suits which. ](https://howtotea.me/teaware/utensils/tea-caddies)

---

## Navigation

- Parent: [Teaware](https://howtotea.me/teaware.md)
- Previous: [Brewing vessels](https://howtotea.me/teaware/brewing-vessels.md)
- Next: [Teaware materials](https://howtotea.me/teaware/materials.md)
- Children:
  - [Water kettles](https://howtotea.me/teaware/utensils/kettles.md)
  - [Tea tools: the six gentlemen, pu-erh knife, tea pets](https://howtotea.me/teaware/utensils/tea-tools.md)
  - [Strainers, infusers and tea bags](https://howtotea.me/teaware/utensils/strainers.md)
  - [Heat sources for tea](https://howtotea.me/teaware/utensils/heat-sources.md)
  - [Scales, thermometers and timers](https://howtotea.me/teaware/utensils/measuring-tools.md)
  - [Tea caddies: tin, ceramic and metal](https://howtotea.me/teaware/utensils/tea-caddies.md)