The tea bowl is also known as "the bowl of three elements". The lid represents the sky; the saucer represents the earth while the tea bowl itself represents man. Therefore, brewing tea in a tea bowl represents the merging of the sky, earth and human beings amid the sweet fragrance of the tea. We cannot use the lid, bowl and saucer separately. Putting aside the saucer and lid to use only the tea bowl for brewing tea, is not only inappropriate and inelegant, but also very impolite.
When brewing tea in a covered tea bowl, you can inhale the fragrance from both the lid and the tea liquid. There is more information on using the tea bowl for aroma and tea appreciation in the chapter Jasmine Tea.
Warming the tea bowl
1. Hold the base of the bowl with the left hand and the lid with the right hand. Turn the bowl anticlockwise for one full circle (similar to the glass cup).
2. Take off the lid of the bowl and hold it at an angle to the bowl. Drain the water in the bowl into the basin against the lid, slowly turning the lid with the right hand.
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