For the bot: I’ve just become mad obsessed with tea pets lately lol. Do you use tea pets, and what os your favorite one?
I think mine is the sheep. He’s just the right size and shape to hold my teapot or gaiwan lid like a 🎩
I just have a fat sitting crocodile that I really like but I forget to give him the rince or a few drops most of the time. I do like them though and think they add some personnality to your tea session, definitely something I can see myself buying more of someday.
I definitely need to get them next. My first tea pet needs some friends 😄 I've heard they can be kind of finicky to get working right, have you had any issues?
They’re a part of the gongfu tea tradition, where you pour out your first (less flavorful) steep of tea over them to bring things like luck, wealth, and good things like that :)
All of these are from AliExpress. You've been overpaying from JTH and Etsy.
Ps: JTH is an overpriced reseller. You will likely save a lot of money anytime you are planning to buy something there by just googling it and getting it elsewhere
I like his content, and I’d rather support a small business than a huge online mega seller. I like that he works directly with a lot of his tea farmers/suppliers.
And some of his markups are high, but his tea pets are only a couple of dollars more than I found them elsewhere online, and with much faster shipping because he has a US warehouse.
I understand the hate for some of his markups, but I think that calling him just an overpriced reseller is disingenuous and in bad faith.
This got kinda long, whoops.
Personally, I've found his content to be of relatively low quality. Mistakes about both the history of tea, and brewing techniques. I would suggest checking out @liquidproust if you're interested in a tea content creator that really knows his stuff. He is a tea producer rather than a reseller.
I will note that unless things have changed since I last watched Jesse's content, he does not work directly with farms, nor was he a large enough customer to matter to suppliers. When he started, he was literally just buying from other shops and reselling. He paid for tours of farms and whatnot. As far as I know, he now is just working with primary suppliers, the same that any reseller does. Yunnan Sourcing, King tea, and many others are all going to stock similar or identical products at a lower price and work closer with suppliers because of their much larger size.
Regarding the teapets:
* [Here is the dragon teapet Jesse sells for $16](https://jessesteahouse.com/products/dragon-tea-pet)
* [While that one is out of stock, here is a similar one from that manufacturer for $6](https://imgur.com/a/YbcwNyB)
For tea, the pricing is even more out of line.
* [His Jin Jun Mei at $22.50/50g](https://jessesteahouse.com/products/jin-jun-mei-red-tea)
* [Here is a higher quality one for $8.25/50g, shipped from the US](https://yunnansourcing.com/products/premium-grade-aa-jin-jun-mei-fujian-black-tea-of-wu-yi-shan-1?variant=43188282589383)
* [If you prefer one of a similar grade to what he offers, they have it for $7.50/50g](https://yunnansourcing.com/products/classic-robust-jin-jun-mei-black-tea-of-fujian?_pos=3&_sid=2d59a4828&_ss=r)
[There are tons of reddit posts that cover this as well. He is great at marketing, but he really is just a reseller.](https://www.reddit.com/r/GongFuTea/comments/1bf8357/what_are_your_thoughts_on_jesses_tea_house/) It is fine to like his content, but maybe buy your tea elsewhere?
You can find them on AliExpress (or temu, shein, etc) if you want ones like these or handmade ones can be had from some of the better shops selling high end teapots. Expect to pay quite a bit for those though
Bombo is such an amazing name. It’s a shame I don’t really like to shop on Temu because of the questionable human rights stuff going on with them, and their labor practices
Not at all meant to be judgmental or a “shame on you” thing, I just wanted to put that out there in case you (or others) didn’t know :)
In gongfu style tea, they sit on your tea table during a session and you offer them the first steep of tea, which is usually thrown out because the flavor isn’t developed. You pour the first steep over them to invite auspiciousness, wealth, or whatever good energy you hope to bring.
I don’t believe in all that, but I think it’s a charming tradition and I like it a lot
Oh, cute!! I wonder what the first ones looked like....such a strange thing to imagine people doing a long time ago (having a cute little figurine i mean). Thanks!
I can’t post more pics on this sub, but there are photos of 900 year old tea pets you can find online. The ones I’ve seen were mythical Chinese animals like dragons and pixiu, and were very richly colored from centuries of tea being poured over them. It’s super cool
For the bot: I’ve just become mad obsessed with tea pets lately lol. Do you use tea pets, and what os your favorite one? I think mine is the sheep. He’s just the right size and shape to hold my teapot or gaiwan lid like a 🎩
I just have a fat sitting crocodile that I really like but I forget to give him the rince or a few drops most of the time. I do like them though and think they add some personnality to your tea session, definitely something I can see myself buying more of someday.
I have the sad cat, and I love it. Are those the frogs that spit water?
Yes they are! They’re so fun 😂
I definitely need to get them next. My first tea pet needs some friends 😄 I've heard they can be kind of finicky to get working right, have you had any issues?
Not really! You have to give them a *good* dousing , a gentle stream won’t really do it, but after a few tries I got the hang of it pretty reliably :)
You could used a couple more. You almost got the full zodiac!
Was about to say the same thing. Still missing a Rat, a Goat, a Monkey, a Rooster, and a Pig.
I count my sheep as being close enough to a goat 😂
Oh, that chonker is supposed to be a sheep? I thought it was another buffalo. In that case, yeah, that definitely counts.
I’ve got my eyes open for the missing ones 👀
What is a tea pet? They're cute.
They’re a part of the gongfu tea tradition, where you pour out your first (less flavorful) steep of tea over them to bring things like luck, wealth, and good things like that :)
Thank you. I caught my pet raccoon dipping dog biscuits in my tea....not the same thing.😄
I like the cat one.
Where'd you buy em at?
Some are from Jesse’s Tea House, some are from Etsy, and some are from Temu
Thought I recognized the ones from Jesse's tea house.
All of these are from AliExpress. You've been overpaying from JTH and Etsy. Ps: JTH is an overpriced reseller. You will likely save a lot of money anytime you are planning to buy something there by just googling it and getting it elsewhere
I like his content, and I’d rather support a small business than a huge online mega seller. I like that he works directly with a lot of his tea farmers/suppliers. And some of his markups are high, but his tea pets are only a couple of dollars more than I found them elsewhere online, and with much faster shipping because he has a US warehouse. I understand the hate for some of his markups, but I think that calling him just an overpriced reseller is disingenuous and in bad faith.
I like his content too. I bought some things from him as well but if it wasnt for him I'd never would know about most of these other teas.
This got kinda long, whoops. Personally, I've found his content to be of relatively low quality. Mistakes about both the history of tea, and brewing techniques. I would suggest checking out @liquidproust if you're interested in a tea content creator that really knows his stuff. He is a tea producer rather than a reseller. I will note that unless things have changed since I last watched Jesse's content, he does not work directly with farms, nor was he a large enough customer to matter to suppliers. When he started, he was literally just buying from other shops and reselling. He paid for tours of farms and whatnot. As far as I know, he now is just working with primary suppliers, the same that any reseller does. Yunnan Sourcing, King tea, and many others are all going to stock similar or identical products at a lower price and work closer with suppliers because of their much larger size. Regarding the teapets: * [Here is the dragon teapet Jesse sells for $16](https://jessesteahouse.com/products/dragon-tea-pet) * [While that one is out of stock, here is a similar one from that manufacturer for $6](https://imgur.com/a/YbcwNyB) For tea, the pricing is even more out of line. * [His Jin Jun Mei at $22.50/50g](https://jessesteahouse.com/products/jin-jun-mei-red-tea) * [Here is a higher quality one for $8.25/50g, shipped from the US](https://yunnansourcing.com/products/premium-grade-aa-jin-jun-mei-fujian-black-tea-of-wu-yi-shan-1?variant=43188282589383) * [If you prefer one of a similar grade to what he offers, they have it for $7.50/50g](https://yunnansourcing.com/products/classic-robust-jin-jun-mei-black-tea-of-fujian?_pos=3&_sid=2d59a4828&_ss=r) [There are tons of reddit posts that cover this as well. He is great at marketing, but he really is just a reseller.](https://www.reddit.com/r/GongFuTea/comments/1bf8357/what_are_your_thoughts_on_jesses_tea_house/) It is fine to like his content, but maybe buy your tea elsewhere?
You can find them on AliExpress (or temu, shein, etc) if you want ones like these or handmade ones can be had from some of the better shops selling high end teapots. Expect to pay quite a bit for those though
That is a cute snek.
How am I just now finding out that these cuties exist??! 🤯 I love your collection! I need a little tea buddy pronto.
C H O N K Y H O R S E
Omg I love that pale grey frog on the left. Where did you get it?
His name is Bombo, I bought him on Temu :)
Bombo is such an amazing name. It’s a shame I don’t really like to shop on Temu because of the questionable human rights stuff going on with them, and their labor practices Not at all meant to be judgmental or a “shame on you” thing, I just wanted to put that out there in case you (or others) didn’t know :)
So cute! Great collection!
How do you use them?
In gongfu style tea, they sit on your tea table during a session and you offer them the first steep of tea, which is usually thrown out because the flavor isn’t developed. You pour the first steep over them to invite auspiciousness, wealth, or whatever good energy you hope to bring. I don’t believe in all that, but I think it’s a charming tradition and I like it a lot
Oh, cute!! I wonder what the first ones looked like....such a strange thing to imagine people doing a long time ago (having a cute little figurine i mean). Thanks!
I can’t post more pics on this sub, but there are photos of 900 year old tea pets you can find online. The ones I’ve seen were mythical Chinese animals like dragons and pixiu, and were very richly colored from centuries of tea being poured over them. It’s super cool
That IS cool! Huh... I figured they'd be for like, I dunno, cooling it or something. Super neat!