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For a long time, I would've said that the best tea tray material is ceramic, like my lovely tea boats from Mirka Randova. However, after the recent sad episode in which a certain feline knocked the top of the tray askew and a favorite tea pot was broken when bounced against the surface of the tray, I'm pondering again.

Fabric or silicone coasters are very nice for protecting surfaces and pots, but they do not allow for as much sloppiness in pouring as is necessary when I'm the one doing the pouring, sometimes feline-assisted, nor do they really seem right for the occasional pour over and shaking out the last drops with tea debris before the next infusion.

Maybe it's time for a return to bamboo and just planning on frequent replacements.

On the other hand, I love beautiful wood, and a tray made from really lovely grained wood would be so nice...and I've got enough pretty wood accumulated from making smaller projects that I'd could even contemplate doing it myself, but the pretty wood itself would need protecting from both the sometimes rough edges of teawares, and water.

Maybe some variation on the traditional meat carving tray with grooves and holes for drainage and a metal tray beneath, like a larger baking or roast pan, like the Chinese designs where a wood tray is set over a hidden plastic base...but without the drainage tube to a bucket under the table.

Hmmm....

debunix wrote: ↑

Sun Nov 21, 2021 1:51 pm

On the other hand, I love beautiful wood, and a tray made from really lovely grained wood would be so nice...and I've got enough pretty wood accumulated from making smaller projects that I'd could even contemplate doing it myself, but the pretty wood itself would need protecting from both the sometimes rough edges of teawares, and water.

A few years ago, I got lucky and found a local vendor who sold me two beautiful Ichimu wood trays. One is really big with a 'modern' pattern - it's great to be used with guests.



It rarely gets wet, so I expect it to last forever... almost.

The other, smaller one has a nice metal tray underneath that, unlike bamboo trays, will not soften. It gets used a lot - for Gongfu pourover, I use a plate, like in the pics before. Also, I regularly treat the wood with oil to protect it from the water.



Still - after like 5 years of almost daily use, the wood has cracked in a few places, and I can see a rough surface where the teapot always sits. Still - at this rate, it will take a long time until it breaks, if ever.
I had cheap bamboo trays, they didn't last so long.

Bottomline - if you want to get something of fine wood, unless you do heavy Gongfu with lots of pourover, it should last a long time.

As someone fairly new to tea ware myself, I'm just throwing this in for fellow novices who may be interested in this thread.
When I started buying tea ware seven years ago, I bought one of these https://www.chawangshop.com/tea-hardwar ... 4-3cm.html. It's a smaller one, suitable for those who usually drink tea alone. The reason I note it is because I had it four years (daily use) before it started to leak, at which point I put silicone around the interior edges of the tray. Three years later it has yet to leak again.
I do make a point of emptying the tray when I'm done and keeping the two parts separate to dry out.
Having only ever had the one tray, I have no idea whether I was just lucky.
At $16 US, it's a budget friendly option.

That said, @miig's Ichimu wood trays look exquisite!

I think the thing with bamboo is it all depends on the quality, and also a bit of luck that you don't get a bubble in a bad place on the interior coating if it has it. Also wood or bamboo top but on a ceramic base is great or like the ones people have shared here with a metal or plastic drip tray under. The one I have and use now and actually want to replace because its not so nice has a plastic bottom- the top has cracked a bit over time, but it still works totally fine. Some kind of good quality wood should also hold up well, if not better especially if lacquered or treated and maintained with oil.

I think key is proper maintenance, drying immediately and taking care of the material. I mean any old fence needs to be repainted every few years...

I had one of these bamboo trays way back and it also lasted me at least 3-4 years before it started to leak. Not to bad for something that at least is made of a natural material.

I use a normal bamboo tray (50$) since nearly 6 years on a daily basis. I never had problems with it.
The only thing I adapt was that I made a silicone seam in the inner tray after the first 2 years of use.

I really love it for the easy use!
I just pour out the water after a session and let it dry without the tray-lid until the next day/session.
I also have a ceramic tray from A. Bero which looks better, but I do not use it that often...

enjoi wrote: ↑

Mon Nov 22, 2021 4:11 am

I use a normal bamboo tray (50$) since nearly 6 years on a daily basis. I never had problems with it.
The only thing I adapt was that I made a silicone seam in the inner tray after the first 2 years of use.

You bamboo tray has a simple design and a nice size for my needs. Do you still remember where you got it?

I bought it at a local teashop here in Austria. I found the same tray with a quick Google search - will send you the link via PM.

Update:

What I ended up doing was a mix of DIY and vintage repurposing. I found an urushi lacquer tray/shallow bowl (9-inch diameter, 2-inch raised edges). I bought a bamboo mat intended for rolling sushi and sewed a couple rods into it, perpendicular to the direction of the rods that make up the bamboo mat (so that the mat does not roll up/collapse). I placed the modified mat over the urushi tray.

It's not glamorous, but I like the look of it. The water reservoir tray is heat-resistant, waterproof, and quick to dry. The mat easily bears the weight of my teaware without any risk of chipping the porcelain or clay. Tea drains through it immediately and completely. The mat will be easy and cheap to replace (I could even buy a pack of bamboo skewers and make it by hand if I wanted). So far, it's been perfect!

ETA: I was considering using a ceramic/glass baking tray as it is much cheaper, but I lucked out and found a cheap quality vintage urushi tray so I went with that.
Pros: much lighter in weight, prettier, vintage, I wanted it.
Cons: more expensive than the baking tray.

JournalerMarie wrote: ↑

Wed Dec 15, 2021 6:09 pm

It's not glamorous

That’s often the best ones! Sounds like you did a fabulous job, any pictures to share?

Bok wrote: ↑

Wed Dec 15, 2021 7:02 pm

That’s often the best ones! Sounds like you did a fabulous job, any pictures to share?

Thank you! These cannot compare to the beautiful photography on this thread, but I am proud of the 'tray' itself as a practical item.

ETA: I could probably make it look nicer by replacing the baker's twine at the end with string or thread that matches the bamboo mat, but this was an experiment and I got lazy about replacing it.

JournalerMarie wrote: ↑

Wed Dec 15, 2021 7:19 pm

Bok wrote: ↑

Wed Dec 15, 2021 7:02 pm

That’s often the best ones! Sounds like you did a fabulous job, any pictures to share?

Thank you! These cannot compare to the beautiful photography on this thread, but I am proud of the 'tray' itself as a practical item.

ETA: I could probably make it look nicer by replacing the baker's twine at the end with string or thread that matches the bamboo mat, but this was an experiment and I got lazy about replacing it.

Not too shabby! And with use it will get prettier, sun exposure and tea/water staining.

Looks nice indeed! Crafty. Just be careful not to get your sleeves tangled up in those sticks and flip the mat away

I like a tea boat/ tea tray made of metal. For me the benefit is that the hot water you pour over your tea pot to keep the temperature as high as possible at the late steepings of a session - when you get to the one minute and longer steeping times - also heats the metal bowl significantly. So the tea pot benefits a bit from the warm lid of the tea boat. I personally use a rather utilitarian and unadorned version (overpriced of course ) but have recently stumbled across these two beauties:
https://de.aliexpress.com/item/1005001 ... 2e0eVynvWl
Don‘t know whether or not the seller is legit (seems to have very low ratings though!) and/or whether the product is good. At least the photos look good. But I have become very suspicious of all chinese vendors in the last years. And since I‘m not in the market for a new tea tray, I give it a pass. However, if that tea boat was legit copper and the quality were to match the price tag, I would buy that one in a heart beat.