What materials are there for tea trays? How to buy them? How to deal with cracked wooden tea trays?

The tea tray is used to place tea cups in the tea set. There are many kinds of materials for tea trays, the most common ones are wood, ceramic, purple sand, etc. So how do you choose a good tea tray from these materials? How to deal with wooden tea trays that are prone to cracking?

What materials are there for tea trays? How to buy them?

Stone

Common stone materials include Duan Inkstone, She Inkstone, Zipao Jade, Wujin Stone and other materials. Stone materials are the first choice for tea trays. First, they are durable and will not crack or break easily. Second, they have collection and preservation value. For example, Duan Inkstone and She Inkstone have room for appreciation. Third, they have maintenance and appreciation value. Stone tea trays will become more and more smooth after long-term use. However, stone tea trays are relatively expensive, but of course not particularly expensive. For example, She Inkstone, a general tea tray now costs only more than 1,000 yuan, which is very good.

Bakelite

The scientific name of bakelite is phenolic cotton board. It is made of cotton cloth soaked in heated and melted phenolic resin and then dried and hot pressed. The price of bakelite tea tray varies greatly according to the grade of raw materials. Generally speaking, the price is relatively expensive, especially those produced in Taiwan. The bakelite tea tray is durable and beautiful, which is its main feature. If conditions permit, it is highly recommended.

Bamboo

Bamboo tea trays are the most economical and cheapest tea trays and are widely used. However, they have a fatal flaw: they are prone to deformation and cracking over time. Of course, there are bamboo tea trays with sophisticated craftsmanship that are relatively better. But no matter what, the craftsmanship cannot withstand the corrosion of time and will crack sooner or later.

Wood

Wooden tea trays mainly include ebony, wenge, rosewood, camphor wood, etc. Wooden tea trays have the same fatal flaw as bamboo tea trays: they are easy to crack, especially for northern users, we strongly recommend that tea lovers do not choose them. Regardless of the quality of craftsmanship and wood, cracking is inevitable!

Ceramics

Ceramics can be hand-painted with various patterns and are simple, especially for the popular dry brewing method, which is combined with ceramic tea trays. Choosing ceramic tea trays requires users of teahouses with independent spaces. On the one hand, it is simple to highlight the theme and fit the environment. On the other hand, ceramics are fragile, and independent tea spaces can prevent the tea tray from being accidentally damaged.

Purple sand

I don't recommend using purple clay because purple clay tea trays are difficult to maintain and easy to get dirty, just like purple clay pots. A small purple clay pot requires a lot of patience to take care of it. Not to mention a large tea tray.

How to deal with cracked wooden tea tray

First of all, don’t panic. Look at the extent of the cracking. If it is just small fine lines that do not affect the appearance and use, don’t rush to deal with it. Leave it for a while and wait until the wood is stable before dealing with it.

Wooden tea trays are exposed to water and heat every day, so cracking is inevitable. Therefore, you must take good care of the tea tray when using it in the future.

When you encounter small cracks, you need to use wood powder, 502 glue, sandpaper, and beeswax. First, sand the cracks to see the extent and range of the cracks, then fill in 502 glue, fill with wood powder, then fill in 502 glue, and fill with wood powder again, until the cracks are completely filled with wood powder, then clean it up, sand it smooth with sandpaper, and then add some color water. (Note: Do not apply the color all at once, but apply the color repeatedly several times, so that the color will gradually match the color of the surrounding wood grain) Finally, apply a little beeswax to make the cracks appear smooth and round.

If there are large cracks, it is best to find a professional to handle it.

How to repair a cracked bamboo tea tray

The service life of a bamboo tea tray is generally about five years. If it has been used for a long time, you might as well replace it with a new one.

If it is a newer tea tray, there are several ways to repair it:

1. If the problem is not serious, you can soak it in water and then apply a layer of tung oil to repair small cracks. 2. For more serious cracks, you can use epoxy resin glue or latex. 3. Do not use adhesives such as 502, as they will still crack when exposed to water.