Tea Towel 茶巾 chá jīn / chakin

What it's for

The tea towel is the most prosaic and most constantly-used item in any tea kit. In gongfu service it wipes drips from pot spouts, dries the bottom of gongdaobei before pouring, and absorbs spills on the tray. In Japanese tea ceremony the chakin is a specific, ritualistically-folded linen cloth used to wipe the inside of the chawan after warming. A clean tea towel marks a serious brewer; a stained one marks an amateur.

History

Cloth wipes appear in Lu Yu's 8th-century Cha Jing, the founding text of Chinese tea culture, where he specifies a bleached coarse linen wipe. The Japanese chakin was codified in Sen no Rikyu's 16th-century chanoyu reforms as a small folded white hemp or linen cloth, washed and replaced often. Modern gongfu practice uses heavier weave Chinese cotton or hemp tea towels, often in dark colors that hide tea staining.

How to use

Keep two towels on the tea tray: one for the brewing area, one for cups and the gongdaobei. Fold the wiping cloth in a small square; refold it when one side becomes stained. Wipe the bottom of any pouring vessel before pouring so drips do not run down the side. The Japanese chakin is folded in a specific way for chanoyu (taught in tea schools) and is rinsed in clean water during the ceremony itself. Wash daily, never bleach, and replace when staining becomes set.

Buying tips

Natural fibers (linen, cotton, hemp) absorb properly; microfiber and polyester repel water and slide on ceramics. Dark cloths hide stains for daily gongfu use; white chakin show that they are clean for ceremonial use, which is the point. A 20 by 20cm cloth is the right size for a chakin; 30 by 30 or larger for a gongfu wipe. Buy several and rotate them; one cloth per session is the minimum standard.

Variants

• Japanese chakin (small white linen)
• Chinese cotton tea towel (dark, larger)
• hemp ramie traditional
• purchased linen
• absorbent waffle weave

Best pairings

• all tea service
• essential for matcha (chakin)

Teas to brew with this

• Matcha - Green Tea, Japan
• Tieguanyin - Oolong Tea, China
• Da Hong Pao - Oolong Tea, China
• Sheng Pu-erh - Pu-erh Tea, China