“What is a tea pitcher (chazhong)?” and “How is it pronounced?” are common questions about this piece of teaware. In fact, a chazhong is also known as a tea pitcher, fairness cup, or equality cup. Its main function is to hold brewed tea, preventing the leaves from steeping too long and turning bitter.
Anyone who loves brewing tea has experienced tea becoming bitter and astringent due to over-steeping. To avoid this, clever tea masters of the past created the tea pitcher. A chazhong is essentially a large cup or bowl used to hold freshly brewed tea. As you finish your cup, you simply pour more from the pitcher, so you never have to worry about your tea getting over-steeped.
Beyond holding brewed tea, a chazhong is also an essential tool when comparing different teas. To compare different steepings or different types of tea, you can pour them into separate pitchers to easily taste and evaluate their differences. Additionally, different steepings can be blended together in the pitcher to ensure a consistent flavor across cups—which is how it earned the names “fairness cup” and “equality cup.”
If you are particular about your tea brewing, having a tea pitcher can make the experience even more enjoyable and fun. If you prefer not to buy one, you can also use a regular rice bowl or a large mug from home to achieve the exact same effect.