Celebrating 10 Years with Youlan Ceramics
The craft of the everyday product holds a special place in our hearts. We feature teas from skilled Taiwanese tea makers and showcase the delicious treats coming out of our own bakery. Our anniversary has always been an excuse for us to feature crafts and artistry outside of our wheelhouse, and this year is no exception.
For our 10th birthday, we want to focus your attention on something tactile and functional for teatime. Handmade teacups.
The right cup for tea
For those of us who brew tea daily, the vessel matters. A good teacup should feel right in your hands—not too heavy, not too light. The handleless style is how we serve tea in our tearoom. When you hold the cup directly, you feel the temperature, the weight, the texture. It slows you down.
Natalie Pappas
Natalie has been leading our West Village tearoom for more than two years. She's also a ceramist working under the name Youlan Ceramics in Brooklyn. Natalie has been retailing her wares at the tearoom for a while now, mostly wares for gongfu style tea brewing. Natalie also made beautiful table vases for the East Village tearoom. When we started thinking about our 10th anniversary, we asked if she'd collaborate with us making teacups to celebrate. She said yes.
The cups
In Natalie's words, "These wheel-thrown cups were made with the spirit of tea in mind—each one unique, grounded, and meant to be part of everyday rituals. Like tea, they invite you to slow down and appreciate moments of calm."
The small cups are thrown off the hump—a traditional Japanese pottery technique where multiple pieces are created from a single mound of clay on the wheel. Each cup features a warm beige-brown surface with subtle speckles, where a simple white glaze reveals beautiful variation against the high iron content of the black stoneware. At about 0.8 oz, they're perfectly sized for gongfu-style tea service, good for sharing a pot between two.
The larger cups are individually wheel-thrown and finished with a traditional tenmoku glaze—a dark iron glaze known for its unpredictable beauty. The layered coloring shifts from dark brown to tan with striking bluish-green speckling. About 2 oz, sized for more contemplative solo brewing.
Both bear the Té mark on the base. Made exclusively for us in Brooklyn. Each cup is unique—slight variations in size, shape, and glaze are part of the handmade charm.
