#atla irl

[meteor-sword]

tea pots in Avatar Book 2

what will be interesting here is that all of these pots are exclusively Earth Kingdom. 

zuko’s stolen pot, the beifong’s 

both of these have goose neck spouts. the first one is fancy, likely based on arab teapots (but i could be mistaken). the second, in the guest room at the beifong’s, is just impractical. that short of a vessel should not have that long of a spout. it’s clearly more for the looks than utility, which is just funny seeing how they treat their daughter… /shrug

general fong’s, iroh’s (with toph), iroh’s (before redirecting lightning) 

these three are clearly made by the same artisan, or at least come from the same region. they are also either wheel-spun or very high quality coil technique clay pots. also, note that there are two very similar lids for general fong’s: these pots are being mass-produced to the point that they have replacement lids in case you break yours… i’m not sure why but i’m charmed by the idea of a village somewhere in the earth kingdom just mass producing these white teapots.

song’s, bosco’s, pao’s

these are the plainest of the season. song’s is a simple teapot, which may or may not have a glaze finish. you can tell the lid is chipped, alluding to harder use without replacement. bosco’s (yes, the bear… i figure it’s probably his) is glazed and burnished, leaving it very smooth and shiny. pao’s appears to be metal (note the lack of delineation between the body and spout like on the clay pots) maybe equivalent to what you’d see in a dim sum restaurant. i wonder how this would be mass-produced given the technology at the time. Fire Nation export? 

ba sing se tea cart, iroh when serving the ‘earth king’ 

these are tall serving teapots, which makes sense if you want to have a large amount available to sell or serve. however, iroh’s is ceramic which conducts heat better, while the tea cart appears to be steel, which is usually thinner and causes the tea to cool faster even if the steel stays warm– that explains why iroh got a cold cup of tea! :/ 

book 1 / book 2 / book 3 / tea culture? 

[meteor-sword]

tea pots in Avatar: the Last Airbender Book 1

Iroh’s, Zhao’s, Bumi’s, 
 Iroh’s, Jeung Jeung’s, Zhao’s, 
Zhao’s, Bumi’s

Fire Nation seems to prefer the clawed, possibly cast iron pot-bellied type; cast iron can be boiled over a candle, which would be fitting. Zhao’s tea pot seems to have a flame-shaped metal insert on the lid and the spout is shaped like a dragon. It is much more ornate than Iroh’s on Zuko’s ship. 

The matching Earth Kingdom pots we see at Bumi’s feast are more likely clay pots, similar to square yixing pots from China. Clay pots also suit the Earth Kingdom for obvious reasons. 

The one that appears to be earthen ware is Jeung Jeung’s side-handle type pictured in the center.

book 1 / book 2 / book 3 / tea culture? 

[meteor-sword]

tea pots in Avatar: The Last Airbender Book 3

these are all from the Fire Nation, and there are more handles fashioned over top of the teapots’ bodies than attached to them than in the Earth Kingdom, perhaps because the Fire Nation makes their tea super effing hot? 

Lo and Li’s, Hama’s, Lo and Li’s,

These are similar to the tall serving pots used in the Earth Kingdom. Lo and Li’s (far left and far right) are decorative, the white one being a fine glazed china set and the right one being something.... impractical frankly. In the center, Hama’s is a rougher earthen ware one, likely used for inn guests’ tea when served with a meal?

Ozai’s, Iroh’s lidded teacup in prison, Hama’s

There isn’t a real pattern between these three. Ozai’s is a colorful cast-iron pot with an articulated or separate handle the can probably fold down. Iroh was served tea in a lidded teacup, which looks like a more Japanese style. It’s interesting because we also know what tea was served him-- White Jasmine. White tea should be steeped at a lower temperature, about 170-180F, which would be tolerable for a normal person who drinks as much tea as Iroh to hold without a handle. Hama’s inn room pot is rather boring, but it’s probably a glazed fine ceramic. 

Hama’s, Zuko’s, Boiling Rock Cafeteria, 

this is where it got interesting. Hama is the first person we see serving tea this season, from this distinctive and large teapot. It has an overhead handle with a distinct notch at the back and also a unique lid handle. Since she has two other tea sets, I would wager this is one she personally uses.

It’s seen again when Zuko serves tea to the gang, and at first I thought they just stole it from Hama. But then the same pot is used in the Boiling Rock cafeteria! I’ve debated whether it looks more like a kettle or a clay pot that hot water would be poured into. In any case, this is at least one of the mass produced types of pots in the Fire Nation. 

There might be something to be said, culturally, that most of these Fire Nation pots are huge-- meant to serve multiple people-- while the mass produced Earth Kingdom pots from the previous post were meant to serve two or three people. Only Ozai’s pot and Iroh’s cup seem to be meant to serve one or two people. Seems like tea in the Fire Nation is generally a social activity. 

book 1 / book 2 / book 3 / tea culture?