A silver 'goose' tea spoon, Tang dynasty 唐 銀鏨雁首茶匙

Tea spoons were originally used as utensils to measure and transfer powdered-form tea from the tea brazier to a tea bowl. During the early period of diancha (tea whisking) culture, the tea spoon gradually became a utensil to whisk foam on tea. Cai Xiang’s Cha Lu (The Record of Tea) recorded that ‘Tea spoon must be heavy, such that it gives enough force when tea is whisked. Gold is the best amongst all (material), silver and iron are commonly used, bamboo is too light’. A closely related tea spoon from the Metropolitan Art Museum in New York is illustrated on their official website https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/61110.

茶匙原用於量取茶末或分盛茶湯。點茶文化初期，茶匙又演變增加了擊拂茶湯的功能。蔡襄《茶錄·器論·茶匙》中寫到：「茶匙要重，擊拂有力，黃金為上，人間以銀、鐵為之。竹者輕，建茶不取。」紐約大都會博物館藏有一近例，錄於其網站 https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/61110。