THY COLLECTIBLES Bamboo GongFu Tea Serving Tray (9x9 Small)

This tray is ideal for someone who brews tea solo or occasionally with one other person, values a traditional aesthetic, and wants an affordable entry into gongfu-style tea brewing. It's particularly well-suited for home meditation practice paired with tea, personal daily tea rituals, or as a display piece for a small tea collection. It's not the right choice if you entertain regularly, need something for heavy commercial use, or want a worry-free, maintenance-free option. Think of it as a personal tea companion rather than a hosting centerpiece.

With only 1.5 inches of depth on the base, the reservoir is relatively small. During an active gongfu session where you're pouring rinse water and warming your teaware, you'll likely want to empty it once or twice depending on how generous you are with water. For a quick solo session with just 2-3 steeps, you can usually get through without emptying. The important thing is never leave water sitting in it after you're done — that's the main cause of the cracking and leaking issues some owners have experienced.

Absolutely — and several owners do exactly that. The smooth bamboo finish and carved Chinese tea character give it a warm, authentic look that works as a standalone decorative piece. Some creative owners have wall-mounted the lid as art, and others use the whole tray as a decorative accent in their living room or entertainment area. One reviewer even repurposed the base as a surface for breaking apart puerh tea cakes. So you're getting something that pulls double duty as both a functional brewing tool and a conversation-starting display piece.

Bamboo is the traditional material for Chinese gongfu tea trays, and it brings a warmth and natural beauty that plastic and ceramic can't match. This tray has a smooth, polished bamboo finish that reviewers consistently praise for its appearance. The tradeoff is maintenance — bamboo needs to be dried after use and occasionally oiled to prevent cracking, while plastic and ceramic are more forgiving. Ceramic trays are heavier but virtually indestructible; plastic is cheap but looks it. If aesthetics and authenticity matter to your tea practice, bamboo is the right call.

A gongfu tea tray serves as the foundation for traditional Chinese gongfu-style tea brewing, where you intentionally pour water over and around your teaware as part of the ritual. This THY COLLECTIBLES tray catches that overflow water in a hidden reservoir underneath the bamboo top. Reviewers use it primarily for personal gongfu sessions at home — it's sized for a small teapot and a couple of cups, which is exactly what solo gongfu practice calls for.

This tray is a two-piece design: a flat bamboo top with drainage slots sits over a shallow reservoir base. When you pour water during gongfu brewing — whether you're warming your teapot, rinsing cups, or discarding a rinse steep — the water drains through the slots into the bottom tray. After your session, you just lift the top off and pour out the collected water. It's simple and effective, though at 9x9 inches with only 1.5 inches of height, the reservoir is fairly small, so you'll want to empty it during longer sessions.

Bamboo tea trays like this one need a bit more care than ceramic or plastic. After each session, pour out the collected water from the bottom reservoir, rinse both pieces with warm water, and let them air dry completely before reassembling. Avoid soaking it or running it through a dishwasher — prolonged moisture exposure is what leads to the cracking some owners have reported. A light food-safe mineral oil every few weeks helps keep the bamboo from drying out and splitting.

On this 9x9 inch tray, you'll comfortably fit the essentials for a solo gongfu session: a small teapot or gaiwan, a fairness pitcher, and 2-3 small cups. Some owners also keep tea tongs or a tea pick on the tray. The decorative Chinese tea character cutout adds a nice visual touch, so several reviewers actually use it as a display piece — arranging their favorite teaware on it as a permanent fixture in their tea space, even when they're not actively brewing.

Tea trays come in several styles and materials. Bamboo trays like this THY COLLECTIBLES one are the most traditional for gongfu brewing — lightweight, warm-looking, and affordable. Stone trays (often carved from a single block) are heavy and extremely durable but expensive. Ceramic trays are easy to clean and come in many designs. Bakelite (resin) trays are a modern option that resists water damage better than bamboo. There are also dry-pour trays with no drainage, where you use a waste bowl instead. For a beginner exploring gongfu, a bamboo tray like this one is the classic starting point.

A traditional gongfu tea set includes a small teapot or gaiwan, a fairness pitcher (cha hai), small tasting cups, tea tongs, and a tea tray to catch overflow water. This THY COLLECTIBLES tray is just the tray component — it doesn't come with teaware. At 9x9 inches, it comfortably fits a small teapot, a fairness pitcher, and 2-3 cups, which is a standard solo gongfu setup. Several owners specifically mention using it to display their tea sets even when not actively brewing.

For gongfu-style service on this tray, place your teapot or gaiwan in the center, your fairness pitcher to one side, and your cups arranged in front. The 9x9 inch surface works well for a solo or two-person setup. Pour hot water over the teapot to warm it (the excess drains into the reservoir below), brew your tea, pour into the fairness pitcher, then distribute to cups. Just keep in mind this tray is really sized for personal practice — reviewers consistently note it's too compact for entertaining multiple guests.

In gongfu tea brewing, you're supposed to pour hot water generously — warming the teapot, rinsing cups, discarding the first steep. All that water has to go somewhere, and that's what the tray is for. The top surface has drainage slots, and the water collects in the reservoir below. Beyond the practical purpose, this particular tray doubles as a display piece. Some owners have even wall-mounted the lid as decoration or use it as a decorative accent in their living room.