Zurucily Stone Tea Tray with Water Drainage

Yes, and that's one of its real selling points. Unlike traditional bamboo tea trays that can develop mold from constant water exposure — especially in humid environments — this Zurucily tray is made from a composite stone-like material that won't mold. Multiple reviewers specifically mention choosing it over bamboo for this reason. For serious tea practitioners who brew daily, mold resistance is a genuine practical advantage that saves you from having to constantly oil and maintain a wooden tray.

One of the big advantages of this Zurucily tray is that it's made from a stone-like composite material rather than bamboo, so you don't have to worry about mold — which is a common headache with wooden tea trays. Reviewers specifically mention it's easy to clean. Just wipe down the top tray after each session, empty and rinse the bottom drainage tray, and let it air dry. No oiling or special treatment needed like you'd have with bamboo or wood trays.

It's actually a solid starter tray. Reviewers highlight it as a good beginner set for learning tea ceremonies — it's affordable, the design is simple and no-frills, and it's easy to clean and maintain. You get the full Gongfu tray experience without a big investment, so you can figure out what size and style works for you before upgrading. The mold-resistant material is also forgiving for beginners who might forget to dry their tray after a session. Just don't expect premium quality across every component — the top tray is impressive, but the bottom plastic tray and included pump are clearly budget-tier.

It has a sleek black matte finish that multiple reviewers comment on positively. The top tray looks and feels like stone, which gives it a more premium appearance than you might expect at this price point. However, a few reviewers note that the overall build quality is slightly lower than the photos suggest — mainly because the bottom plastic tray doesn't match the aesthetic of the top. The top tray on its own looks great on a table.

Yes — and this is a detail that's easy to miss. The top tray has a dual-sided design with one textured side and one flat side. You can flip it depending on your preference or what teaware you're using. It's a nice touch that gives you some variety in how you display your tea setup.

Reviewers say it works well for anywhere from solo sessions up to about 6 people. For a solo session with a tea pet or two, you'll have plenty of room. For a group of 4-6, you can fit a teapot, pitcher, and enough cups comfortably. It's a versatile middle-ground size — not so small that you feel cramped, not so large that it dominates your table.

It's possible but not ideal. The whole set weighs about 1.2kg, and the top tray alone is 900 grams of dense stone-like material. One reviewer mentions using it for car trips, which is reasonable — you can set it up in a hotel room or at a friend's house. But for regular travel or backpacking, it's too heavy and bulky. If travel is your main use case, you'd want a smaller, lighter travel tea set instead.

A tea tray serves a very practical purpose during Gongfu brewing: it catches all the water and tea that spills during rinsing, warming cups, and pouring. In a proper tea ceremony, you'll rinse your teaware with hot water before brewing and often pour tea over your tea pets — all that liquid needs somewhere to go. This Zurucily tray collects that excess in a lower drainage tray, keeping your table dry. It also gives you a dedicated workspace to organize your teapot, cups, pitcher, and tea pets in one clean setup.

A Gongfu tea tray is traditionally called a "cha pan" (茶盘) in Chinese. It's the flat tray used during Gongfu-style brewing to catch overflow water and tea when you rinse your teaware or pour with intention. This Zurucily tray is a modern take on the cha pan — it has a heavy stone-like top surface where you arrange your teapot, cups, and pitcher, with a drainage system underneath to collect excess liquid during the ceremony.

Tea trays generally come in bamboo, wood, stone, ceramic, or composite materials like this Zurucily tray. Bamboo is traditional and affordable but prone to mold over time — which is exactly why reviewers like this non-bamboo alternative. Stone trays are beautiful but extremely heavy and expensive. This Zurucily sits in a sweet spot: it has that heavy, stone-like feel on top (about 900g for just the top tray) with a sleek black matte look, but at a much more accessible price point than actual stone. It's a good way to test whether a drainage-style tray works for your setup before investing in a premium one.

With a Gongfu tea tray like this one, you arrange your teapot or gaiwan in the center, your fairness pitcher (cha hai) nearby, and line up your small tasting cups. Tea pets often go on the tray too. When you brew, you rinse everything with hot water first — letting it flow right into the tray — then brew your tea, pour it into the pitcher, and serve from there into the cups. The tray gives you freedom to pour generously without worrying about spills. This Zurucily tray fits enough teaware for 1-6 people comfortably.

A typical Gongfu setup on this tray includes a teapot or gaiwan, a fairness pitcher, several small tasting cups, tea tongs or a tea pick, and often a tea pet or two for good luck. Reviewers mention this Zurucily tray provides good space for all of that — the heavy stone-like top can support substantial teaware collections without flexing. Some people also keep a waste bowl or tea towel nearby, but the tray itself handles the overflow duty.

Either works great on this tray. The Zurucily's stone-like top is sturdy enough to support heavy porcelain teapots and gaiwans without any concern — reviewers confirm it handles substantial teaware without flexing. If you're using delicate bone china cups, the flat matte surface provides good grip. For Gongfu brewing specifically, porcelain gaiwans are the more traditional choice since they don't absorb flavors between teas, but that's really about your brewing preference rather than the tray itself.