Imagine having a friend for life that you can enjoy tea with. Well, your dreams have come true because such a thing exists! It is called a tea pet.
Traditionally, the tea pet or tea lover’s pet (aka chachong) is a clay figurine that is placed on your tea table, joining you for some tea. You can find tea pets made out of various materials and tea pets are often sculpted with clay and unglazed, leaving a rough surface that is better to absorb the tea. When steeping yourself some tea, you can actually feed your tea pet some as well. This is when it becomes more like a pet, something you have to raise and take care of.
To do so, you simply pour some tea over it, making sure to cover it entirely and that’s it!