Starting Korean Tea (Dado) with Exactly Three Objects

Tea culture attracts equipment the way camping does. Korean dado (다도) is gentler than the Japanese ceremony - fewer rules, more conversation - and it begins honestly with three things: one teapot, two cups, one tea you like.

The pot: a small dahgwan, 150-250ml, pours short and fast - small pots make better tea because you re-steep often. The cups: two, not one, because tea is social even when you are alone (the second cup cools while you drink the first). The tea: a Korean green (nokcha) or roasted hwangcha to start.

The ritual is the repetition, not the gear. Same time, same corner of the table, ten minutes. Add a fairness pitcher or a tea scoop only when you feel their absence - that is how you know a tool is real for you.

Pots, cups and full tea ware from Korean kilns are collected in The Ritual - alongside the cushions and incense that tend to follow.