white house red roof greenery on side of house

A while back before we were confined to our lovely homes to practice distancing in place, I wanted to find a whimsical teapot for my mom. I went on a discovery tour of the vintage shops I usually go to, with the sole purpose to see what could be found that would thrill my mom.

The many and varied whimsical teapot

tall and elegant
cream color porcelain teapot with gold filigree and red and greeen leaves
Christmas tea

Well, I have to say I was not disappointed in the number I found.

Now, I knew that there were many different teapots like the tall elegant porcelain ones that went with great gramma’s china set or the fat squatty ones that were used every day.

There were a couple that was visually descriptive. By that I mean one looked like an open cupboard and another looked like a sewing machine. There are big ones and small ones, even some for one cup of tea.

Some were very plain with smooth sides and one color but there were some beauties that had great defining parts to them and a multitude of colors with flowers all over.

My mom’s collection

1 brown and 1 green teapot
Brown and green teapots
basic beige pot with floral decal
every day use

My mom’s collection of teapots was quite interesting prior to her downsizing from a very large 3 bedroom, 2 story home to a one-bedroom apartment.

Her collection had the regular 6 cupper’s that are usually ceramic and in a variety of colors. She had several of these, the one porcelain one that matched her china dish pattern, a merry-go-round large ceramic pot, and an antique china one that was only for display.

There were a few china ones that were more seasonal like for Christmas, easter, and thanksgiving. Some were very very floral and some had a pattern to the outside and colored insides.

What teapots did I find?

fed bumpy teapot
red bumpy teapot
white house red roof greenery on side of house
red-roofed house with greenery

The choices and variety were quite amazing. Along with the ones I mentioned already, I have some pictures of what I came across in my travels.

I found seasonal teapots like Christmas, fall, thanksgiving, easter, and spring. There were lots of china/porcelain very ornate and delicate teapots.

But the greatest number was the very chunky and cumbersome looking that had a lot of weight.

As you can see from the number of pictures it was a hard decision what to get.

Is glass, metal, porcelain or ceramic a better teapot?

The choice of the teapot to use is in my opinion a highly personal. That said let’s consider the benefits and downfalls of the material a teapot is made from.

Glass

Glass, whether it is clear or colored shows off the tea very nicely but doesn’t do such a good job at keeping it warm.

white metal pot with black dots on white
polka dot kettle

Metal

Metal can be both good and bad for keeping tea at the right temperature. Aluminum or tin do not retain

heat very well. If you are making tea and pouring it right away no problem. Cast iron pots do an excellent job at retaining heat. This pot would be good for a leisurely pot of tea over a conversation where you can pour several cups.

Ceramic

Ceramic would be the next best option because the pot itself is generally thicker and heavier. This helps to keep the pot and thus the tea warm. This too is a pot to use for longer durations of sharing and consuming the tea.

full stove teapot
stove teapot

Porcelain and China

Porcelain and china teapots are generally relegated to the more formal or fancy events like church dinners, weddings, showers, or funeral luncheons. The pots do keep the tea warm for a short time.

Generally, these are a size that is able to hold several cups of tea at a time.

It is easy to see why many of us have several different pots. We use them for many different situations.

The whimsical teapot for mom

After finding many selections I narrowed it down based on something more classic but funky and a little out there but was not run of the mill. Mom is older now so using a teapot that was porcelain or china would reduce the weight and it needed to only hold 6 to 8 cups of tea.  Here in pictures are what I narrowed it down to.

elegant porcelain
delicate porcelain pot

My choice of a whimsical teapot for mom

My choice was the last one “the delicate porcelain pot”.

It meets the requirements of classical. It’s a little whimsical because of the spout and handles being shiny gold in color. Most definitely not run-of-the-mill with its elegant shape. The floral vine pattern on it is somewhat funky and fun.  This teapot is also made from porcelain so it meets the lighter weight requirement and is a 6 cupper as well.

I am happy to tell you she was thrilled with her new used teapot and we christened it with two pots of tea and great chatter!

Let me know what your favorite teapot looks like. Have you ever thought about checking out a gently used store to buy teapots?

Leave me a comment below with your thoughts.

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