One of the most annoying things a tea dealer or maker faces when transporting from town to town or even worst, country to country, is finding a safe and efficient way to transport tea cups, pots and tea trays. Unlike other industries there is no set bag for tea ware like there is for camera bags or instruments etc. This is one of the biggest setbacks in the tea world that makes it both frustrating and dangerous for transporting precious items.
Tea dealers are often at a disadvantage when they reach airports and are told to take out all their separate items from their bags, which could include a variety of breakable or fragile goods. Typically, a tea maker needs to wrap everything separately and place it in a loose bag such as a backpack while hoping that this will neither be dropped nor bumped into during transport. And even if precaution is taken dealers still face the risk of goods falling or bumping into each other while inside the bag so there is a high risk that something will be broken.
Even the individual wrapping is tedious and slows down the tea maker from transporting and preparing tea. Something as simple as going to a tea trade show 5 miles down the road still requires bubble wrap or other protective measures to ensure safe keeping of tea ware that is precious such as Yixing pots or various porcelain cups. Therefore we think a great idea that should be developed is tea bags, not in the traditional sense when you think of tea being dipped into a cup but in the same way camera lens are stored inside a bag.
There needs to be specialized hand bags that can fit and store tea pots/cups based on size that is easy to carry and has multiple storage compartments inside. There could also be a tea storage area for different teas along with a special spot for tea scoops and scrapers. Additionally, any mats that need to be rolled up and placed inside can have designated areas, all of which will be protected with a foam padding inside.
People want to travel with their tea and introduce it to all sorts of people across the world. There is much to gain in terms of communication and culture through transporting tea and creating suitable devices is the first step in bringing this goal to fruition.