Chinese Tea Table

10th Tea Tray project

2025-11-05T20:30:00.003+08:00

The 10th Tea Tray project is made from chengal wood

Size,width 27" x depth 15.5" and thickness 2 inches and is lightly coated with coconut oil.

a drain hole is added.

A coffee table for a change

2025-10-19T21:01:00.000+08:00

After a long hiatus,a coffee table from meranti wood was made.

Size of the table is,width 52 x Depth 20 and height 22 inches.

Finishing the 18th Tea Table Project

2023-10-27T22:18:00.001+08:00

After a very long wait,the 18th Tea Table project together with chengal wood stools and merbau wood long bench was finally completed. It was made for a friend who supplied the materials and was charged RM1,600 for workmanship.

Start of the 18th Tea table project

2022-12-13T22:44:00.000+08:00

After a long hibernation due to the pandemic,

the craftsman have finally got his hands itchy again

with a new flat type tea table for a friend

who supplied the chengal wood pieces.

9th Tea Tray project

2021-04-13T00:40:00.001+08:00

The 9th Tea Tray project is 34" by 19"
carved out from a piece of merbau wood.

Early sketch

A Dining Table Project for a change

2021-02-03T23:19:00.000+08:00

Made a dining table for own use
with a Gemunggal wood table top and
legs from Chengal wood.
Size:-
length 63",width 36",thickness 1.5",
height 28" and leg size 3" X 4".

It should cost about Rm 4,500 for one
with a table top made from Balau wood
since the Gemunggal is very difficult to get.

The 8th Tea Tray project

2020-07-02T13:33:00.002+08:00

It's nice to report that a second piece was also completed during the covid-19 lockdown,

a Gemunggal wood tea tray,size 29"x 15"x3".

Finishing the 2nd Display Tray project

2020-04-16T00:20:00.002+08:00

It seems a once in a century global lock down due to Corona Virus can do wonders,
making time available for the ever busy craftsman
to finish this long overdue project
from a piece of Gemunggal wood
size 23" x 11" x 3".

The 7th Tea Tray project

2019-11-30T17:24:00.000+08:00

The latest project is a 22.5" x 11.5" x 3.25" size
Gemunggal Wood Tea Tray
ordered by a drop in customer from KL
about 3 months ago.

The start of another 2 project

2019-09-18T01:04:00.000+08:00

Came back just in time to see the start
of the 7th Chinese Tea Tray
and 2nd Display Tray/Table project
with 2 piece of Gemunggal wood.

Projects that have to start right away
because his customer already paid for it!

Sixth Chinese Tea Tray Project

2019-02-05T23:52:00.000+08:00

The sixth Tea Tray project is carved out
from a fine piece of Gemunggal wood
Anthony's friend brought.

8 X 30 Inches

preparation and planning

The 17th Tea Table Project

2018-04-22T23:00:00.001+08:00

The 17th Tea Table project
is made from 3 merbau piece
cut off from buttress root
of a few 'dead' merbau stump
that we found at an old palm oil plantation
some time back.

A table without metal nails
made for a friend in KL.

Table top secured with a 1/2 ton chain block and a car jack on one leg
while work on it's leg is done.

Anthony installing the other table leg.

Nice place for a cat nap!

Sidetracked by a Swing

2017-10-05T23:38:00.000+08:00

Made from a small curved merbau piece
which is unsuitable for a tea tray or table.

as it was found

after a cleanup with a wire brush

and a light coat of oil

Final product installed at a friend's house.

Test run

Display Table

2017-06-09T23:08:00.000+08:00

A display table/tray Anthony carved out
from a piece of gemunggal wood
for a tea drinking friend.

Repost Second Tea Tray project

2017-04-19T15:11:00.000+08:00

The second Tea Tray project is up for sale-RM3800
carved out of a piece of Gemunggal wood
with a legs from maggis wood.

The drain pipe connection to drain off water or tea .

The manggis tree leg before the table top is installed and no nails involved.

The Craftsman in the news

2017-02-04T23:38:00.000+08:00

Wooden charms BY ES TUNG - NST 26 NOVEMBER 2016 @ 5:10 PM

Abandoned tree stumps and parts are given a new lease of life, writes ES Tung

When “tuina” (Chinese therapeutic massage) practitioner
Lee Lip Seng is not administering treatment to ease his clients’ aches and pains,
he and his elder brother Lip Pang are scouring forests or land cleared for development projects in search of abandoned tree stumps, trunks and roots.Armed with chainsaws, handsaws and hoes,
they salvage the tree parts of hardwood species like merbau, cengal, gemunggal and keranji.
These would literally be given a new lease of life as majestic tea tables and trays that will take their rightful places in the tea rooms of connoisseurs.

Met at his home in Kuantan recently, the soft-spoken 52-year-old ranks among a handful of skilled tea table craftsmen in the country. You could say that his passion is deeply rooted in his other interest of over 30 years — the art of Chinese tea drinking. “I started learning about Chinese tea drinking in the early 1990s,” says Lee, adding that he was attracted by fine tea tables that were produced by Chinese craftsmen back then, so much so that he decided to learn how to make one.

He continues: “At the time, I was working with an event consultancy. At the places where our outdoor functions were held, I came across a lot of abandoned tree stumps, roots and trunks that had been left to rot. Most of these were local hardwood species and I thought what a waste it would be to leave them to be destroyed.”

Rather than see them go to waste, Lee started collecting the abandoned tree parts for his new found passion. Bits of rotting trunks, stumps and roots were brought back to his makeshift workshop at home and slowly turned into exquisite tea tables and trays.

“I created my first tea table in 1999,” he shares. The piece, which measures more than 1.5m long, 50cm wide and about 10cm thick, now sits in a quiet corner in Lee’s house, surrounded by his vast collection of teas and tea drinking implements.

The fine-grained top, greyish brown in colour and well-aged, came from an abandoned moringa tree. It sits firmly on wooden legs that were once roots of another tree. It is on this table that Lee serves his guests fine Chinese tea and regales them with stories of teas and tea table making.

Having made over 20 pieces of tea tables and tea trays for friends and acquaintances, Lee confides that he only worked on his pieces during his past time. The biggest he has made so far is a stunning table, carved out of merbau wood, measuring almost two metres long, which took him six months to complete and cost nearly RM8,000.

Although his tea tables have gained a following, Lee insists that he doesn’t want to make a living from his passion. “Making a tea table is not simply cutting up a piece of hardwood to the desired length, gouging out the sections and polishing the entire piece to a shine,” he explains. “A lot of thought has to go into the crafting because not all salvaged woods are of the same size and shape. It takes up to a month or more to sculpt an average sized table."

He adds: “A well-made wooden Chinese tea table is also a specialised implement in tea drinking ceremonies. Why tea connoisseurs prefer to use a wooden tea table is because it is free of chemicals. When a cup of hot tea is placed on natural wood, the taste of the tea will not be tainted by the scent of chemicals, like those from a plastic table for instance, when exposed to heat.

SKILLED ART
His face earnest, Lee continues: “If you look closely at the surface of a tea table, you can see that it is made up of several levels, very much like terraces cut into the hillside. The outer-most level, which is also the highest level, is reserved for placing the tea-filled teacups for serving to the guests. Along each level lower than this one are where the tea pitcher, tea pot, and even tools like tea caddies and tongs, should be placed. Each level has a purpose and is not designed out of whim or fancy."

He goes on to explain: “Tea cups are washed on the lowest level which has a sloping bottom that converges into a drainage hole where the waste water is channelled into container for elimination. This level is constantly wet and the wood used must be resistant to moisture.

Not all hardwood, says Lee, can be used for making a tea table. Some hardwood do not react kindly to being wet. Their surface becomes stained by moisture and leftover tea drips, leaving unsightly marks when the table is dried. Others, like bakau (mangrove) wood, may be very hard but they are also not favoured because once dried, they may crack open. Bakau wood is only strong when they are in the ground or are wet, which is why they are used for coastal piling work.

A piece of hardwood collected will be left to dry for months in the compound of his house and later, treated to remove insects like borers. Once cured sufficiently, Lee would study the shapes before sculpting to bring out the best designs for each piece.

The various levels on the table top would be painstakingly cut out by hand, using a carving chisel and a mallet, and then planed down. Once satisfied with the shape, Lee would prepare the surface for polishing. This is the final stage and polishing has to be done entirely by hand, slowly.

“This takes the longest time and has to be carried out slowly so that the heat from polishing would bring out the wood’s natural oils,” says Lee. “Once the oil rises to the surface, the wood’s shine would appear and last for a very long time. All it takes is to lightly clean it with a moist cloth and the shine would return.”

Meanwhile, tea trays, he explains, are made for people with space-challenged homes or those who already have a main table in the home. “Tea trays are smaller, highly portable and can be placed on an existing table. When they’re not in use, they can be stored away without taking up too much space.”

Lee may be reached via thomasllp62@gmail.com.

Read More : http://www.nst.com.my/news/2016/11/192914/wooden-charms?d=1

The 16th Tea Table project

2016-09-07T00:26:00.000+08:00

This project is a flat type Chinese Tea Table
made from merbau wood
with 2 uniquely shaped legs.

table top at the design stage

legs being prepared

assembled and almost ready.

The mascot cat nickname 'rabbit' is always watching.

Fifth Chinese Tea Tray Project

2016-02-06T18:43:00.000+08:00

The fifth Tea Tray project
with a piece of mystical gemunggal wood
took quite sometime to complete
with a tea discovery trip to Ceylon for the craftman thrown in the middle.

A difficult wood to work with
because of the small size of the tree.

Continuing with the short chat with Dr Kenneth,
the owner of the tray about the gemunggal wood.
A check on it with a friend of mine in the local timber trade
leads to what the Indians call "The tree for life".
Here in the photos below
my brother David who is on missionary works in India
tracing how the Moringa or Murungai(sounded like gemunggal)
tree looks like in India where it most likely originated.

Fourth Chinese Tea Tray Project

2015-11-06T21:05:00.003+08:00

This tea tray is made from a small piece of Gemunggal wood
for my brother's tea drinking friend.

The wood before the job start

Third Chinese Tea Tray Project

2015-04-11T21:16:00.003+08:00

The third Tea Tray was carved out
from a piece of chengal wood.
It's for sale at RM700.(in M'sia only)
---Sold-----

A surprise 2nd Chinese Tea Tray project

2015-02-13T22:53:00.001+08:00

After a lull of almost 3 long years,
the craftsman(my brother,Anthony)is finally making himself busy again
with his second tea tray project for a friend.

Craft from a block of solid gemunggal wood.

Aboriginal attempt at table making

2013-08-14T21:39:00.000+08:00

Once upon the time these aboriginal people
of the Jakun tribe from the Kg Wah Wah
were merely supplying exotic wood to collectors for a pittance
but now with some training in woodcraft
they are beginning to show some result
and are able to make some value added products
like these wooden table which in my view
have plenty of room for improvement
with proper guidance.

View Aboriginal Woodcraft stalls in a larger map

Chinese New Year Tea drinking session

2013-02-17T23:59:00.000+08:00

Tea drinking session with family members
and friends on Chinese New Year

Anthony with Alice's friend, Fernando Diaz from Mexico.

Tea drinking accessories.

Tea session on Chinese New Year day.

Laotion made chinese tea tables

2012-11-06T16:54:00.000+08:00

A small shop cum factory dealing in carved tea tables
and other wood base decoration
in Luang Prabang, on the way to Kuang Si Falls.

Teapots for the craftsman

2012-08-19T06:47:00.001+08:00

I bought these two chinese teapot
to add to the craftsman collection from a store in Labuan.