Mindful Tea & Pottery A special collaboration with potter Mingyu Du · 立冬 Start of Winter

立冬 Start of Winter · Mindful Tea & Pottery A special collaboration with potter Mingyu Du

Ely · Sat 7 November · Ely Museum · 10:30am–12:30pm Two hours · 12 places

There is a moment in the Chinese solar calendar called 立冬 — the Start of Winter.

🍵 And this year, it falls on the 7th of November. The very morning we meet. We gather on winter's first morning — not to brace against it, but to welcome it. With warm hands.

🍂 Season places for all four autumn gatherings — £160. See The Whole Autumn.

🏺 THE POTTERY · Choosing What Holds You

This gathering is a collaboration with Cambridge potter Mingyu Du, whose work is held at Kettle's Yard.

You'll begin by choosing a handmade piece from Mingyu's work to be yours for the morning — turning them in your hands, feeling their weight, until something in you says: this one. That choosing is a practice in itself.

Mingyu will share a little of how each piece came to be — the clay, the glaze, the fire. You'll never hold a teacup the same way again.

And if your piece has become yours by the end of the morning — as they tend to — you'll be able to take it home at a special gathering-only rate.

🍵 THREE TEAS · Light to Deep

Then we brew — each of us with a 蓋碗 gaiwan: the lidded bowl Chinese tea has been brewed in for centuries. Lid, bowl, saucer. No teapot, no strainer, no hurry.

Most people have never held one. You'll learn in minutes — the tilt of the lid, the way it holds the leaves back — and then the loveliest part: we take turns pouring for one another.

Three teas across the morning, moving light to deep:

古樹滇紅 Ancient-Tree Yunnan Golden Tips — honeyed and bright, to arrive 武夷岩茶 Wuyi Rock Oolong with rose — mineral and blooming, for the middle 普洱 Aged Pu-erh — deep and earthy, to ground and close

All three are warming teas — chosen for the season we're stepping into. 

There is something about pouring for someone. And something else about being poured for. We'll notice both.

Feel the warmth move through the clay into your hands. That warmth is the whole teaching. Winter is coming either way — this is how we meet it.

THIS GATHERING IS FOR YOU IF

You'd love to slow down enough to actually taste your tea.

You're drawn to handmade things and the people who make them.

The darker months feel heavy, and you'd like to begin winter warmly.

You've always been curious how Chinese tea is really brewed — and would love to try a gaiwan for the first time, with someone who grew up with one.

You'd love to meet the person behind the pot — and perhaps bring home a piece with a story, at a rate only this tea room will get.

YOU'LL LEAVE WITH

The know-how to brew with a gaiwan — a small skill for life.

The memory of three teas poured between warm hands — and, if a piece has claimed you, the chance to take it home at a special rate.

Your noticing card and a small tea takeaway to brew at home. Warm hands, and a gentler way into winter.

PRACTICAL DETAILS

Ely Museum · Market Street · Ely CB7 4LS Saturday 7 November · 10:30am–12:30pm Maximum 12 places

Investment Standard: £45, TwoTogether (bring a friend): £85 for 2

Everything included: your handmade piece by Mingyu Du for the morning · three seasonal teas brewed together · noticing card · take-home tea  · Mingyu's pieces available to buy on the day at a special gathering rate.

YOUR FACILITATOR

Pauline grew up in Hong Kong learning food as medicine from her Po Po — ginger tea before symptoms appeared, soups for prevention. Now an ICF PCC Body-Oriented Coach (The Somatic School, UK), she bridges East Asian ancestral practices with modern body science — helping women find their way back to themselves, one slow morning at a time.

Find out more

KIND WORDS

"I really enjoyed the tea ceremonies and was amazed about how relaxed I felt afterwards." — Denise "

The energy was perfect — calm, warm, and welcoming." — Charlene

"A nurturing calm space to create and relax." — Ruth

何人可 — everyone can.