About the Company

Not since the Ming dynasty (1368–1644) and the GaiWan tea cup has there been such a simplified approach to enjoying a good cup of tea.

This new tea cup was developed by Dr Richard Leaderman, who has been interested in the Chinese culture of tea.  He read about the people who drank tea directly from small tea pots. Cups were not used. Dr. Leaderman tried to drink tea this way but he burned his tongue and found the hot teapot difficult to hold. Since he wanted to get the great flavor and health benefits from loose and herbal teas he felt that he could Americanize this concept.

In order to make holding the pot easer he moved the spout to a right angle from the handle, and then redesigned the spout to mimic the edge of a cup for easy drinking. A filter was then placed at the base of the spout.

Dr Leaderman’s first cups were made with the help of a local potter. After playing with this design he felt that the cup was unique enough to apply for a patent. Patent #59414909 was granted on August 24, 1999. The next step was how to manufacture the cup.

It seems that this low tech product would be easy to manufacture, but he tried first in this country and was told it was too complicated for normal molds. He finally found a small company but they could not find a mold maker. Next, he got help from “Aid to Artistes” an organization that helps third world company. So he tried Peru, but had problems with quality and shipping. Finally, off to China.