Can you please introduce yourself and Chufunyu?

I am Henri Lin and I have co-founded CHUFUNYU with my brother Kuan Lin. As Taiwanese growing up in Canada and the United States, we have always been fascinated by the clash of cultures. As we were exposed to a variety of different customs, traditions, and ways of life, we were drawn to the idea of bringing these different influences together through a product brand focused on modern teaware. We wanted to create a line of beautifully crafted, functional modern teaware that incorporates traditional elements from the East and innovative elements from the West, and that helps people from all backgrounds connect over a shared love of tea.

When did your tea journey begin?

Raised in a Taiwanese family, for as long as I can remember, the cupboard is always full of teas from gifts of guests. However, since tea sessions are best enjoyed slowly over longer stretches of time, they are mostly reserved when guests are over on the weekends.

What does your daily tea ritual look like?

I would choose a tea for the day, prepare it in my ECLIPSE and slowly sip it in the NECTAR tea cup while working, adding hot water for subsequent infusions whenever the bottle is empty.

What inspired you to start Chufunyu?

During our tea journey, we've come to discover the many limitations of teawares currently available on the market. Some are easy to break, some are difficult to clean, and a lot are cheaply built and aesthetically challenging. But most important of all, we've found that very few innovative thoughts are put into them. We're talking about material, form, function, ease of use, repeatability, etc. That's what inspired us to build beautifully functional modern teawares that are worthy of the amazing teas from all around the world.

All of the details of the bottle are so thoughtful, can you share some of the processes for deciding on the parameters of the bottle?

The vision of all of our products is simple: beautifully functional. The term "functional" can be different depending on the goals to be achieved. For the ECLIPSE, we've focused on a few key aspects, namely:
1. Easy to clean, hence the removable bottom and the ceramic coating

2. Easy to carry, hence the compact build and the secret magnetic compartment.

3. Durability, hence the stainless steel build and the anti-scratch matte coating, as well as the exposed stainless steel for the screw threads and rims.

What is your favorite part of the Eclipse travel press?

It's hard to decide on only one part. Personally, it would have to be between the removable bottom for easy cleaning and the magnetic lid with secret storage for the NECTAR Teacup.

Is there anything else you want to share about Chufunyu? (Maybe an upcoming project or goals for the future etc)

We have several exciting projects in the pipeline that we cannot share just yet, but trust that CHUFUNYU is always looking to further the horizon of modern teawares! :D