We’re known mostly for reviewing games and movies, and maybe some wrestling content, but the site actually covers a lot of ground. Occasionally, I like to review stuff outside of our usual focus. A year ago I reviewed some green tea from Rishi that I really like. Since I do enjoy hot green tea (and other kinds of tea as well), I jumped at the chance to a review a really cool and interesting teacup that you can play music with. That teacup is called the Teacarina and it’s from St. Louis Ocarina.
As the title of the cup and company would suggest, the Teacarina is a tea cup that’s also an ocarina. As a teacup, it’s perfectly acceptable. I typically like to drink a little more than a cup of tea when I fix it, so the Teacarina isn’t going to be my go to cup most of the time. If you just want one cup of tea and would like to also entertain or annoy some folks, then the Teacarina is most excellent.
The cup itself is handle-less, which some people don’t like when it comes to drinking hot beverages. Thankfully, the cup is double walled and well ventilated thanks to the ocarina so even with some hot tea inside the cup itself remains cool to the touch. It also feels really strong and durable, so it seems like it could withstand some dropping (and no, I’m not going to drop it on purpose to test that assumption). Basically, it’s a perfectly serviceable teacup if all you want to do is drink tea out of it. Whether or not it would be worth $20 just as a cup is arguable, but I’d personally say no on that front.
The neat thing about the Teacarina though is that it’s a four hole ocarina. You hold it in your hands with your ring fingers underneath the cup, your thumbs on the back towards your mouth, and your middle and index fingers positioned over the four holes on the front. You blow into the slit on the top edge of the cup and you make noise or music. I make noise, sue me.
It’s when the teacup is combined with the ocarina that it becomes worth the $20. It would be an excellent gift for someone who both likes tea and is musically inclined. It can be entertaining, or if all you do is make noise with it then it can be hilariously annoying. It does come with a little brochure like book with some sheet music for playing the supposedly easy to learn “classics” like Mary Had a Little Lamb and Take Me Out to the Ballgame. I have zero musical talent myself and I’m nearly fast enough to move my fingers around to play anything that remotely resembles music though.
It can be done though, and when done right, it sounds really awesome. Watch the video below to see a demonstration from a really talented person who knows what they’re doing with an ocarina.
We don’t attach numerical scores to stuff like this, so this simply gets a BUY recommendation if you are at all interested in a good teacup that you can use to make music (or just annoy people with). It’s a really neat and awesome little cup. There are four different colored versions of this cup available.
For more on the Teacarina, and to order one for yourself or as a gift, visit the STL Ocarina website by clicking here.
And for the gamers interested in an ocarina simply because of the Zelda games, here’s two really awesome gaming related ocarina performances (not using the teacup). For more great performances, including more Zelda, Final Fantasy, and more gaming related ones, check out the STL Ocarina YouTube channel.
Zelda’s Title Theme from The Ocarina of Time
Want You Gone from Portal 2
* The Teacarina was provided for review.
