Mono Classic teapot

Mono Classic

The Mono Classic teapots, designed in 1983 and 1986, were the first Mono teapots and revolutionized tea preparation with their synthesis of form and function. Simply brilliant was the idea of making the strainer almost as large as the teapot to give the tea leaves more room to develop their aroma. The Mono teapot was awarded as often as it was copied. It was the inventor of a functional principle, a pioneer in modern functional design language and became a design icon. From Kassel to New York, it is part of collections of modern and applied art and in daily use in thousands of households worldwide.

The strainer is made of durable, tasteless, stainless steel mesh, and the pot is made of fire-resistant borosilicate glass. The specific geometry of the glass ensures that the last remaining liquid remains in the jug with the tea crumbs it contains. Because of the plastic handles, we recommend cleaning the strainer, frame and lid by hand. The glass can be cleaned in the dishwasher.

The Mono Classic teapot is available in variants with separate and integrated teapot warmer. Complementary items such as cups and sugar/cream service complete the tea enjoyment. All individual parts of the Mono teapots can be reordered as spare parts.

How it all started

In the fall of 1980, Tassilo von Grolman was invited to a tea evening at the Rosenthal Studiohaus in Frankfurt to lecture on the design and functionality of teapots. He had to admit that two teapots were actually needed to prepare optimal tea: one pot in which the tea was brewed and then strained through a sieve into a second preheated pot. Unsatisfactory for the tea-drinking designer, who could not let go of the subject. After a sleepless night he had the brilliant idea for the design of the Mono teapot.

Grolman went with a metal-framed glass and a large tea strainer to different producers and claimed that this was what the teapot of tomorrow would look like. He was rejected by the large manufacturers. But with its simple, Bauhaus-inspired design, the jug like an aesthetic continuation of the Mono A flatware. At Wilhelm Seibel (4th generation family business) it passed the belly test and came on the market in 1983.

Awarded

Cooper Hewitt Museum, New York 
Corning Museum of Glass, New York 
Die Neue Sammlung, München  
Haus Industrieform, Essen  
Kestner Museum, Hannover 
Museum der Bildenden Künste, Leipzig  
Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe, Hamburg 
Rat für Formgebung, Frankfurt 
Staatliche Kunstsammlungen, Kassel  
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York  
Victoria and Albert Museum, London  

Links

Care instructions for Mono teapots
Barbara Friedrich, former chief editor and publisher of the magazine "Architektur und Wohnen", presents the Mono Teapot