Cheers. Using it right now:
Where do you buy your gaiwans?
A thing I found extra confusing is that vendors measure volume differently. My first gaiwan is sold as 100ml, $12 incl. shipping from China--this one from Dragon Tea House (they are also on Ali Express). It's just over 160ml to the brim with surface tension holding the water. You can brew 120ml easily & even 140ml, if you don't mind liquid on top of the lid. (I don't mind it, I like the lock it creates & that's exactly how I brew, esp. if it's for 2 persons, but you do need quick & precise pouring, so you don't touch liquid / burn fingers. Consecutive 100°C brews are especially tricky.)
My second gaiwan is of glass & even cheaper from Ali Express, listed as 150ml, but the brim volume is just over 180ml, so basically a 10% increase from the previous, instead of 50%.
Still looking for that fancier 200ml+ gaiwan that I'm prepared to spend a bit more on.
Based on previous posts & my own browsing, there are these options:
shipping from China / Hong Kong:
- Ali (careful!) https://www.aliexpress.com/af/gaiwan.html
- Crafted Leaf https://www.craftedleaf-tea.com/gaiwans
- Dragon Tea House https://dragonteahouse.biz/gaiwan/
- Mud & Leaves https://mudandleaves.com/collections/gaiwans
- Yunnan Sourcing https://yunnansourcing.com/collections/all/gaiwan
- Taiwan Sourcing https://taiwanoolongs.com/search?q=gaiwan
- Teas We Like https://teaswelike.com/product-category/gaiwans/
- Elmwood Inn https://store.elmwoodinn.com/search.aspx?find=gaiwan
- Red Blossom Tea https://redblossomtea.com/search?q=gaiwan
- Verdant Tea https://verdanttea.com/teaware/gaiwan
- Yunnan Sourcing US https://yunnansourcing.us/search?q=gaiwan
- Anmo (high-end) https://anmo-art-cha.com/collections/ch ... B%E7%A2%97
- Nannuoshan https://www.nannuoshan.org/collections/gaiwan
- Sazen https://www.sazentea.com/en/products/?search=gaiwan
- Thés du Japon https://www.thes-du-japon.com/index.php ... ord=gaiwan
- Amazon/Amazon Marketplace (.com & local sites in Europe/Japan/China, etc.) (careful!)
- Etsy (careful!) https://www.etsy.com/search?q=gaiwan
If that is the case (like maybe you are dimsum-style brewing a traditionally-stored pu'er but people are leery about drinking off the leaves), Serendipitea sells a short thick sandwich-type gaiwan: https://www.serendipitea.com/teapots-ac ... White.html They also have some books that are hard to find, like Michele Brody's Three Years of Tea in the Bronx. Their tea-packaging is no good, though, plastic bag in a cardboard box, so if you pick up some tea as well be prepared to re-bag or re-tin.
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TeaTotaling
- Posts: 521
- Joined: Sat Apr 25, 2020 3:08 pm
- Location: Ohio
The porcelain is a daily use utensil , so also have to count with the damage time of the time. If you are experienced or lucky enough , that can go for expensive stuff , otherwise I wouldn't recommend anything over 10-15$ ( depending on your pocket ).
That's the price I'm talking about if buy from online shops based in China. When you add the shipping fee , you probably better look up some online shops based in your country coz might work out the same $ in total.
In my opinion , buying only one cheap porcelain gaiwan from China makes no sense.
It does make a sense if you buy something unique or in combination with some other stuff , like tea or something.
There is also massive production from Fujian factories making the porcelain labeled as Jingdezhen. Lower price , but also quality. You can't distinguish the difference by the picture , neither the by price ( unless extremely low ) ....but that's probably for different topic.
Yet, for the beginner is good enough ( if purchased very cheap and few of them , so can learn / practice ) .
That's the price I'm talking about if buy from online shops based in China. When you add the shipping fee , you probably better look up some online shops based in your country coz might work out the same $ in total.
In my opinion , buying only one cheap porcelain gaiwan from China makes no sense.
It does make a sense if you buy something unique or in combination with some other stuff , like tea or something.
There is also massive production from Fujian factories making the porcelain labeled as Jingdezhen. Lower price , but also quality. You can't distinguish the difference by the picture , neither the by price ( unless extremely low ) ....but that's probably for different topic.
Yet, for the beginner is good enough ( if purchased very cheap and few of them , so can learn / practice ) .
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Stevelaughs
- Posts: 11
- Joined: Mon Jan 10, 2022 12:03 am
- Location: outside Boston
I'm a big fan of Mud & Leaves. Their porcelain wares are sourced mainly from one studio in Jingdezhen. The tian bai porcelain gaiwans and teacups are elegant, thin and versatile. I use the classic jingdezhen gaiwan everyday. I believe they have a large 200ml tian bai gaiwan available at the moment.teatray wrote: ↑Thu Dec 30, 2021 3:55 amBeen using my 100ml gaiwan more and more lately, so I'm thinking of adding a larger one (~150-200+ml) for when I have guests or want bigger cups. The one I have is a plain white for $12 from 8 years ago. Now I want something fancier. What are your favorite places to browse for high-quality handmade gaiwans? (I'm in the EU, so mainly looking for direct China/Taiwan shippers or EU importers, but vendors from US/elsewhere, whose selection is worth a look, are welcome, too.)
There's Etsy and Ali but not sure I want to buy there as I'm uncertain of the quality I'd get (though I've never used Etsy). Trying & returning unsatisfactory items is not much of an option, not just b/c of int'l shipping, but because of the sunk cost of the customs nightmare I have to go through for each package (apparently specific to my country).
Yunnan Sourcing and Taiwan Sourcing offer some, but there's only a few I like. Western-facing Japanese tea vendors offer porcelain, Tokoname, etc. gaiwans (Sazen, TdJ) but I assume I'll get better quality from China for these prices, if I manage not to get scammed into paying $100 for $12 worth of gaiwan.
Yup, I've been eyeing that 200ml one, seems excellent. Just not sure how much bigger it will be than my 100ml (which is 160ml filled with water bulging due to surface tension, 120+ml actual brewing capacity). I'm hoping at least 50% (like ~240ml with water bulging). TWL's wide-brimmed one (as suggested my @LeoFox) doesn't come in the sizes I need but is also really cute, though they don't deliver to my country :/.Stevelaughs wrote: ↑Thu Jan 20, 2022 8:33 pmI'm a big fan of Mud & Leaves. Their porcelain wares are sourced mainly from one studio in Jingdezhen. The tian bai porcelain gaiwans and teacups are elegant, thin and versatile. I use the classic jingdezhen gaiwan everyday. I believe they have a large 200ml tian bai gaiwan available at the moment.
Since getting my new glass gaiwan from AliExpress, I've come to appreciate the 100ml one DTH sold me all those years ago. It works so much better: the knob keeps cool, it's sufficiently flared, and the angle of the lid when sliding it back is just right, not awkward to hold & digging into the tea. The AliExpress one fails in all these regards & just seems badly designed. At least it cost €10 shipped, so I can just throw it away, but definitely not getting anymore from Ali unless I know the seller from elsewhere.