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My gaiwan from my trip to China. Took me a while to find one that I wanted.

Shane wrote: ↑

Tue Dec 26, 2017 12:56 pm

My gaiwan from my trip to China. Took me a while to find one that I wanted.

Nice! Looks quite thick walled, I expect it to work well for aged sheng and shu. For delicate oolongs, I suggest to look for a thin-walled porcelain one, otherwise you might get a bit of overcooked "spinach" taste, because the thick walls retain a lot of heat. Keeping the lid off in between infusions will also help to reduce that

I’ve found my new favorite gaiwan! Last week I got a gaiwan from bitterleaf. It’s only 50ml so I can do multiple sessions in the same day. I’ve been testing it out, and even though the lid sits pretty high, I don’t burn my fingers! Partly because it’s really good a distributing the heat and also partly because it’s so small that by the time anything gets uncomfortable I’ve already finished pouring and put it down. Also, the glaze for the lid stops a millimeter or so before the edge, so it really grips the bowl part of the gaiwan and there’s no sliding around.

Hi Everyone,

I have been looking into a better Gaiwan recently. I have a 100 ml thin wall Gaiwan that I purchased at a local Chinese Tea Shop. I am looking for 150-200 ml medium to thick wall Gaiwan to hold the heat for ripe Puerh. Anyone has recommendation on an online store I can explore? Thanks!

DailyTX wrote: ↑

Thu Jul 25, 2019 12:45 am

Hi Everyone,

I have been looking into a better Gaiwan recently. I have a 100 ml thin wall Gaiwan that I purchased at a local Chinese Tea Shop. I am looking for 150-200 ml medium to thick wall Gaiwan to hold the heat for ripe Puerh. Anyone has recommendation on an online store I can explore? Thanks!

I have a 150ml thick walled simple white gaiwan that they were practically giving away at an LA Tea Festival last year. Great to use when we are several people tasting tea. Mud and Leaves has some very high quality ones. For a cheapy version in your area here is one .

Victoria wrote: ↑

Thu Jul 25, 2019 1:01 am

DailyTX wrote: ↑

Thu Jul 25, 2019 12:45 am

Hi Everyone,

I have been looking into a better Gaiwan recently. I have a 100 ml thin wall Gaiwan that I purchased at a local Chinese Tea Shop. I am looking for 150-200 ml medium to thick wall Gaiwan to hold the heat for ripe Puerh. Anyone has recommendation on an online store I can explore? Thanks!

I have a 150ml thick walled simple white gaiwan that they were practically giving away at an LA Tea Festival last year. Great to use when we are several people tasting tea. Mud and Leaves has some very high quality ones. For a cheapy version in your area here is one .

@Victoria
Thanks, I have been eyeing on Mud and Leaves for a bit. The fish pattern one looks really cool.

@DailyTX also have a look at Lazy Cat teas tea wäre selection, I seem to remember seeing some nice ones there.

They’re on holiday until Sept though, so if it’s urgent...

Bok wrote: ↑

Thu Jul 25, 2019 4:08 am

DailyTX also have a look at Lazy Cat teas tea wäre selection, I seem to remember seeing some nice ones there.

They’re on holiday until Sept though, so if it’s urgent...

It's no where near urgent, I have a few Yixing that I play with from time to time. I have been using a 500ml cast iron teapot with ceramic glazed inside to brew my Shu Pu erh. Just keeping an eye out for good gaiwan for experimenting better quality Shu Pu erh.

I think I was brewing some Lapsang Souchong from SevenCups...good stuff!

I'm interested in purchasing a gaiwan. Can someone help me understand the popularity of the smaller gaiwans and teacups? I come from a lifetime of drinking 10-12 oz mugs of tea. I still drink tea out of cups, but lately I haven't been reaching for the 12 oz mug anymore. And I find myself spending some more time with my 150ml porcelain cups.

I was thinking between 150ml and 200ml might be a good size for me, but then I read all these posts with people using 110ml and less. Can you drink more infusions in a gaiwan, so that even though you are drinking smaller cups, you ultimately are drinking potentially more than you would with one 12 oz cup?

I'm just trying to understand the appeal of drinking out of smaller cups, and in some cases super-small cups like 30ml.

Vanenbw wrote: ↑

Wed Jan 08, 2020 8:32 pm

I'm just trying to understand the appeal of drinking out of smaller cups, and in some cases super-small cups like 30ml.

Think about it like an espresso. Intense flavour in a small size. Would you drink the same intensity in a larger cup, it would probably be too much. That is one explanation, not true for all and all teas.

Second is price. Many here drink very pricey teas, you wouldn't want to use a lot of leaves each time, it would end up being very costly, especially if high leaf/water ratios are used as is often best with many teas like Oolong for example.

Third is the perception of a brew when consumed in a smaller vessel. Inevitably, something presented in a small cup will subconsciously be perceived differently than when consumed out of a larger mug, won’t it? It might be drunk with more attention paid and some subtle notes of a tea will be perceived more this way.

Also when sharing tea with people, a 100-200ml teapot might not serve enough people when cups are too large. Yet using a larger teapot is not a solution either, as the heat retention parameters change and the resulting brew might be less ideal. This is just a simplified summary of mine, there’s more to it.

Thank you, @Bok. All of your points do make perfect sense. I'm starting to understand this and am gravitating toward this way of drinking tea more often. I just purchased a 160ml kyusu, and now I'm eyeing a gaiwan and houhin.

I guess it's a different experience than what I am used do, but I'm having a lot of fun learning and experimenting.

If I was going to choose between a 200ml or 130ml gaiwan, I'm guessing you would suggest the latter?

I'm looking for either a gaiwan that won't melt my fingers or an easy gaiwan that I can take places like work. I know M&L makes great gaiwans but I don't know what I am looking for. I'm looking to graduate from western brewing to super minimalist gong fu brewing. Halp plz

klepto wrote: ↑

Wed Jan 15, 2020 9:50 pm

I'm looking for either a gaiwan that won't melt my fingers or an easy gaiwan that I can take places like work. I know M&L makes great gaiwans but I don't know what I am looking for. I'm looking to graduate from western brewing to super minimalist gong fu brewing. Halp plz

1. What type of tea are you going to brew with it?
2. From what I've read, you will get calluses and eventually not feel the heat
3. So far, the month or two that I've been using my small porcelain gaiwan has taught me you don't get calluses fast enough!
4. I'm getting in your boat, move over.

I'm looking for basically the same thing you are. I have a small to me 120ml porcelain gaiwan that I just got from Amazon to get into gong fu brewing while I learn. The only teas I do gong fu style is sheng and shou and maybe heicha. I'm thinking about getting some type of french press for work/travel and keeping the clay gaiwains and teapots at home.

I recently saw a video that suggests that gaiwans are made only from porcelain but I know that isn't true because I've seen clay gaiwans for sale. I'm wondering if there are unglazed gaiwans, like teapots. I don't remember seeing an unglazed gaiwan.