Travel Tea Set

Noonie
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Location: Ontario, Canada

Sun Jan 07, 2018 6:03 am

I’m thinking of building up a tea set for when I travel. First off, this is mainly for hotels in North America and the Caribbean...so i have access to bottled water, I can pick the items safely in a suitcase, and I would be bringing a small kettle.

I could either bring a porcelain kyusu or hohin (for Japanese greens, or even high mountain Oolong), or alternatively a gaiwan (would have to work with Sencha).

I would love to hear about your travel sets and tips!
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debunix
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Sun Jan 07, 2018 11:53 am

I've bought several versions of travel sets that have their own case and padding for a gaiwain or shiboridashi and cups; but I have come to prefer my simple and sturdy Kamjove plastic gongfu infuser, plus a camp mug, and a simple electric kettle that only boils water. They're sturdy, inexepensive, compact, and very light.
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Bok
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Sun Jan 07, 2018 7:09 pm

I just bring a pot I do not mind gettig damaged and wrap it in bubble wrap and a small box. Cups are usually provided so not essential. I also found some easy pour gaiwans, where cups already fit into due to the large opening, useful.
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tealifehk
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Sun Jan 07, 2018 9:40 pm

Traveling to Belgium soon and I'm taking a modern Yixing pot in a padded box and gongfucha cups x 3!
Noonie
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Wed Jan 10, 2018 8:30 am

debunix wrote:
Sun Jan 07, 2018 11:53 am
I've bought several versions of travel sets that have their own case and padding for a gaiwain or shiboridashi and cups; but I have come to prefer my simple and sturdy Kamjove plastic gongfu infuser, plus a camp mug, and a simple electric kettle that only boils water. They're sturdy, inexepensive, compact, and very light.
Do you find that you can in fact brew gongfu style (even with Sencha, the idea of multiple infusions and less water) with such a system? I have SS mesh filters with cups that I never use, as I find them more suited to western style brewing (which, when traveling, is still better than tea bags).
thetealetter
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Location: San Francisco, CA

Thu Feb 22, 2018 5:00 pm

I bought an easy gaiwan and two cups along with a nice bag for traveling from http://teaware.house. It seems to protect everything pretty well in a suitcase/backpack. What I miss when I'm traveling is a fairness pitcher or some kind of decanting device. Could be done with any old cup but it's a little irritating for someone like me who's a bit of a perfectionist about this stuff.

Interested in finding a nice tumbler but that's more for grandpa style brewing than any kind of gongfu.

I typically carry only teas that tolerate high temps (oolong, black, puer) as I can't rely on having any kind of controlled temperature situation for my water.
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debunix
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Location: Los Angeles, CA

Thu Feb 22, 2018 9:20 pm

Noonie wrote:
Wed Jan 10, 2018 8:30 am
debunix wrote:
Sun Jan 07, 2018 11:53 am
I've bought several versions of travel sets that have their own case and padding for a gaiwain or shiboridashi and cups; but I have come to prefer my simple and sturdy Kamjove plastic gongfu infuser, plus a camp mug, and a simple electric kettle that only boils water. They're sturdy, inexepensive, compact, and very light.
Do you find that you can in fact brew gongfu style (even with Sencha, the idea of multiple infusions and less water) with such a system? I have SS mesh filters with cups that I never use, as I find them more suited to western style brewing (which, when traveling, is still better than tea bags).
Sorry I missed this reply. I absolutely can do gongfu brewing in my little kamjove:

Image

It's working range is 100-200 mL per infusion. The primary issue is temperature control of the water, and when traveling light, and anticipating little time to brew up in comfort, I bring only a handful of teas that are resilient with regards to varied temps during infusions and drinking--mostly oolongs and shu puerhs. I've done sencha by mixing cold water from another cup with the hot from the kettle, but it's rarely worth the trouble when I have lots of suitable oolongs and puerhs on hand because the same teas are usually great for bulk brewing in the thermos or cool brewing in a water bottle all day.
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ShuShu
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Thu May 17, 2018 2:28 pm

I know it’s not Instagram but I just feel so proud of this idea that I have to share :P
I travel a lot and often for several weeks so why not take the family with me?

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OldWaysTea
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Thu May 17, 2018 3:59 pm

Looks good! You've got me thinking I should travel more. Its been a while since I've needed to pack a tea set. Last summer I did some camping and brought a small travel set in a zipper bag.
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VoirenTea
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Thu May 17, 2018 4:11 pm

I take my cheap clay pot with me when travelling and a cup, but just wrapped in bubblewrap in a laptop backpack (so it is pretty well padded itself).

Yours looks very good!
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ShuShu
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Thu May 17, 2018 7:24 pm

VoirenTea wrote:
Thu May 17, 2018 4:11 pm
I take my cheap clay pot with me when travelling and a cup, but just wrapped in bubblewrap in a laptop backpack (so it is pretty well padded itself).

Yours looks very good!
Yea that’s what I do when I’m going for a few days. But when I’m off for a month I prefer to take my good stuff....
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pedant
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Fri May 18, 2018 3:59 am

very nice!

the last time i was at harbor freight, i ended up brining home a couple of knockoff pelican-style cases ('apache' brand) that were on sale (and already inexpensive to begin with).
i considered using one of them like that but didn't because it smells plasticy.
does yours have much of a smell to it? where's it from?
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ShuShu
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Location: New York

Fri May 18, 2018 6:14 am

pedant wrote:
Fri May 18, 2018 3:59 am
very nice!

the last time i was at harbor freight, i ended up brining home a couple of knockoff pelican-style cases ('apache' brand) that were on sale (and already inexpensive to begin with).
i considered using one of them like that but didn't because it smells plasticy.
does yours have much of a smell to it? where's it from?
It's from a company based in NJ. They have a web app (www.mycasebuilder.com) that let you choose from a rather impressive variety of cases, and design your own case/foam. Prices are OK...I paid less than $30 for this one...
Last edited by Victoria on Fri May 18, 2018 9:32 am, edited 1 time in total.
Reason: Mod edit; Fixed broken url link
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pedant
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Fri May 18, 2018 1:58 pm

that's awesome that they cut the foam for you
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MojoSlim
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Sun Mar 24, 2019 3:16 am

pedant wrote:
Fri May 18, 2018 3:59 am
very nice!

the last time i was at harbor freight, i ended up brining home a couple of knockoff pelican-style cases ('apache' brand) that were on sale (and already inexpensive to begin with).
i considered using one of them like that but didn't because it smells plasticy.
does yours have much of a smell to it? where's it from?
Other than the plasticy smell, were the HF cases you bought made pretty well? I've been wanting to get a pelican case or 2 (for non-tea related storage), but have a hard time justifying (or stomaching) the price.
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