I’d consider myself proficient with using a gaiwan now, but I wasn’t for the first few years of my tea journey. I was scared of them.
That’s not going to filter the tea properly. That looks uncomfortable to use. I’m gonna burn myself!
At first, I used tea infusers that sit in your cup. These bothered me for a few reasons: some tea types don’t expand and steep well in a confined space; they clogged constantly; and they can be annoying to clean.
I then took my first baby step towards gaiwans - with an “easy” gaiwan. It was a nicer experience, but still had some of the same issues: it tended to clog and was annoying to clean. It has a lip that is difficult to clean under. And it actually lets quite a bit of tea bits through.
Similar to this one:
After a few years, I got my first gaiwan for cheap, and I’m so glad I did! It was just easier. You can keep the lid mostly closed and it somehow filters tea bits better than my “easy” gaiwan. It’s soooo easy to clean. Now, I do actually use a filter sometimes to catch fine tea dust, but I don’t actually need to.
I’m sure gaiwans are synonymous with loose leaf tea for many people, but they aren’t common where I am in the US. So for anyone who hasn’t tried one, I say give it a try!
– PS - One cool looking kind of teaware I have yet to try is a shiboridashi. This looks like a better version of my “easy” gaiwan:
I have a gaiwan but I don’t really use it that much anymore. I only use it if I’m in a specific mood for it and I’m making sheng puer.
I started off with an “easy gaiwan” too, but had pretty much the same experience as you.
For most other teas I have a small 150ml porcelain teapot from Jingdezhen (I’m lucky to have a local teashop which imports tea & accessories directly from sources!). I pour the tea into a pitcher from the pot and use a small cup to drink it.
For japanese green tea I have a Kyusu because aesthetics are important! :D it’s a bit difficult to clean though, but not too bad.
If there’s more people than just me drinking the tea, I’ll just use one of those large western-style teapots and normal cups. I find that people get weirder out wjen I offer them tea from a cup smaller than a tablespoon. 😅
I’m curious, why the gaiwan only for sheng puer?
Interesting, with the porcelain tea pot. I assume it has a spout, which may be more difficult to clean. What’s behind your preference - aesthetics? I don’t have a tea pot, so I’m curious. I’ve thought about getting an unglazed clay pot.
Ha ha, yeah. At my work, people sometimes stop by for tea, but they tend to bring their own large cup, as they don’t like the small ones that I offer them. I have to pre-make 2 steeps just to give them enough. 😅
Honestly, I don’t really bother making other teas in a gaiwan and I don’t have a clay pot for puer 😅 it’s mostly aesthetic, puer would still work just fine in the 150ml pot. (Though I bet many puer enjoyers would disagree!)
The spout in the bot has a good filter so it’s actually quite easy to clean! But not as easy as a gaiwan of course since you sometimes have to wipe some stuff off from the inside.
Luckily my coworkers are all coffee people so I don’t need to share my tea. Quests at home however get a large pot of tea whether they want it or not!