What is the best size for a gaiwan?

[plant partaker]

i want to order one but im so confused. what would be the best size and why are there so many different sizes

[wyardley]

Depends how you're using it and how many people you're making tea for. Are you planning on drinking straight from the gaiwan, or pouring into a fair cup or tasting cups?

Either way, it should be pretty easy to figure out based on the volume of brewed tea you'd like to end up with. The tea takes up some space, but, depending on how much you're going to stuff the gaiwan, not as much as you might think.

[plant partaker]

not sure i usually just make tea for me

[brad4419]

My favorite is a little 100ml gaiwan.
If your brewing mostly for yourself then between 100-160 would be your best range but I would suggest going with 100ml or 120ml for 1 person but its kinda a preference thing. The bigger the gaiwan the more leaf you have to use per gong fu session and when you fill your gaiwan 1/3-full of leaf you go through it quickly.

[debunix]

The volume depends on how you're drinking the tea and what tea you're drinking.

I like to do comparative tastings with several teas brewed gong fu style, and volume becomes a critical issue when I'm tasting four different puerhs that each need at least 6-8 infusions for their flavor to unfold, or simply to be able to keep up with a Dan Cong oolong that can go for 30 infusions. And for the comparative tastings, I like to have several identical gaiwans so that the tea is subjected to the same rate of cooling etc.

So for gong fu tasting of four puerh, I use the 40mL gaiwans. These dinky cups are really pretty impractical for anything else, but are perfect for this use.

For gong fu brewing of one tea to enjoy by myself, where I expect to drink 6-10 cups of it, I use the 75mL gaiwans.

One of these days I am going to get a larger gaiwan, about 120 mL, for brewing green and white teas that don't go through as many infusions, especially when I want to share them.

[plant partaker]

well thanks for the information it is much appreciated

[brandon]

Where do I get some 40ml gaiwans?

[Geekgirl]

Where do I get some 40ml gaiwans?

for those times when you only want to brew one leaf.

[wyardley]

Where do I get some 40ml gaiwans?

I have a little one from Tian Ren that's pretty darn close. Maybe 50 ml... I think a little bit smaller than the smallest Tea Gallery one. I used it for brewing at work for a while.

I think it was designed for drinking rather than brewing, and it's a little awkward (thick wall, not much flare).

[debunix]

I got the 40mL gaiwans as part of a 'travel set' for gongfu brewing, with an impossibly small set of cups, from my chinatown tea store, Wing Hop Fung. I haven't seen anything like it anyplace else. I don't have a use for the rest of the sets--anyone want some ceramic tea trays with micro cups that hold about 20mL apiece?

[JustinW]

I personally don't use anything bigger than 100ml. After a sessions with that gaiwan I'm full. I actually use a 60ml one most of the time, which I find is enough to satisfy me on the average day.

Of course it depends on what you're drinking. I drink a lot of yancha so I usually use the 60ml. If I were to use the 100ml one I'd burn through a bag of tea in no time.

[IPT]

I think you need to get many different sizes, then you will always have the right size handy.

OCD. It's a beautiful thing!