Eggshell-thin teaware

[xuancheng]

humbly

i think porcelain is over rated.

try holding a porcelain tea cup after the tea is poured out of the teapot. instant burning sensation is felt. u cannot grasp the teacup. period

I agree with you that sometimes holding a porcelain cup can be hot, but better your hands than your tongue. If you can't touch the cup, the tea is often too hot to drink even if you do slurp it.

Also, thin porcelain is made for other reasons. It is aesthetically pleasing.

But it is also practical. Many teas taste better in thin porcelain. Dancong is one example.

That being said, your cup is great. I can see it being especially nice in the winter when you want to hold the boiling hot tea in your hands and enjoy the warmth even when you cant drink it. It is also quite a beautiful piece aesthetically. It reminds me of ceramic 'bird's nest' (The olympic stadium in Beijing) models I saw in Longquan and Jingdezhen.

[Tead Off]

humbly

i think porcelain is over rated.

try holding a porcelain tea cup after the tea is poured out of the teapot. instant burning sensation is felt. u cannot grasp the teacup. period

my solution

double walled egg shell thin tea cups like this.

If you can sell those for under $20, you'll corner the market!

Thin walled porcelain is actually one of the best ways to drink Chinese tea, Cory. Traditionally, the Chinese say to fill the cup 7/10ths full, but, they don't say it's to allow you to hold the hot cup! Like Scruff said, you pick it up by the rim and problem solved. But, like xuancheng said, if it's too hot to hold, it's too hot to drink.

Putting a thin walled porcelain to your lips adds a sensual quality to the drink. Just like a thin walled crystal wine goblet. Very sexy.

[chamekke]

Yes, the trick to drinking from a yunomi, especially a porcelain one, is:
- Fill it only to 60-70% of capacity
- Hold the rim with the thumb and fingers of your dominant hand.
- Support the base with the fingers of your non-dominant hand.

Then it doesn't matter overmuch if the liquid is "too hot to handle". The parts of the cup you are holding simply don't get that hot.

In the west we're accustomed to filling our cups so that the hot liquid comes within a half-inch of the top. In Japanese culture (and in Chinese too, it sounds like?), this constitutes overfilling ... and gives an impression of greediness! Whereas we are accustomed to handles on our drinking vessels because it is our custom to fill them to capacity.

[coloradopu]

oh contrar.... my dear chamekke. i have noticed that thin stoneware does as you describe for porcelain. but i must admit that any hot fluid in any pottery vessel will heat that vessel. i just think the thinner it is the faster the heat is dissipated. even in stoneware.

i bet if you can find some thin stoneware made to the high standard as some production porcelain then you might come to appreciate the properties of good stone.......

don't get me wrong porcelain has a fine place in tea but it all started with stoneware.

just my 2 stone's worth. thanks

[MarshalN]

The solution to the hot cup problem is very, very simple

Use a chataku. Problem solved.