Gaiwanesque?

[kasey]

I have something that resembles a gaiwan except that it has no saucer,
is made of heavy ceramic or clay, and has a little dimple of a spout
and two little dimples on the sides. Sorry I can't provide a photo.
The lid is glazed deep green, as is the inside of the pot; the outside
of the pot itself is matte black. It holds 150 ml and is easily managed with one hand. I put this little beauty in the microwave to pre-heat it (duh!) and it cracked. Oh, well, it only cost me 4 bucks believe it or not but I haven't seen anything like this anywhere and don't know what it's called
or where it's made. Any ideas, anyone?
It's still usable, I'm looking for a matching saucer to catch the drips.

[Victoria]

You can find many on eBay but if you are looking for USA try here:

http://purepuer.com/puer_tea/do/category/all_teaware

[Intuit]

No no no no. The OP doesn't need pretty but spendy teaware.

He needs a very inexpensive gaiwan, preferably with training wheels. (j/k). Do not put your teaware in the microwave again, please.

Your 'gaiwan-thingy' was probably a gaibei, a lidded drinking cup. The dimple on the side are where you fingers go. It's a bit like a small houhin (Japanese teapot) in design and volume (see the Yuukicha website, gyokoro teapots).

For your teaware, try Serenity Arts; you can find their new store on the web, easy-peasy. When you place your order, make a copy of the receipt information, note the item description, item number, price and quantity. Plan to phone the store a day or two later. Speak in very simple English to the owner to make sure your order gets filled in a timely manner. The online shop is new and the person running it isn't very attentive, but the physical store in Portland is not new - it's a very nice, well stocked tea shop. The owner will make sure your order is filled and sent out.

Order several gaiwan (in case of breakage, handy for brewing comparisons), maybe a small porcelain teapot or two, in different volumes. Exceptionally reasonable pricing on Chinese teaware. Teas aren't half-bad, either (Polay 'black tea' is shu pu'erh).

Cheers!

[Chip]

Heh, having two of the "pretty but spendy" versions from Purepuer.com, they are stunning and very functional. These are Taiwan versions as I recall.

There are cheaper ones to be found from China, and can often be found in sets in Chinatowns.

They are a nice mid point between a gaiwan and a simple Chinese porcelain teapot. I quite like them.

[Victoria]

I did mention eBay first. And if the OP wouldlike to invest in a nicer piece or doesn't feel comfortable with eBay, I was offering another choice.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Chinese-White-Porcr ... 45ea1eab82

http://cgi.ebay.com/Lotus-White-Porcela ... 45ea25b902

http://cgi.ebay.com/Jingdezhen-Easy-Gai ... 518be7923a

I've been eying this "burn-proof" glass one myself:

http://cgi.ebay.com/Burn-proof-Flat-Cle ... 3a4e46d266

[chicagopotter]

I have this one: http://purepuer.com/puer_tea/do/product ... w%20Gaiwan and absolutely love it. It's a bit thicker (in a good way) than other giawan out there which helps save my dainty and delicate fingertips . Thinking about picking one of the smaller ones...

[kasey]

Thanks for the input everyone, esp. Intuit (training wheels....).

I was trying to figure out what this particular type of guiwan is called so I
can google it; after several liesurely hours of surfing I finally came up with a site that has a few similar to mine (but WAY more delicate and pretty), but they're just called guiwans after all. Or "easy" guiwans.

Here's the site if anyone's interested http://www.teaspring.com.
Some real lovelies there, mine's very clunky by comparison but a LOT more rugged, which is important when you whack your tea strainer against the rim...

I'm wondering if something like what I have would be more suitable
for pu or oolong rather than green since it would retain heat longer than your typical guiwan.