3-5 oz vice 8 oz

[Drax]

I placed an order today from Yuuki-cha for my first kyuusu (急須). I had ordered from them before for matcha-related stuff and enjoyed the tea (and they had a teapot that I found interesting. . .).

In any case, I noticed that they claim that the tea should be enjoyed/poured using 3-5 oz cups and not the "8 oz western variety."

So my question is this -- is this the Japanese aesthetic at work? Or is there an actual reason for only drinking 3-5 oz at a time.

Does the same answer hold when drinking solo?

[Chip]

EDIT: Further thought ...

I would stretch the range a bit, amount I pour into a cup is usually 2-6 ounces depending on the mood, the tea, number of participants, and the wan, or yunomi chosen for the occasion.

The cup however may be much larger. Often times the cup is significantly larger than the steep or the pour it seems, kind of takes the expression of cup half full versus half empty to a literal extreme.

[beachape]

Kinda like French restaurants. If you get a bunch of small things you're more likely to actually "taste" them. If you're getting a huge hamburger, you're less likely to appreciate the fine taste and more likely to devour it. There are appropriate times for both. If I drink smaller steeps you get the fun of telling the difference between them and see how the flavor develops. If I just feel like having a big cup of tea that works too, but I don't really "appreciate" the experience as much.

[teaisme]

small servings spread out could prevent your tastebuds from getting too saturated too fast, but then again I guess it depends if drink quickly or you drink slow and savor your tea in 8oz cup

I think the temp you are drinking tea in also matters, I drink tea outside in very cold weather and find smaller cups more suitable for that situation, shorter cool off time for hot tea and less worry of my cup of tea getting too cold if my mind is on other things