Gaiwans for one

[nsudharsanan]

Although I have many coffee drinking friends, none of them care for tea, despite all of my efforts. For that reason I rarely make tea for two or ever do gongfu style tea for more than just myself (depressing I know). My problem is my gaiwan is somewhere around 120 ml, which is strangely sized for me on both ends. For gongfu tea, I end up having to consume a huge quantity of tea but ironically when I want to just have one cup of tea the gaiwan isn't big enough to give me a nice 6 oz cup.

From what I have gathered larger gaiwans seem to be seen as a sign of a newbie on the forums but I was really wondering if there are any compelling arguments against buying a 6-8 oz gaiwan. Clearly it wouldnt be used for gongfu but it could produce one perfectly sized single serving (in my opinion that is) for casual everyday drinking. For gongfu I guess I would have to buy a much smaller gaiwan in the 50-70 ml range too keep myself from dying of water poisoning on the 10 infusion of a pu-erh...anyway I digress, my question is really about the practically of a larger gaiwan.

any help would be appreciated, thanks!

~Nik

[IPT]

Hi Nik,

It's all up to your personal use. If you feel it would be useful to you, then it would definately be useful. I have both large and small for the same reasons you stated. Also, I sometimes like to brew Green Teas the old fashioned way and drink directly from the Gaiwan.

Have a great day

[tingjunkie]

If you are looking for a small gaiwan for gongfu, it's hard to beat this one: http://www.theteagallery.com/small_gaiwan_p/ta-gwns.htm

I have the medium, and it's a really well made vessel. A 6+ oz gaiwan should be easy to find elsewhere.

[LauraW]

My gaiwan is ~3oz, so my solution when I want a 6-8oz cup is to do multiple infusions and pour them into one larger cup; you don't get the distinction between the different infusions, but I find that if I start the 2nd infusion right away, it's done before the first infusion has cooled sufficiently so I can actually drink it and not burn myself. Of course, it's up to your preference, but this is what works for me.

[Chip]

From what I have gathered larger gaiwans seem to be seen as a sign of a newbie on the forums but I was really wondering if there are any compelling arguments against buying a 6-8 oz gaiwan.

Nik, the biggest downside to larger gaiwan, bigger makes it harder to use. There are a lot of other options besides a gaiwan for 6-8 ounces. Some are adaptations of gaiwan that might include a spout and handle for safer handling and can be quite nice and more functional IMHO.