Help noob understand what tea goes with what teaware

[Tiara510]

I am new to the world of loose leaf teas and was wondering if someone could explain to me what type of teaware goes best with different types of tea. I drink all kinds, but mostly black and oolongs lately. I would like to have teaware that brings out the best in my tea, but would like to keep it limited to one or two main pieces, as I am on a tight budget right now. Any suggestions?

[Poohblah]

It's really difficult to answer your question - there are many different kinds of teaware. Generally speaking, glass and porcelain teaware can be used with any kind of tea, while clay teaware is meant to be used with specific kinds of teas, depending on what kind of clay is used. Does this help?

[iannon]

It's really difficult to answer your question - there are many different kinds of teaware. Generally speaking, glass and porcelain teaware can be used with any kind of tea, while clay teaware is meant to be used with specific kinds of teas, depending on what kind of clay is used. Does this help?

+1
a small porcelain kyusu or gaiwan would prob serve you well

[Poohblah]

Also, I would stay away from teaware that has any plastic. I used to have a plastic french press/thermos, and it didn't take long before it started making my drinks taste funny (shame, too - the french press/thermos combination was genius). I have had similar experiences with plastic water bottles, such as nalgenes or even bottled water that's been sitting around too long.

[JRS22]

I second (or third) the gaiwan recommendation. A small porcelain gaiwan will handle just about anything. Not too large, because if your tea is a good quality you'll probably want to brew a small quantity of tea and resteep it several times. My most used size holds 3.4 ounces: http://www.teatrekker.com/shop/chinese- ... ml-gaiwan/

Then become a regular on teachat in 2011 and you learn not just about teas but about teawares.

[Alex]

+1 for a porcelain gaiwan.

Somewhere around 100-120ml if you're just going to get one should serve you well. I own some very nice clay pots and still find myself using the Gaiwan most of the time. Great brewing vessel and a joy to use. Get a nice quality thin walled one, like the ones at theteagallery if you can.

[puerhking]

+1 on the gaiwan. You can brew anything in them though not all black teas perform well in them. I would also get a mesh filter and a fair pitcher along with a couple of nice cups.

Since you are a noob I would hold off on buying any yixing (clay) teapots until you have tried a wider variety of teas.

[mosshorn]

+1 for gaiwan. Easy to clean, you can see the leaves and can get measuring down to a science. Also, gram scale

[JRS22]

And a thermometer and a digital timer that counts seconds....

[Chip]

a digital timer that counts seconds....

... one that counts up so you can hit it once and pretty much forget it ... and thus NO annoying bleeping beeping!!!

[Tiara510]

Thank you for all of your information. I am definitely going to get a gaiwan. I think that it will definitely be a good all around brewing vessel for me at this point. I am trying to keep things simple at this point. Though, I already went against that while shopping at the mall today. I stopped into Teavana, just to look at their tea pots and such and ended up leaving with a really pretty ceramic infuser mug set with a peacock on it (I love peacocks). The infuser holes are on the large side, so I will only be able to use this for whole leaf teas. I also bought a yixing teapot. It is shaped like a dolphin, holds 8oz and was on sale for $16. It is a purplish color. Part of me regrets the purchase now, because I have no idea what I am going to do with it at this point and because for the price, I am not sure of the quality. The little dolphin was so cute, though, that I just couldn't resist. Can I get away with brewing all my oolongs in this pot?

Also, I brew everything what I guess is considered western style at this point. I have a four year old, a three year old and a 15 month old, so I don't have lots of time to spend brewing tea. Can I use the dolphin pot
for western style brewing?

As for the gram scale, I am a fiber artist, so I have one that I use when weighing wool and dyes and such.

Finally, they kept trying to sell me a cast iron pot. She said that it was good for all types of teas, etc. Is this true? Would a cast iron pot be a good all around tea pot?

Thanks again for all of your help.

[Chip]

Nix the cast iron teapot advice ... that is corp. teavana BS!!!'

[JRS22]

a digital timer that counts seconds....

... one that counts up so you can hit it once and pretty much forget it ... and thus NO annoying bleeping beeping!!!

I can set my timer to count up but then my mind wanders......

[puerhking]

I've never heard of a dolphin yixing! That's too funny. More than likely it is of poor quality for serious tea drinking. How much liquid does it hold? If you are brewing just for yourself then 150ml is probably as big as you want to go.

You will have to experiment with it and see if it does anything for your oolongs. Or you could take it back I'm afraid it will be relegated to the shelf as you get further into the world of tea. Though it will probably give you a good chuckle.

And don't buy any more teaware from there! Please.

[JRS22]

The peacock infuser mug is really pretty, but it may not work well with anything but black tea. I have an infuser mug with a stainless steel basket with fine holes, so in theory I can steep any tea in it. In fact it doesn't work well with delicate green teas. My theory is that with the lid on it holds in too much heat - more than a teapot with a spout. I don't drink black tea so I use it for genmaicha and houjicha. But again, it might be just fine with black tea, and it is pretty.

Just as an aside, I typed "gaiwan" into the search box and it asked me if I was looking for 'swan".