Where does one find a small (60~70ml) gaiwan?

[Amaikokonut]

Recently, my faithful 100ml gaiwan whom had faithfully served in many years of beginning and intermediate tea tastings, suffered a tragic, violent demise on the kitchen floor. Well, technically only the lid did, but it's still rendered rather unusable.

While I loved my beloved gaiwan, I realized that I, as a smaller than average creature, have a rather small capacity for tea, and that sloshy-belly-full-of-liquid feeling really tends to ruin the otherwise peaceful nature of a gong-fu session. So I've figured the best way to get the most out of my leaves is to go for a smaller gaiwan this time around.

Problem is, I'm having a hard time finding one. I have noticed there are small gaiwans included in those little "travel" sets you find everywhere, the ones that come with cups and so on, but I can't help but think those are the cheapest of the cheap. Has anyone had any experience with those, and are they worth using?

Dragon tea house has a nice-looking 70ml one, but it is a bright red color, which isn't personally my thing (call me picky, but I really prefer neutral colors in my teaware).

I have also heard the Tea Gallery has nice gaiwans, but their online store seems to be down right now. If anyone has any suggestions, I would appreciate it

[debunix]

I have a small school of koi-decorated gaiwans from my local tea shop that hold about 60-75 mL when comfortable to use (water at or just below the level of the lid) but that hold 100+ mL to the brim. I find them a very comfortable size. Is your 100 mL gaiwan 100mL to the brim, or 100mL 'useful' volume, to the lid-line?

I ask because gaiwans the size of the koi school are easy to come by, but the much smaller one I have from Dragon Tea House, the same size as the tiny ones from travel sets, holds 40-45 mL to the lid line, and 60 mL to the brim, are a lot harder to find. The tiny ones from my travel sets are cheap (10$ for the whole set), but highly functional except that the tiny brim and lack of bottom saucer means frequent scorched fingertips; the little one from Dragon Tea House has a saucer, no scorched fingers, and is lovely to use.

I think this one from DTH is the same design as my little one, quite terrific for small-volume sessions with very powerful or very expensive leaves.

I know that there is at least one source frequently posted here for plain white gaiwans of about this size but I cannot find a link for you.

[tea.and.peace]

I went on a gaiwan search recently. The gaiwan I had was too big in size for my alone drinking. I found similar results of some site sales being down, wrong color scheme, etc.

I ended up settling on a 120ml at least that is the size it is advertised as. It gives me about 3.5 ounces of tea per infusion. Which for me equates to two tea cups per infusion.

Also where I purchased from(Seattle, WA) which was the web site location included some sample oolong, and shipment was done in a very timely manner.
http://www.floatingleavestea.com/index. ... efedb41fdd

Can't really suggest much on a 70ml size. Sorry. With my 120ml experience the 70ml would be too small for me though. You sure that is the size you want ?

[tortoise]

This isn't the answer you're looking for, but I use my 100ml Gaiwan to brew smaller amounts as well. I couldn't find a small gaiwan I liked so I gave up and just adjust leaves/water ratio in the larger vessel when a smaller amount of tea is required.

I'm sure they're out there somewhere...

[DarkenedSun]

It's hard to find one that small. I've wanted one for a while. I liked this one:
http://www.chinese-tea-culture.com/gaiwan-8050.html

[Drax]

Yes, IPT (chinese-tea-culture) has a number of smaller gaiwans for sale. If you write to him, he can probably locate you a much wider choice, too.

The puerhshop also has a few in the 90mL range and is in the US for faster (and cheaper) shipping, if that's an issue.

[Ludwig-1954]

Is this small enough?

http://www.ebay.ch/itm/Pine-Tree-Handma ... 6648wt_993

Best regards

Patrick B. Ludwig

[Bob_McBob]

It's kind of a crap shoot buying a gaiwan by volume, unless the vendor specifically tells you how they measured it. The usable volume is up to the lid, but some stores measure to the rim of the cup.

For small gaiwans that are actually 60-70ml to the lid, here are my recommednations:

This is my favourite little gaiwan. Slightly off-white, 60ml to the lid, and reasonably priced. Good quality and feels great when you hold it.

I have not used this gaiwan, but the vendor gives a specific measurement.

This gaiwan is actually about 70ml to the lid. It's pretty cheap, but is very thin and feels quite cheaply made. Also available from Yunnan Sourcing.

[jaylorgator]

I also have the 60 ml gaiwan from Tea Masters, and it works great.

[BioHorn]

Although it is a bit smaller, Gordon from Dragon Tea House (DTH) has a new posting on eBay selling a 50ml porcelain gaiwan.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Mini-White-Gong ... 35b78c63e6

[tst]

Anyone try the 50mL porcelain gaiwan listed above?

I'm looking for something smaller (under 75-90 mLs) and white.

Thanks.

[sriracha]

I found my smallest gaiwan at a regular Chinese food import shop-I think it's 75ml to where it forms a water seal with the lid on.
Slightly wonkily made but the porcelain is thin and very easy to handle.