What's the difference between these two? Do they have different URLs?Oni wrote: Maikotea and maikoshop
I think a gaiwan can yield quite good results with green tea. Consider the shape of a hohin: similar to most gaiwans, in fact, but with a slight 'spout' formed from the lip. With the proper water temperature and brewing time, gaiwans can work well. Of course, they tend to allow more leaf into the cup. I don't mind and rather enjoy the taste and texture of the leaf.
I feel a gaiwan, when used carefully, is better than a half-filled kyusu. Something feels off when using a much larger vessel than necessary; I find the second infusion often becomes overwhelmingly strong, as the kyusu allows most of the small tea particles loosened in the first infusion to enter the cup. Using a gaiwan, by contrast, admits some pieces of leaf but seems to allow better control over the 'sediment.'
The gaiwan is also easier to clean.
I feel a gaiwan, when used carefully, is better than a half-filled kyusu. Something feels off when using a much larger vessel than necessary; I find the second infusion often becomes overwhelmingly strong, as the kyusu allows most of the small tea particles loosened in the first infusion to enter the cup. Using a gaiwan, by contrast, admits some pieces of leaf but seems to allow better control over the 'sediment.'
The gaiwan is also easier to clean.
That little spout makes the diffrence between a houhin and a gaiwan, I have both and also tried both for japanese greentea, with good quality gyokuro the houhin is perfect it strains the leaves much better and just as fast as a gaiwan and with less sediment, and please know that japanese greentea needs to be brewed shorter at the 2nd infusion only 30 seconds for gyokuro, 20 s for sencha, fukamusi instant pour, DO NOT BREW FOR 1 MINUTE AT THE 2ND INFUSION. I think not much emphasis is beeing put on subsecvent brewings of japanese tea.
I actually find it to be the opposite case. Using a gaiwan you have to trade control over your pour speed for preventing particles from pouring out. In order to try to pour out a clean cup you have to use only the smallest of gaps in the gaiwan to pour, thereby increasing your pour time, and essentially steeping part of the tea longer than the other half.stjobs wrote:I think a gaiwan can yield quite good results with green tea. Consider the shape of a hohin: similar to most gaiwans, in fact, but with a slight 'spout' formed from the lip. With the proper water temperature and brewing time, gaiwans can work well. Of course, they tend to allow more leaf into the cup. I don't mind and rather enjoy the taste and texture of the leaf.
I feel a gaiwan, when used carefully, is better than a half-filled kyusu. Something feels off when using a much larger vessel than necessary; I find the second infusion often becomes overwhelmingly strong, as the kyusu allows most of the small tea particles loosened in the first infusion to enter the cup. Using a gaiwan, by contrast, admits some pieces of leaf but seems to allow better control over the 'sediment.'
The gaiwan is also easier to clean.
Dec 15th, '08, 13:30
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A couple expert answers in the TEAWARE SECTION that set me straight about the hohin vs shiboridashi issues.
olivierco wrote:For me the difference is the following:
Hohin:
Shiboridashi:
Pentox wrote:From what I have seen between a shiborodashi and a hohin is that a shiborodashi is flatter with no distinct separation filter. Instead it has the "teeth" and functions more akin to a gaiwan. A hohin on the other hand has the very distinctive upside down nose shaped spout on the outside of a built in filter. They also tend to be taller in relationship to a shiborodashi.
I find the pour speed from a gaiwan is not much slower than I would choose to pour from a kyusu. If you are accustomed to pouring quickly, perhaps the gaiwan could be difficult.Using a gaiwan you have to trade control over your pour speed for preventing particles from pouring out.
To be clear, I'm not saying a gaiwan is the ideal or preferred vessel for green tea. I own a kyusu and use that more frequently, and I am well aware of the proper way to brew green tea. Indeed, I always used the traditional kyusu method until I recently became interested in Chinese tea and experimented with a gaiwan. My findings only relate to a 100 mL gaiwan compared to my kyusu (15 or 18 gou). I have found the results to be surprisingly good, especially with a sencha that was challenging to brew in the half-filled kyusu.
I think my own experience (better second infusions from gaiwan than kyusu) may reflect a difference in the vessel shapes: with most kyusu, it is difficult to pour without the water disrupting the leaves. I think agitating the leaves too much can cause an unpleasant second infusion, even if you pour immediately after adding water. The gaiwan allows adding the water very gently because of its flared lip. As I said earlier, the tea from a gaiwan is somewhat different: there are a few leaf fragments, but little 'sediment.' For teas that tend to produce excessive 'sediment' in a kyusu, it may be worth trying a gaiwan.
Finally, I think it is fair to view both the hohin and shiboridashi as derived from the gaiwan. I think the special lid on the hohin and the small 'spout' on the shiboridashi serve primarily to make pouring an easier and cleaner affair. Of course, these features have great merit, but whether they yield better-tasting tea is unclear.
Dec 28th, '08, 14:07
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Agreed, in fact, it may be beneficial to not fill it. My one kyusu that is rather large, I usually only fill it a little over half way and have noticed the results were outstanding for that pot. I almost wonder if the filling half way allowed the temp to drop faster and made for a sweeter better tasting tea. 
blah blah blah SENCHA blah blah blah!!!
I don't know the reason why, but I've also had better results when not filling the kyusu all the way to the rim. This may be the reason why some Japanese teaware vendors specify the "serving size" of the kyusu, which is significantly less than what the kyusu can actually hold when filled all the way to the top.Chip wrote:Agreed, in fact, it may be beneficial to not fill it. My one kyusu that is rather large, I usually only fill it a little over half way and have noticed the results were outstanding for that pot. I almost wonder if the filling half way allowed the temp to drop faster and made for a sweeter better tasting tea.
The lighter oolongs such as those from the high mountain areas of Taiwan seem to benefit more from temperatures that are well below boiling and from teaware that releases heat quickly. When brewing these teas I still fill the Yixing all the way, but I use one that is very thin and light and that quickly releases the heat.olivierco wrote:When you use a yixing for puerh or oolongs, you want the temperature as close as possible to boiling temperature, hence you fill entirely your teapot with water in order to have the best heat retention as possible.