Search for a gaiwan - 0 for 3 at my local asian markets

[the_economist]

well, the only tea place i know in Chicago's chinatown is Ten Ren tea. haven't actually been there cos i only reached chicago two weeks ago or so, but the two grocery stores i've visited don't have teaware. Also, blog reports suggest a dearth of teaware too:

The tenren tea online catalogue doesn't have what im looking for so its unlikely i'll find anything there, but i'll definitely stop there for tea leaves!

[debunix]

You can always put it on your to do list for your next vacation: travel to a city with good tea shops full of gaiwans. That's got to include a lot of good travel options!

[theory]

Did you check the teamap for Chicago? Looks like theres a little kiosk-y place on Michigan ave that has Wares (not sure how much).

I just got my first gaiwan in the mail today!! Its a little 100ml from YunnanSourcing. It was VERY inexpensive, so I wasn't expecting much, but I am impressed. Its adorable and easy to use - oh, and the smell of the tea in the lid!!!! YUM.

Sorry I can't help you differentiate between the ones you listed - I only have my one! Enjoy the hunt!

[Tea4Todd]

Well, phooey.
I thought I'd see if I could find a gaiwan here in town instead of ordering one online. Tried em all, no luck. I guess its back to the vendor reviews
Has anyone had great success/failure on similar errands?

Just saw this post while perusing the threads and have done the same thing to no avail. It seems all the teaware the Chinese markets carry are really crappy, or really shady looking. I saw a "Yixing" set yesterday at a local chinese store, with no price and it was really crappy looking. They tend to sell mass produced cheap stuff. At least at the stores here. No gaiwans, and when I ask the women by showing them a picture of it, they just point me in the aisle I've already looked through...lol

[the_economist]

I was able to find a nice one at my local asian grocery here in Kansas City. There is also a teahouse in town that sells them and yixing for quite a bit more. Im suprised you can't find anything in Chicago.

so, puerhking, u turned out to be quite right! i'm happily eating humble pie

here's what i found in Ten-Ren Chicago:
Its a pretty 60ml gaiwan with an accompanying cup

ten_ren_gaiwan_9s.jpg (20.41 KiB) Viewed 572 times

ten_ren_gaiwan_8s.jpg (20.48 KiB) Viewed 572 times

the words on the tray basically says clouds are homeless. The Chinese version of "i wandered lonely as a cloud" i suppose.

[the_economist]

tested it earlier with longjing. wonderful to use! the gaiwan just fills the cup if i pour off enough of my water seal (which is harder to do than i thought...i keep thinking i shouldnt waste the tea )

of course, longjing brewing at a lower temperature made it easier to hold. will test it with TGY soon!