Main purpose of serving pitchers

[bagua7]

I need to know what's the reason for using them in a gong fu ceremony.

Are they really needed?

Care to enlighten me a bit, please.

[MarshalN]

They're not necessary. The usual reason for doing it are either

1) make things easier -- no need to reassemble cups every time

2) mix multiple infusions into one, if the pot isn't big enough for the number of cups.

I never use it unless I have to

[debunix]

I thought the point was to mix the tea coming out of the pot, so that one person didn't get the first bit out and another the last drips from the damp leaves, when the pot of tea was going to fill more than one cup.

[AdamMY]

It is also easier when you are drinking by yourself, as even though I have some rather small Yixings, I do not have a plethora of Yixings that are the exact size I wish they would be for certain drinking habits. So if I am drinking by myself and I am brewing in a 100-140 ml yixing but I want to use my half ounce cups for what ever reason in stead of pouring it into 3-5 cups and while waiting for the first to cool and then drinking them one by one the last gets cold.

It makes much more sense to only use one cup and pour from the pot to Faircup/ serving picture and then pour as needed.

Debunix, it does do that but a skilled gong fu person should constantly be switching between cups while pouring to best distribute the tea

[TubbyCow]

I thought the point was to mix the tea coming out of the pot.

This is what I've heard, too.

I don't use one simply because I haven't found one I like enough, and I feel like I've been fairing all right. I just fill the cups a bit at a time, switching between them. Seems to mix the tea enough to get consistent cups.

[the_economist]

I thought the point was to mix the tea coming out of the pot, so that one person didn't get the first bit out and another the last drips from the damp leaves, when the pot of tea was going to fill more than one cup.

haha i like the way some people distribute it by pouring across cups (i think i said this somewhere before). its just cool!

the distribution of tea strength might not be quite as 'fair' as a 'fairness cup' (serving pitcher) though.

[Chip]

Fair cup says it all ... everyone gets a fair mix of each steep versus the cup to cup method right from the pot as debunix mentions. I do it each way depending on mood and tea.

Also as Adam mentioned, if drinking alone, pour several cup steep into the pitcher ...

And on a rare occasion per Marshaln, I will mix some later steeps ...

[nickE]

Two more possible reasons:

1. Cools the tea faster (pot-> faircup-> teacup)
2. Strainers sit well on most faircups

I don't always use faircups either, but they can come in handy and are nice to have around.

[rdl]

there is a video from one of the oldest tea shops in taiwan (or hong kong? sorry to be so vague) in which the recommendation is to do a first steep and pour into a pitcher, steep again and mix that steep into the first and then drink. his opinion is that the taste is best when the first two steeps are blended. after that he steeps and drinks.
i have tried this method on occasion and i do like the results.

[Oni]

When I use a teapot I never use a faircup, traditional Chao Zhou gong fu tea ceremony pours directly from teapot to the cup, thus maximizing the heat and lowering the heatloss of the fluid, but with a gaiwan I cannot pour directly to the cups, I always spill a lot of tea, I use the faircup when I brew tea in a gaiwan, but I like the teapot better.

[IPT]

Serving pitchers (cha hai) are used so that the all of the tea from a brewing is mixed together.

I never use them. I don't like the looks of them. I guess maybe they look too much like the old milk pitchers we used to use in the states when I was a kid. For me, they just don't look right sitting on a tea tray with traditional Chinese tea ware.

I use a zisha teapot as my cha hai. For each type of tea, I have two designated teapots. One for brewing, and one for serving. I personally think two zisha teapots look much nicer than a zisha teapot and a cha hai.

[Proinsias]

I like to use one. I often drink alone, or as the only tea drinker, and enjoy drinking from quite small cups, so I use a fair cup. If I'm using a bigger cup then I can make two brews at a time, one for the cup and one for the fair cup.
I've tried not using them but always end up gravitating back almost without realizing.

I've only got one piece sold as a faircup, it came with a travel set, it's rubbish. I've got a little crystal vase and some milk jugs that do the job nicely.

[TwoPynts]

Don't stone me, but I sometimes use my faircup to brew my tea, when it is only me drinking.

[IPT]

Where's my rock?

[TwoPynts]

Where's my rock?

:ducks for cover: