Quick Question about Gaiwans

[Christopher]

So I'm looking into buying a Gaiwan, because that is what has been recommended time after time to me. Can you brew any type of tea in there, or is it specifically for Pu-Erh?

[AdamMY]

Just about any whole leaf tea, or more specifically just about any Chinese Tea.

It gets questionable with Indian CTC teas, and Mid and Deep steamed Japanese Teas.

[TwoPynts]

Just about any whole leaf tea, or more specifically just about any Chinese Tea.

It gets questionable with Indian CTC teas, and Mid and Deep steamed Japanese Teas.

+1

[Christopher]

Alright sounds good, thanks a bunch

[britt]

So I'm looking into buying a Gaiwan, because that is what has been recommended time after time to me. Can you brew any type of tea in there, or is it specifically for Pu-Erh?

In general you can brew any type of tea in it but there are a few things to consider:

You should think about what different kinds of tea you'll be brewing in this gaiwan, as the shape, size, thickness, and weight all have an affect on the outcome of each one. In general, thinner and lighter for greens and heavier and thicker for blacks and dark oolongs. If doing both, somewhere in between should be a good compromise.

Also, the gaiwan should be glazed if you're going to brew different types of tea in it.

[the_economist]

Personally, i would say as thin as u can afford, and as small as u can find (if you're primarily brewing for yourself, which i assume is the case).

i'm assuming that you intend to brew tea gongfu style and that really works best with oolongs and puerh. the water is going to be almost boiling and u need to pour out your tea fairly quickly for the quick steeping times demanded, so the thinness of the gaiwan will allow for that (the rim of the gaiwan being exceedingly thin will quickly dissipate heat allowing u to pick it up and decant into cup/faircup).

size is very important as well. gongfu style brewing makes many infusions in quick succession which involves a lot of tea if you're using a larger gaiwan. from what i've learnt from people from TC, 60ml is optimal for single person brewing. any larger and you're probably going to end up with quite a lot of wasted tea, or incomplete tea sessions which miss out on later infusions simply because you've drank too much.

finally, if the gaiwan is not being used for brewing gongfu style, and more for drinking or grandpa style brewing, then it can be thicker without too much consequence, since you'd be picking the gaiwan up by its saucer and drinking by tilting it via saucer/lid rather than the gaiwan body itself. thick is probably good in this type of usage since it keeps your tea warm. trying to use thick gaiwans for puerh or oolong isn't a good idea since you'd probably not be able to pick the gaiwan up for decanting cos its just way too hot.

the only 60ml gaiwans i know of that is available online is the one from tea gallery. there's a nice review of it in the teaware product review section.

that's my 2 cents, happy hunting!

[Mr. Usaji]

I heard thick gaiwans are always bad no matter what because they absorb heat and cool down the water. But of course some people say thick retains heat better and thin lets it out. Is there a right answer to this?

[the_economist]

I heard thick gaiwans are always bad no matter what because they absorb heat and cool down the water. But of course some people say thick retains heat better and thin lets it out. Is there a right answer to this?

if you warm your teaware properly, they wouldn't absorb the heat from the tea (by warm i mean make the thick gaiwan hot by filling it with boiling water for a while before pouring out the water and filling it with tea).

then in that case the thick gaiwan would retain the heat. but that would also make it impossible to use for brewing gongfu style since you wouldn't be able to pick it up.

[Tead Off]

I heard thick gaiwans are always bad no matter what because they absorb heat and cool down the water. But of course some people say thick retains heat better and thin lets it out. Is there a right answer to this?

if you warm your teaware properly, they wouldn't absorb the heat from the tea (by warm i mean make the thick gaiwan hot by filling it with boiling water for a while before pouring out the water and filling it with tea).

then in that case the thick gaiwan would retain the heat. but that would also make it impossible to use for brewing gongfu style since you wouldn't be able to pick it up.

Ah. Out come the gaiwan gloves.

[bagua7]

from what i've learnt from people from TC, 60ml is optimal for single person brewing. any larger and you're probably going to end up with quite a lot of wasted tea, or incomplete tea sessions which miss out on later infusions simply because you've drank too much...

I am more than happy with a 150mL G. And no wasted tea here. I play a lot with water-leaves ratio and correct temp.

Btw, do they sell welding gloves in the markets of BKK?

[beecrofter]

In addition to a gaiwan a small glass pot will aid you in developing your steeping skills, 100-150 ml seems to work well.

[Alex]

I use a 120 and 150ml when I'm by myself. If i get tead out I just leave it and come back and do some more infusions later on.