Is it common to brew Japanese tea in a gaiwan?

[ChrisB]

I mainly drink Chinese tea - green in particular - but I'm considering branching out and trying more types of Japanese tea. I have a gaiwan, which I love for brewing green teas, but I have no Japanese-style utensils at all. Is it common at all to brew Japanese teas using Chinese utensils such as the gaiwan?

[Chasm]

It depends on the leaf size to a great extent. A fukamushi sencha, for example, will be hard to pour out of a gaiwan using the lid position as the filter. The easiest way to do it in a gaiwan is to pour the tea out through a fine mesh filter/strainer, then invert the filter over the gaiwan and pour water through it for the next steep to get the leaves all back in the gaiwan.

I've also done it using a strainer as big as the cup and skipping the gaiwan entirely.

Those more expert with Japanese tea can control the pour to get the effect they want with vessels not much different from a gaiwan, but if you're new to Japanese greens, you'll wind up wind up with too much variation in the pour time and results all over the place, so get the strainer to start with.

[Chip]

... or just pick up a kyusu.

If cost is a factor, Den's has some at 19.99 USD. The proper brewing vessel will greatly enhance your overall enjoyment and likely brew a consistently better cup. While there, you can pick up their sampler for 3 bucks which when you reorder will be credited back to you. The sampler includes a nice bunch of propaganda too.

[ChrisB]

Kyusu! Precisely the device I was after. Thanks for the replies!

Indeed, one of the annoying things about a gaiwan is the loss of leaf into the pitcher. I can scarcely fathom how those using a gaiwan without some kind of filter/strainer would have the patience to use one long-term. Not at all to suggest I don't enjoy using mine, very much to the contrary, but it is, frankly, very annoying. If I had for some reason to invent a tea-brewing contraption myself, I'd most likely try to design something that keeps the leaves in the device.

I'll look into a kyusu for Japanese tea. Thanks again!

[Chip]

Kyusu! Precisely the device I was after. Thanks for the replies!

If I had for some reason to invent a tea-brewing contraption myself, I'd most likely try to design something that keeps the leaves in the device.

Good news, you won't have to reinvent the wheel. A kyusu will do exactly this, keep the vast majority of particles in the pot. You can choose sizes, materials, and different types of screens. Some screens will allow a certain amount of tiny particles past the screen, some will almost block 100%.

Price ranges vary greatly, from entry level that are very functional at 20 to artisan costing hundreds of $.

[entropyembrace]

A gaiwan works great for whole leaf teas...but if you have lots of broken bits they´re not so good.

Which means better to use something else like a Kyusu for most Japanese teas.

[edkrueger]

I'd say sencha and gyokuro actually come out better in a gaiwan. There is no need to go out and buy a kyusu –especially one as ugly as Den's. Kyusu are great for making a large quantity of sencha, but are lacking in their ability to really bring out the tea. Go with a shiboridashi, hohin, or gaiwan.

[Chip]

I'd say sencha and gyokuro actually come out better in a gaiwan. There is no need to go out and buy a kyusu –especially one as ugly as Den's. Kyusu are great for making a large quantity of sencha, but are lacking in their ability to really bring out the tea. Go with a shiboridashi, hohin, or gaiwan.

alrighty.

Since when is 3, 4, 5, 6 ounces a large quantity. Kyusu were made for brewing sencha. They are easy and enjoyable to use.

One can brew sencha in just about anything, but I reach for a kyusu several times a day, 5 steeps per session or more. If I got any more enjoyment from kyusu brewed sencha, I would be delirious.

Granted the < 20 USD kyusu from Den's are not artisan, but they do serve a purpose ... and they are what they are.

For better gyokuro, a houjin or shiboidashi are the way to go IMHO. Though a gaiwan will work, Japanese brew vessels work better for Japanese tea ... for me anyway. Though I do also use the Korean version of a shiboridashi as well for gyokuro when I want an ultra small session.

[Chip]

Oh, glazed kyusu like the Den's are great for highly aromatic and more casual Japanese teas like genmaicha, houjicha, etc. Also great for work and travel. I would never use the best kyusu, houjin, shiboridashi for these purposes.

Just sayin' ...

[edkrueger]

I'd say sencha and gyokuro actually come out better in a gaiwan. There is no need to go out and buy a kyusu –especially one as ugly as Den's. Kyusu are great for making a large quantity of sencha, but are lacking in their ability to really bring out the tea. Go with a shiboridashi, hohin, or gaiwan.

alrighty.

Since when is 3, 4, 5, 6 ounces a large quantity. Kyusu were made for brewing sencha. They are easy and enjoyable to use.

One can brew sencha in just about anything, but I reach for a kyusu several times a day, 5 steeps per session or more. If I got any more enjoyment from kyusu brewed sencha, I would be delirious.

Granted the < 20 USD kyusu from Den's are not artisan, but they do serve a purpose ... and they are what they are.

For better gyokuro, a houjin or shiboidashi are the way to go IMHO. Though a gaiwan will work, Japanese brew vessels work better for Japanese tea ... for me anyway. Though I do also use the Korean version of a shiboridashi as well for gyokuro when I want an ultra small session.

Where are you finding these tiny Kyusu?

[debunix]

http://www.tokoname.or.jp/teapot/yubi-se/yubi10.htmThe Tokoname teapot catalog includes some in the 6 ounces or under range, although the majority are quite a bit larger. That's where I got my two little pots.

[Chip]

Ed, also, for Japanese greens there is no need to fill the pot with water, 2/3-3/4 is pretty common.

Funny coincidence, the Den's premium kyusu (white/logo) holds 3-4 ounces perfectly. I also picked up a shigaraki originally from Hojo in a TC "TeaSwap deal, this holds 4 perfectly ... and they have smaller.

However, I also have 2 400 ml max capacity kyusu and a 500 max ... so they can be big.

[Chasm]

In my experience, not only are many Japanese infusion vessels not intended to be filled completely, there is an advantage to not doing so with fukamushi sencha. A slight graceful swirl in the wrist motion of the pour brings the smallest leaf particles to the surface and they wind up in the cup in the early infusions, not giving them time to develop bitterness.

I still maintain that with good Japanese greens you don't need anything but a cup and a strainer that fits the cup if you control the temperature and the pour properly. But it's not the easiest answer.

[edkrueger]

Ed, also, for Japanese greens there is no need to fill the pot with water, 2/3-3/4 is pretty common.

I've done that quite a lot. I really don't feel that works as well as a full vessel. Maybe something about the heat?

Funny coincidence, the Den's premium kyusu (white/logo) holds 3-4 ounces perfectly.

That is not the same kyusu we are talking about.

I also picked up a shigaraki originally from Hojo in a TC "TeaSwap deal, this holds 4 perfectly ... and they have smaller.

Yeah, you are right. By kyusu I had in mind the bigger ones. I do however think the porcelain of the gaiwan tastes better, but there is no reason there couldn't be a small porcelain kyusu like that –I have actually seen some.

However, I also have 2 400 ml max capacity kyusu and a 500 max ... so they can be big.

[Chip]

Funny coincidence, the Den's premium kyusu (white/logo) holds 3-4 ounces perfectly.

That is not the same kyusu we are talking about.

Right, but you asked where I got these small kyusu.