Aroma Cups (Yay, or Nay)

[tortoise]

Can you tell me if you find aroma cups an indispensable part of your oolong/puerh experience, a frivolous knick-knack that just gets in the way, or something in between?

Are they better for some teas than others? More important for some cultures than others? An American naïve wants to know.

I used to use them all the time, I've just grown tired of messing with them. What says the TC caucus?

EDIT: Tried to create a poll.

[Chip]

I was amazed at the strong responses I got on this subject in a TeaDay 2 or so years ago. I seem to recall the word hate used ... which surprised me.

I like them, but find they are not a necessity as I once thought. There are other ways to enjoy the aroma, etc. So, I guess I am somewhere in between. But I will use them on occasion.

You should add a poll ... you still can.

[debunix]

I used my set this past weekend for a tAsting, but they may go many weeks between uses at times.

[brandon]

Waste of time.

[teaisme]

saves me time

don't have to wait as long for tea to cool, This is very useful if I am brewing somewhere cold so the teapot does not have too much time to cool down

I don't usually use them, maybe about 2-3 times a week.
Yes there are other ways to smell a teas aroma....but is the smell as potent and long lasting as from a good aroma cup? Not from what I've smelled.

Starting to use them more this winter after a long period of non use.

[wyardley]

I voted nay, and almost never use them, but I can see that they sometimes bring out a fragrance that otherwise wouldn't be as fully expressed just by smelling the normal tasting cup after finishing. I can see the benefits, probably more than I could the last time this topic came up, but ultimately, I find them a bit fussy, as well as a bit distracting.

And sometimes, as with smelling the dry cup or the gaiwan lid, an amazing aroma can actually distract from a tea that doesn't actually taste that great or interesting.

[TokyoB]

I don't use them or even own one. I do enjoy using one at a tasting every now and then, particularly in Taiwan. I think they are used more often there.

[IPT]

I don't even own one. They are very popular in Taiwan, but not so much on the mainland. They were popular here for a year or so in the early to mid 2000's, but quickly disappeared. A lot of teashops here have stuck them all in their discount boxes. For my teas, that I really want to get a good whiff of, I use a teacup made by Splitfire Pottery that is perfect for the job. I think it works better than the aroma cups and is more useful, since I drink out of it as well.

[Chip]

... I think I use them exclusively for Taiwan teas, coincidentally.

[Chasm]

I have a few, but I rarely use them. They are really fun with the right tea when you want to baffle your non-tea-nerd friends with intricate ceremony.

[Alex]

I have used them but wont use them again. I like the bottom of the cup smell or the gaiwan lid.

[tortoise]

I have a few, but I rarely use them. They are really fun with the right tea when you want to baffle your non-tea-nerd friends with intricate ceremony.

[teaisme]

really their good for many teas not just taiwanese
dancongs, wuyis, reds, houjicha, hit or miss with other greens, not sure about puer never tried but will!

yeah sometimes I feel they are distracting too, but that is more just because of how I feel at the moment. When in the right mood I feel it helps me focus more on the tea I am brewing, one because the aroma preps you for the taste (maybe making it a tad better even?), and two because the actual movements of pouring from cup to cup relaxes me

One thing I have noticed though, not all the time, but enough for me to rule out coincidence, is that my nose gets a little stuffed up after a heavy sniffing session, maybe that's why I don't use them a lot

smelling the lid of pot, gaiwan, drinking cups is all good, but the strong aromas dissipate faster compared to an aroma cup, using them also makes it easier to notice shifts in aroma as the cup cools

Is it just me or does anyone notice the body of the tea gets a little thinner when using the cups? I'm still trying to figure this out. It seems very minute to me, but there.

[tortoise]

I find that I like them as much for rolling between my hands as smelling them. So waaarm. I definitely understand the statement about them helping you focus.

I think, all in all, I just find them a bit superfluous.

[gargoylekitty]

I like the bottom of the cup smell or the gaiwan lid.

Same.

I've used/have aroma cups, but only really use them, as Chip kinda put it, when messing around with non-tea-nerd friends.