Closed cups for gongfu?

[JakubT]

A thought occured to me - when drinking wine, I find it less enjoyable when it is drank from small, open glasses.

Drawing a paralel, most "gongfu" cups I've seen were small and rather open. Did anyone experiment with the size and closedness of their cups?

[tingjunkie]

Yeah. Try drinking tea from a red wine glass or a brandy snifter! It's a whole new take on things. In my experience you gain aroma but lose a bit of mouthfeel. Smelling the empty glass between infusions is great though.

See here... http://www.teachat.com/viewtopic.php?f= ... ilit=+wine

[teaisme]

Did anyone experiment with the size and closedness of their cups?

Yes.
Don't like them for tea.
A small open cup with a small flute works best for me because mouthfeel and body are highlights I enjoy. Things seem much more fluid and the tea goes down easier for me as well. I also have the habit of finishing the cup before I put it down, another thing I can't do with a wine glasses and bigger cups as easily/comfortably. To me it also seems slightly out of place....

I do agree though the presentation of the aromas is nice

[wyardley]

With tea, small cups always seem to work better for me -- especially for enjoying the fragrance of the empty cup after finishing. But there are different shapes of small cups, which some people believe are better suited to certain kinds of tea. For lighter oolongs, taller, more tulip or bell shaped cups seem to be popular, for darker oolongs, classic small shape that's neither super wide nor super tall, and for aged sheng pu'er and aged oolongs and other less aromatic teas, larger sized cups which are short and wide. I follow these conventions sometimes, but I don't notice such a huge difference.

I have some cups from Wistaria which are designed to be used stand-alone (without an "aroma cup") that are kind of an oblong tulip shape. The shape is supposed to be based on some old cups for drinking alcohol, and you're not supposed to fill them all the way; the extra size in one dimension is supposed to help direct more of the aroma to your nose.

One difference is that in gongfu tea drinking, you drink the tea within 3 or so sips, and the total volume of each infusion is quite small. I think it would be hard to smell the aroma of the empty cup with a larger size cup, and it would also be hard to pre-heat the cup sufficiently.

[Tead Off]

I also like small wider cups for ease of drinking (ergonomics) and the aroma in the empty cup. I find the taller, narrower, cups touch my nose in a way that is slightly uncomfortable. Same with some wine glasses that are too narrow at the opening. The thin sharp edge of a fine glass doesn't feel good on my nose. And, my nose is not particularly big.