New TeaDay 8/4/12 Oh my, the Brewing Vessel Choices?

[Chip]

Good TeaDayWeekend everyone, and welcome! Let's brew and share what is in our cups today, all day!

Thank you to those who posted and who also shared photos in our last TeaDay topic. I am sure others may want to share in light of this weekend's topic. So again, share some pictures of your brewing vessels and/or cups with us.

Today's TeaPoll and discussion topic, how long does it take to choose your brewing vessel? Bonus question today, is your choice directly related to or affected by which tea[s] you have chosen.

I am looking forward to sharing TeaDayWeekend with everyone. Bottoms up!

[AdamMY]

Once I decide the tea, and a style ( grandpa or non granpa) that usually guides me to a brewing vessel, or at least severely limits my choices. The most choices I have for a given tea would be Asamushi Sencha, which would be 6 choices, and the next deciding factor is how much tea I want to brew.

Next Chip needs to ask us about the cup selection

[Chip]

Next Chip needs to ask us about the cup selection

That would be a definite affirmative.

[debunix]

What's absolutely clear is the the choice of brewing vessel and tea are absolutely linked. Most of the time the tea comes first, but sometimes a vessel catches my eye and I want to start there and pick a tea that goes well with it. I'm still learning about matching tea and vessel, and sometimes I 'stretch' typical recommendations if I am in the mood for a tea that is not quite the usual fit for the vessel I want to use.

Usually it doesn't take long--less than a minute--but when I'm at home and not in a hurry, e.g., I've finished a nice session with one tea and am ready for another, it might take several minutes to decide that it's probably ok to do the first trial of a new green tea in my the shiboridashi I've already grabbed rather than in the more neutral porcelain gaiwan that I usually grab first. And of course comparative tastings pretty much force use of the gaiwans, because those are the only vessels I have in matches sets in quantity for that use.

Yesterday, I started with the Kamjove device for bulk brewing for the thermos, to take with me to an afternoon clinic. Later I took up a session I'd started the evening before, comparing two puerhs in porcelain gaiwans. Today, I have a yen for something greener in a shibo....

[sriracha]

Half the time I'm choosing my cup before something to brew in...

[debunix]

Half the time I'm choosing my cup before something to brew in...

That too!

[Lerxst2112]

Well, I have one teapot and two gaiwans.... kind of makes the decision easy

Trying to decide if I want to review a JGY or switch it up with a pu-erh. Decisions, decisions...

[Xell]

When there is not much teaware and everything has quite different purposes, it's really easy to decide Depends on how much and what tea i want to drink. Have pairs ready, brewing vessel and a cup. But recently using mostly ~150ml porcelain slim yunomi when using shibo, small kyusu or a gaiwan. Great for smelling tea, almost like a smelling cup.

[debunix]

Hmmm.....another point that came to mind this evening....my fifth set of infusions, a new oolong from Wuyi, included as a free sample in my last order from Norbu (2012 spring Bai Ji Guan), is taking place in a shiboridashi usually limited to green teas, and occasionally for green oolongs--but both gaiwans and the kyusu have been used.....and because the sink is a bit of a hike here at the office, they haven't been rinsed out yet, so the shibo got called into action. I think it's actually doing something very nice for this tea, in fact.

So....what's clean is sometimes the issue!

[gargoylekitty]

Brewing vessel is the easiest part. Tea and cup(which often get picked first) on the other hand?

So....what's clean is sometimes the issue!

Lol, definitely.

[hopeofdawn]

I'd say for me it's definitely based on what tea I'm brewing (and how much of it I want at once)--but since most of my teaware is glazed porcelain/stoneware, once the size considerations are out of the way, I often go by what's aesthetically appealing to me on any particular day ... or sometimes what I haven't used in a while. I like to keep as much of my teaware in rotation as possible.

[Tadpole]

A few seconds only. Spend more time drinking the tea! If I stand for more than a few seconds, it's time to close my eyes and grab whatever vessel is closest by...or whatever was last rinsed. Um, yeah...time to wash all the teaware

Today I sip (guzzle) Yunnan black tea in a crackled celadon Korean type infuser cup that looks like a shorty mushroom with the lid on. Surprisingly forgiving in brew time. Decadent paired with a couple of peppermint chocolate truffles.