Best teacup to drink Chinese green tea from?

[Vertigo]

Hi everyone,

I recently bought a Nosaka clay reduction teapot from Hojo tea...Its a great item.
I have been drinking my tea using a standard porcelain cup (300ml)...I was wondering what you would recommend to drink the tea from?
I have heard good things about lava clay...
I would appreciate any recommendations, or should i just use my porcelain cup?
I only drink Chinese green teas...

Thanks!

[Tead Off]

Hi everyone,

I recently bought a Nosaka clay reduction teapot from Hojo tea...Its a great item.
I have been drinking my tea using a standard porcelain cup (300ml)...I was wondering what you would recommend to drink the tea from?
I have heard good things about lava clay...
I would appreciate any recommendations, or should i just use my porcelain cup?
I only drink Chinese green teas...

Thanks!

Porcelain is fine. Almost any glazed ceramic cup will do. Try to find something that will look good with your teapot.

[debunix]

I mostly consider teacup materials as it relates to insulation--or lack thereof--for my fingers when I'm drinking from the cup. Other than that, it's all about the aesthetics. I've not enjoyed drinking from cups that are unglazed at the rim, where my lips touch it. So all of my most-used cups are glazed inside and to the rim.

[Vertigo]

Thanks all...
Would there be any health benefits to drinking from a clay teacup at all?

[debunix]

None worth bothering about.

[teaisme]

I generally drink my greens that are brewed in a teapot in two particular cups.
One is a light arita porcelain similar to this...
http://www.artisticnippon.com/product/a ... ncups.html

This is a nice standard well balanced cup style for green teas, hard to go wrong.

Another is a older korean celadon cup, very very thick, extremely smooth silky feel on mouth due to well done glaze. Instead of bright, light and floaty (talking sensations, not appearance), this one mellows, quits, and comforts more, but at slight expense to sensation of brightness and aroma (plus no white backdrop on green since the cup is green celadon colour. It does add a thicker feel to the tea though.

As you can see it depends on what kind of feeling I would like to enhance more of with the tea, as well as what mood I am in. These two cups contrast each other very well while being very good (made it seems) for green teas. A good green tea cup does not have to be thin (as places online like to say). I reach for the thick celadon ones more then the aritas when I brew chinese greens and whites, and the aritas more with the japanese greens.

Thanks all...

Would there be any health benefits to drinking from a clay teacup at all?

Sounds extremely negligible to me. I would be more focused on quality of tea, kettle, and water if health benefits are your concern.

If your patient ebay is a very good place to shop for japanese and korean cups for a fraction of what they are worth. Just need to know what to look for, and where to look.

[Chip]

Although this all comes down to personal taste (perhaps the subject should be, "what teacup do you prefer for Chinese greens?")

I think you could mix things up with a smaller cup versus the 300 ml one you are using.

Although I always reach for glazed clay full of wabi sabi for Japanese greens (well, 95% of the time or more), I tend to reach for a more "perfect" cup, meaning materials like porcelain with a more "perfect" glaze.

But this really comes down to what appeals to you for a particular tea.

I was actually quite happy to drink from "dollar cups" from Chinatown and similar for years ... until I finally got the "bug."

[Joel Byron]

I drink from my favorite tea bowl from a local potter for most teas. It's glazed inside and out and is very comfortable to hold. I'll try to post pictures at some point. The glaze on the inside is a tan/very light brown color. I've been more interested in the color of the tea lately so I've been occasionally drinking out of a small, cheap, and stout 4oz mug with a handle that is white glazed and mass produced. I'm planning on investing more in teaware eventually, but for now if I am drinking for flavor and enjoyment, that local potter made teabowl is the one I reach for.