... not another noob hardware post...

[napoleon]

Yes, another one

Hi guys, new to the forum, new to loose leaf teas. From what I've tried, seems like something I'll be sticking to for quite some time. So it's time to buy something better than the Finum brewing basket.

I've done the research and come to the following conclusions:
1. As I'll be drinking alone (95+% of the time) a brewing wessel of 80-120ml is what I'm after. x5-7 steeps is plenty of fluid.
2. I like drinking out of a small 30ml cup got from DTH, repouring several times, which takes me to nr. 3
3. I'll need a cha hai
4. My favourites are pu erh and oolong and I'll be mixing so porcelain/glazed is a must.


Now I need your advice on what to order.

I was looking at this teapot and this gaiwan. Does anyone have any experiences with the teapot? The strainer seems nice, and the top opening seems big making cleaning easy.
Cream gong fu cha teapot 100ml- from the Canadian camellia sinensis store.
Other than that, I'd choose the following gaiwan.
Dragon tea house Chrysanthemum * Famille Rose Porcelain Gaiwan 80ml

The strainer would be the "standard" one every store has.

Now a cha hai. Does the shape play any role or is it just a personal prefference? Ease of cleaning would be one requirement for me. And sould be smaller, up to 200 ml.
So square, round, pitcher shape...

PPS. Shipping to Europe is a must, so most of the stores recommended as budget stores become not so budget when shipping is added.

[Evan Draper]

Fun! If I were drinking by myself most of the time, I would dispense with a chahai and simply use a larger cup. I don't have any performance-related desiderata for chahai as long as it pours; it's strictly an aesthetic choice for me. Some people might want to be able to stand the teapot in it, to get every last drip, but that's tough to judge online. And if I were buying gaiwans from China, I'd order several at a time, because once one breaks, as they will, you don't want to wait a month to replace it. This is a good opportunity to try several cheaper ones to find out what works for you.

[bonescwa]

Look at the non-yixing pots at DTH, you can get a few pots of different sizes and shapes for the price of that pot from Camellia Sinensis. I know that pot is Lin's, but still.

[debunix]

I've gone down and back up a bit in my cup size preferences. I realized somewhere along the way that a large cup doesn't have to be full to enjoy drinking from it. I always plan my sessions to have a cup or cups (if sharing) big enough to hold the entire infusion at once, so my most-used teawares are used to hold cooling or cool water to temper hot infusions to drinkable temperature, or to dilute overly strong infusions. I've always got one on each of my tea trays. One is a handleless celadon from Yi Yong Cheol with a pouring spout, and since it rarely holds very hot water, it's just as easy to handle as the side-handled open vessels from Petr Novak. They're wide open so water cools quickly, which might not be what you want in a cha hai.

Re: gaiwan vs pot: the gaiwan is the easiest to clean, a distinct advantage at the office without a dedicated sink, but less important at home. You won't know which you prefer, though, until you've had experience with both. Ideally you'd get a couple of cheap but highly functional pieces at your nearest Asian market, get a feel for how you like them, and go from there. I wouldn't spend a lot of money on pot or gaiwan until you've gotten less-expensive versions of both to practice with, to see how you prefer to brew. Both of the pieces you mentioned look just fine.

[kyarazen]

the cream one is from lin's ceramics and its nice! very versatile pot.

[napoleon]

Evan Draper: OK, so a cha hai shape is a subjective preference. While I do agree that pouring directly to a cup would be an advantage, I like pouring to a "cha hai" (actually a 200ml french press without the press part for now) and than to a cup. I like sipping from little cups, and the process of transfering if from brewing wessel>chahai>cup cools the tea down enough to be drinkable right away.
Although, if I could find a nice "cheap", 100cc/ml, thin and wide porcelain cup, I'd probably buy it. As I haven't used a gaiwan yet, I'm afraid that puerh will get into the cup if I don't use a strainer. And I figure if I'm using a strainer, why not a cha hai (actually the least expensive accessory for gong fu tea) as well.


Bonescwa: I have looked at non yixing pots on DTH, but I've read on this forum that there can sometimes be quality issues, alike very slow pouring, and pouring all over the place except the cup you're aiming.
Plus the top opening on these is rather small. I'd like to be as practical as possible when it comes to cleaning (even when brewing at home).


Debunix: The more I think about it the more I think a gaiwan would be the right thing to get. I see your point in buying multiple cheap ones until I get the hang of pouring and see what I like. I was thinking on going minimalist on at least one hobby but that won't seem to work. I do confess that I have thought of using that small DTH 80ml gaiwan as a cup if it doesn't prove big enough for me. But in that case, that's a 40$ cup...


kyarazen: Yes, the pot is very nice, and the mesh strainer would make a separate strainer useless. Plus a nice big opening to scoop out all the used leaves. The only minus is that for that price I could buy all the equipment including tea.

[napoleon]

PS. Just got a reply from DTH, the 80ml gaiwan I was looking at is 80ml filled for use, not to the top. I was a little afraid that it's 80ml to the top, and that would be a bit too small.

[kyarazen]

kyarazen: Yes, the pot is very nice, and the mesh strainer would make a separate strainer useless. Plus a nice big opening to scoop out all the used leaves. The only minus is that for that price I could buy all the equipment including tea.

hmm.. i would think you should go with the pot first gaiwans can be picked up for cheap almost anywhere.. a decent pot goes a very long way.

i'm always of the biased opinion that DTH's stuff's never value for $$...

[thirst]

Regarding cups matching the size of a pot or gaiwan, for some reason, almost every time I’ve bought some tea ware, the advertised volume turned out to be wrong. They were stores from mainland China, Taiwan, and the US. Not so cool when you’re looking for a cup that holds the whole content of a pot or gaiwan but which ends up being too small. Lesson learned, I guess.

Also, what’s described as white is usually cream.

[bonescwa]

I think there are some decent deals on DTH, especially for us that don't live in Asia and have access to most of the mass produced Asian tea stuff. Western sellers just buy thus stuff in bulk and put a huge premium on it, I know that DTH obviously charges more than what you can get the same stuff for in Asia, but the majority of the people on this forum don't have that convenience

[Evan Draper]

I was thinking on going minimalist on at least one hobby but that won't seem to work.

Haha nope not this hobby! This seems a good place to bring up "tuition costs," which often gets mentioned on this forum. As much as we would prefer not to, we all wind up spending money on tea and hardware that just don't work for our purposes. It's the best way to learn what to look for in the future, so best to embrace it....

[napoleon]

OK, so what do you guys say to a cheap 100-120ml gaiwan and that Gongfu Lin's 100ml teapot for starters? And build on from there...

[.m.]

if you're gettin a teapot from camellia sinensis, why not get a gaiwan from there as well? their prices may not be the cheapest, but the porcelain is reasonably nice, and you'll probably save on shipping?
i got a plain cream white gaiwan (150ml) from them maybe 6 years ago that i still use (they don't break all the time if you're a bit careful )
and i really like it, although i wish i got a smaller one

[napoleon]

Thing is, the Gaiwan Yun 100ml for 18$ from the site is nice, but the teapot will get taxed probably when entering Croatia.
Most of the Chinese sellers offer free shipping and the package will probably go through customs without the VAT (25%) so I may get by for a lot less money than ordering from the same vendor.

[Alex]

the cream one is from lin's ceramics and its nice! very versatile pot.

I really want that pot. Teasmith.com have one for $50 at the moment but told me shipping alone would be "around $100" WTF? lol