Monday TeaDay 6/22/09 Teacup size, shape and flex?

[Chip]

Good TeaDay everyone ... come on in and share what is in your cup today.

Yesterday most responders indicated they were staying home this Father's Day. You can still vote and discuss yesterday's topic.

Today's TeaPoll and discussion topic. There is a discussion on teacup sizes and shapes under TeawareArtisans, and yes, this has been discussed before. So, I will add a bit of a twist to it. What SIZE and SHAPE teacups do you favor NOW ... and are you RIGID or FLEXIBLE on these points? Please share with us.

I am looking forward to sharing this TeaDay with everyone. Bottoms up.

[Victoria]

I guess I'll go with less than 5 ounces.

With 3-4 being optimal, I think I mostly use 4oz right now, 5oz is ok, but anything over 5 seems too big. But yes, I'm flexible. I don't mind using small or bigger cups as the occasion rises. Also depending on the tea and how I brew it.

Ack, ok I missed the favorite shape part when I first posted - I like a flared cup, this is my current favorite shape.



.

[sneakers]

I fill my 12-oz mug and keep it on an electric warmer on my desk. Hot right down to the bottom!

[Chip]

Size: 3-4 ounces
Shape: Typically flared somewhat and tapered like this Hagi:

or even this:

Or anything somewhat similar ...

I tend to be rigid, but have become much more flexible on these points, particularly with our foray into Hagi ...

[Salsero]

It depends a lot on what kind of tea I am drinking, where I am, and what brewing method I am using, but I tend to hover between a 6-oz mug and 3-oz cups without handles.

A sample of a wonderful, no-name 2002 Yiwu brick shared with me and some of the other boys at B&B by Fatman2 in Singapore, who sometimes visits TeaChat. The broth is sweet and sticky … delicious, fruity and elegant, like a bright apricot. Yiwu must be the champagne of Yunnan. Many infusions. This particular cup, which I love for its shape and very thin porcelain, holds almost exactly one ounce. I wish Jing Tea Shop still carried them, I'd get a few more!

[entropyembrace]

I use tapered mugs (wide at the top, narrow at bottom) that are probably around 10oz...I like smaller tea cups, I just can't afford to buy a new pot or more small cups right now so I'd say I'm quite flexible towards smaller cups but not so much to bigger ones...

I've been drinking 2008 Zheng He Bai Mu Dan AA tonight.

[sriracha]

I voted for ~10 oz, right now I don't really have a size preference, but that could change any day.

I used to prefer really big cups, my favourite one for years was a Portmeirion Pomona cup holding about 20 oz/600 ml. One Christmas my little brother got me one of those really huge blue/white Spode cups. Those are close to a litre in capacity...

Generally I'd rather use low/wide and thin cups, partly because I'm so sensitive to my tea being too hot(friends ask how I can drink 'tepid' tea...not tepid to me though) and partly because the tea just seems to taste better.

The IKEA 'Frukost' cups are ideal; very low and wide...also they're green which is always a bonus in my book.

This morning I've made a pot of Ying De fortified with a little Royal Blend. Drinking this out of a Gefle Kosmos cup, a service I've begun collecting lately.

[Drax]

< 10 oz for me, as I use a 9 oz bodum glass for most of my drinking. I enjoy getting an 'unadulterated' view of the tea. My biggest teapot, however is 8 oz, with most ~4-5 oz.

This morning, I am continuing to sample my way through the oolong box pass, and this morning I am trying a zhangshu lake oolong.

[clareandromeda]

because I drink either sencha or matcha, and most instructions are per 8 oz I need something greater than 8 oz. Because of this I drink out of chawan. I prefer steep sides to prevent spillage cause ima clutz.

[Herb_Master]

I use anything from 1oz to 3oz (I think, I tend to use ml)

I loved Geek's phototrip amongst the vines and Olive's

I have no Vines of the grape variety in my garden, but my Valentine's gift this year was an Olive.



which is beginning to blossom

[chad]

I have a 10oz mug at work. I usually use mugs at home, too. But, I'm flexible and definately not bound to a single size mug.

Pai Mu Tan this morning.

[olivierco]

I usually drink 3-4 oz steeps, so less than 5 oz is the right cup for me.

Organic Asamushi Sencha "Warashina Supreme" to start the afternoon.

[spot52]

I prefer around 8 oz.
But I am flexible about the size and use many other sizes. I guess it also depends on the tea type and location.

[Intuit]

10 oz mug for breakfast teas. Dainty 3-5oz cups for delicate green teas and a standard 4 oz English teacup size for my afternoon teas. Iced tea goes into a 16 oz tumbler.

One size does not fit all.

No-name Ceylon estate in my cup. Cheers!

[Victoria]

Tea Masters Baozhong in my morning cup.

Have a nice day everyone!