168 replies to this topic

[Lior]

I received it as a gift. My friend brought it for me after traveling in Romania and Russia-she's from Russia but I will have to ask her where it is from-sorry!

[Richard Kilgore]

Here are a few tea cups.

The white one on the left is about 150 ml in white bone china from silkroad.com. Simple, elegant and pleasant to drink from. Teas usually look their best against a white cup.

The small (30 ml) one in front that the - erm, photographer - neglected to turn to the front - has a fish design on  it. Used for gongfu.



More on the other three:

Chinese tea cup from an Asian grocery




Tea bowl, a gift from a friend many years ago, made by an Austin potter, name forgotten. A pleasnt vessel to drink from with its monks bowl shape. I use it for drinking Sencha.


30 ml Yixing tea cup for gongfu from Chinese Teapot Gallery on eBay

Hello-Regarding the tea cup you got from the asian grocery:1) I have a gaiwan of the same 2)Did you know that the thinner parts were created when rice grains, placed around the cup, were burned off during firing?

Interesting. I knew that rice grains were used, but not much in detail about how the effect is created.

[Richard Kilgore]

Here's a large Shino style yunomi, about 9 ounces, made by Ginny Marsh, a potter who now lives in the Dallas area. I use it for drinking Chinese green teas "grandpa style". It's a wonderful cup that feels good in the hands. I hope to have her make several smaller ones for me.

[Richard Kilgore]

Kerry Beal got me started on Brown Betty teapots, and here's another she sent me, along with a matching sugar bowl, some months ago. It is a larger pot, about 6 cups, and was made by Sadler, one of the most successful of the Stratfordshire potteries.

[Richard Kilgore]

This is a Kuromatsu Tokoname teapot made by Tokoname craftsman Gyokko that I got from Yuuki-cha.com. At a 120 ml capacity it is good for brewing about 60 - 90 ml of higher quality sencha or gyokuro. I love the texture of the unglazed clay.

[Wholemeal Crank]

Got the pointers, but this is still quicker for now

My Webpage

From a trip to Wing Hop Fung in LA's chinatown recently. Decided I should try a gaiwan, and since they were so inexpensive (all except the clay pot were $2.99-$6.99), I got several. Also, since my favorite little glass teapot broke, I got another one that has a filter built into the spout.

A simple glass gaiwan, a porcelain gaiwan decorated with a fish, a simple ceramic gaiwan, glazed inside, a glass teapot, and a lovely unglazed clay pot.

Will edit or repost with embedded images in a few days.

[Wholemeal Crank]

Images posted for gullet now--first the clay teapot





The glass teapot



The glass gaiwan



The ceramic gaiwan



and the cute porcelain gaiwan



Have now used all but the porcelain gaiwan, and the glass teapot, and am slowly figuring the gaiwan out.

[Richard Kilgore]

Nice Yixing pot, glass pot and gaiwans, Wholemeal Crank.

[Wholemeal Crank]

Today made some lovely pouchong tea in the little glass pot, that I brought with me to work. It works as well as the clay pot, but is more practical for the variety of teas I have here and the limited space.

[Human Bean]

I don't have any Chinese teapots. Instead, I prefer the tetsubin:



The Le Creuset of teapots -- almost literally. Enamelled cast iron, and will still be around long after I'm gone. Their main drawback is Le Creuset-like prices; they're not cheap.

The one pictured is the one I use for most everything, with the major exception of Lapsang Souchong; I have a cheap Chinese knock-off tetsubin for that. The capacity is about 16 ounces (475 ml). It's a quite nice dark blue color that wears to reveal the black enamel underneath -- the color isn't quite done justice by the photo.

Someday, I'll have another to dedicate specifically for green tea, and maybe another for whites. I'm not that fussy at the moment.

BTW, pictured next to the tetsubin are (on the left), a silver tip white tea (fluffy and actually somewhat fuzzy leaves), and on the right, some jasmine silver pearls.

[Richard Kilgore]

A chawan, matcha bowl, I got earlier this year from Ginny Marsh, a fine potter who also had one of the first organic farms in the US.

[Wholemeal Crank]

Bought a small set of yixing teapots today at Wing Hop Fung, so I can have one each for oolong, ripe and cooked pu-erhs, and I bought a fourth because it was so small and cute that I couldn't leave without it.

The three new ones all said Yixing on the price stickers, and their prices ranged from $6.99-$8.99. I only noticed this as I was browsing this time. They're les purple than the one I bought a couple of weeks ago when I was looking for the most purple appearing one I could find.

So I'll print this out and put it inside the door to keep them straight. Just not sure what to do with the smallest one--it is tiny, and should be perfect for small gongfu style tastings of really precious teas, as it will take hardly any tea to fill it up.



And I have their quantities down now too, after a session with the graduated cylinders. Next step, the very precise scale, which should arrive next week.

[Richard Kilgore]

I don't have any Chinese teapots. Instead, I prefer the tetsubin:



The Le Creuset of teapots -- almost literally. Enamelled cast iron, and will still be around long after I'm gone. Their main drawback is Le Creuset-like prices; they're not cheap.

The one pictured is the one I use for most everything, with the major exception of Lapsang Souchong; I have a cheap Chinese knock-off tetsubin for that. The capacity is about 16 ounces (475 ml). It's a quite nice dark blue color that wears to reveal the black enamel underneath -- the color isn't quite done justice by the photo.

Someday, I'll have another to dedicate specifically for green tea, and maybe another for whites. I'm not that fussy at the moment.

BTW, pictured next to the tetsubin are (on the left), a silver tip white tea (fluffy and actually somewhat fuzzy leaves), and on the right, some jasmine silver pearls.

That's a beautiful pot, but why do you prefer cast iron to porcelain and clay pots and what is it about these cast iron pots that you would want to dedicate several of them to various teas?

[Richard Kilgore]

I met Ginny Marsh at the Dallas Crafts Guild Ceramics Studio where she has been working on a variety of pieces for a Fall show at The Cultured Cup. I got there right after some work was coming out of the kiln shared by guild members.



I really like this small yunomi and drank Sencha from it for the first time yesterday. It's just the right size for a 5 ounce cup of tea.





One more Ginny Marsh yunomi to show later.

[Wholemeal Crank]

Nice!

[Wholemeal Crank]

Another issue that has come up in recent brewings: I would like a neater teapot.

My little revere whistling kettle slops and splashes as I try to pour
one ounce of boiling or near boiling water into a small opening in the
neat little pots and gaiwans I have for brewing the tea, especially
gongfu style.

It is otherwise perfectly functional.

Are there any whistling kettles that have neater pouring spouts?

I will eventually break down and buy a nice tray for the tea service that includes a catch tray for drips, but at the rate I'm splashing now, anything smaller than a dishpan would fill up too fast.

[andiesenji]

The "Windsor" type tea kettle should fit your needs.
http://www.amazon.co...fix=Windsor tea It pours a very fine stream, very precise. These are at Amazon US but if you are in the UK you should be able to find them easily - I have a couple and my original one was made in England.

However your could also use a stainless steel funnel - a bit cheaper and certainly just as functional.

Edited by andiesenji, 13 September 2009 - 02:59 PM.

[Wholemeal Crank]

Finding a lot of rave reviews for the simplex. I'd never keep the copper shiny, but the spout does look a lot more controllable than my little Revere. But while reading reviews about it I slopped a bunch more water on the counter....so it's looking pretty reasonable at Amazon's price.

[Richard Kilgore]

You may also be interested in a Capresso electric water kettle. I got my current one from friend and eG Society member Tony Boulton and I am sure they are available elsewhere also. I previously used an English copper Windsor and really liked the look, but the Capresso is so much more practical. It heats water much faster and more efficently than a stove top kettle, so I also use it when I need hot water in a pan, or for a stock, brasie or stew, to give it a head start.

Another option is a Chinese electric water kettle that works great for tea brewing, gong fu especially. They have them at your favorite Chinese grocery market. These things work better as a dedicated gong fu water heater than my Capresso and I'll eventually spring for one.

[prasantrin]

I don't have any Chinese teapots. Instead, I prefer the tetsubin:



The Le Creuset of teapots -- almost literally. Enamelled cast iron, and will still be around long after I'm gone. Their main drawback is Le Creuset-like prices; they're not cheap.

The one pictured is the one I use for most everything, with the major exception of Lapsang Souchong; I have a cheap Chinese knock-off tetsubin for that. The capacity is about 16 ounces (475 ml). It's a quite nice dark blue color that wears to reveal the black enamel underneath -- the color isn't quite done justice by the photo.

Someday, I'll have another to dedicate specifically for green tea, and maybe another for whites. I'm not that fussy at the moment.

BTW, pictured next to the tetsubin are (on the left), a silver tip white tea (fluffy and actually somewhat fuzzy leaves), and on the right, some jasmine silver pearls.

That's a beautiful pot, but why do you prefer cast iron to porcelain and clay pots and what is it about these cast iron pots that you would want to dedicate several of them to various teas?

I'm curious as to the answer, as well. In Japan tetsubin are rarely used for brewing water much less for making tea (and then it's the lined tetsubin that are used). I've always seen the use of tetsubin for brewing tea as a Western affectation, but I'm curious if people really see a benefit (flavour-wise) to using tetsubin. The only benefit I can think of would be that it holds heat longer, but that would not necessarily improve the flavour of the tea (particularly since Japanese teas should be brewed in smaller amounts for best flavour).

[Richard Kilgore]

Here's another yunomi by Virginia Marsh. It is roundly square in the shape of the body below the rim, which the photos don't show well, making it a pleasure in the hand.

[Richard Kilgore]

Here's another yunomi by Virginia Marsh. It is roundly square in the shape of the body below the rim, which the photos don't show well, making it a pleasure in the hand.

Japanese green tea usually looks best to me in a white or very light green cup, or a cup that at least has a white or light green interior. This yunomi seemed too dark for sencha and I was about to make it a cup for orange juice when it occured to me that the brown accents were similar to the tone of brewed houjicha. So I brewed some and yes, now it's a houjicha yunomi. (I should note that in the exterior photo the color of this yunomi is a little off, making it appear a darker than it is.)

[Wholemeal Crank]

Nice to find something that fits so well, pottery destiny!

[DanM]

This dinner set was a gift from my parents from their tip to Japan a few years back. I have service for 2. I have only used it 3-4 times in the past 4 years given how delicate and beautiful they are.

Edited by DanM, 25 September 2009 - 05:53 AM.

[Wholemeal Crank]

Gorgeous. But they look well made to stand up to more use than that, unless you're clumsy like me....

[fooey]

Ditto on the clumsy. These new granite countertops are proving their utility in more than just pastry.

They break glass- and stoneware for fun!

I have one wine glass left. As for teaware, I suspect the Staub teapot will be the "last man standing" in a few months.

Edited by fooey, 25 September 2009 - 01:10 PM.

[Wholemeal Crank]

Thought I should add an update: I am trying a very simple glass kettle from Amazon. I wanted to see the water doing its thing, so I can learn what 160-180 degrees looks like, and I'm rarely putting the kettle on and leaving the room, so I don't miss the whistle. So far, it's nice, but if it has an unfortunately short lifespan in my kitchen, I will go for the simplex.

[nakji]

I'm now the proud owner of some semi-decent teaware. For everyday use, I have a plain white porcelain teapot with plastic infuser from Muji. I also have two Japanese-style teacups for use with meals, also white porcelain from Muji, that I can use with a variety of teas. I've also bought this lovely gaiwan, which is hand-painted bone china, for gong-fu brewing:



I did my first gong-fu session with it this past Sunday, and I really enjoyed using it, although I did manage to burn myself with the hot tea on my first attempt at pouring with it.

[Richard Kilgore]

That's an attractive gaiwan, Erin. What's the capacity?

[nakji]

I'd say it's about 200 ml.