This bright white 300ml* porcelain gaiwan features a beautiful clean white colour with a luxurious, glossy finish. A must for serious tea connoisseurs, it’s the ultimate way to show off your Chinese speciality teas.
Gaiwans were invented during the Ming dynasty and consist of a bowl, lid and saucer. Porcelain gaiwans are traditionally used for steeping and drinking green and white loose-leaf tea, but you can enjoy any tea type with this delightful piece of teaware.
Remember, you can re-steep your tea leaves 2-3 times when using a gaiwan (see below), ensuring you get the most out of every tea leaf.
How to brew using a gaiwanClose
Using Your Gaiwan
Rinse the gaiwan cup with warm water and place the required amount of tea in the cup. Add water at the correct temperature to the cup. Once the tea has steeped (see below for a guide), pick up the cup and saucer and position the lid slightly askew, just enough to allow the tea to pour out while still retaining the leaves. Hold firmly, pour and enjoy!
How Long To Brew In A Gaiwan?
The traditional method involves a very short brewing time with a high leaf-to-water ratio (1 part leaves: 2 parts water). The leaves remain in the bowl and can be used for several re-steepings.
For black and oolong teas: the first step is to gently pour the water over the leaves to rinse them, discarding the water after a couple of seconds. This is called the ‘awakening’ of the tea. Thereafter, and depending on the type of tea, this gongfu method allows you to enjoy multiple steepings.
First steeping:
Black tea: 15 seconds
Oolong tea: 20 seconds
Green tea: 25 seconds
White tea: 30 seconds
For the subsequent steepings, add 5-10 seconds every time.
*300ml without lid to the top, 275ml with the lid.
