Wednesday, January 9, 2008

Gaiwan

A gaiwan or gai wan ("lidded bowl") is a Chinese covered bowl used for the infusion and drinking tea. It is also known as gaibei ("lidded cup") or juzhong ("hot-steeping vessel").
Tea experts think that the gaiwan is a great way to brew teas with delicate flavours and aromas, such as green tea and white tea. Gaiwan is also used for preparation of oolong infusions beacuase they can be infused several time. Still, you can use gaiwan for any type of tea.
The gaiwan is also important in tea tasting because of its open and glazed surfaces.
The gaiwan consists of a saucer, bowl, and lid. The gaiwan itself can be made from myriad materials, from porcelain to glass. Gaiwans made from Yixing clay or jade are especially valued by collectors.

In the folowing video you can see preparation of oolong tea with gaiwan.

3 comments:

Katrina said...

This video and post was really interesting. I assumed the first pouring of the pot and rolling of the cups was to warm the cups. Why are the cups also rolled in the first infusion? Just curious. Great blog!

From,
Katrina of teapages.blogspot.com

Mislav said...

Hello Katrina,
I must admit I have no idea why the cups are also rolled in the first infusion...Sorry...:(
I am glad that you like my blog.
Greetings from Croatia!!

Mislav

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