Quality Gaiwans

I don’t live in the Big Apple so I don’t know a good shop for gaiwan, but one thing I’d like to point out is that bone china is not a particularly good choice. Because most bone china products in the market are mould cast and there is always great restriction to the shape and thickness. All the bone china gaiwans I have seen are no good for making tea. Doesn’t matter even if they are very expensive. Porcelain is the best. It gives you thin edges for good handling.

As far as my experience is concerned, most gaiwans sold in the internet in English language are not good for tea making. Most have thick rim and bad lid cap designs. This seems to be a good market vacuum for those who are interested in opening such an internet shop.

That must be very frustrating. Maybe I should seriously consider opening such a shop. Seems good business idea.

Most people use the same gaiwan for everything. Ripened puers are much, much, much better in the yixing teapot. Raw puer can be in the gaiwan.

I was told that the porcelain gaiwan from Jianxi Province is the best and therefore a lot more expensive, is this true? How can you tell if it is really from that area?

That used to be true, but the porcelain center has moved away from Jianxi to southern Fujian and Chaozhou many years now. The gaiwan produced in these two tea regions are much better designed for real use. The quality has been improving and the price is a lot more reasonable. I have been using gaiwans from either of these places for many years now. I get mine from a neighborhood teashop, which compares well in price with those in the internet. 

A gaiwan or two is a key for making great tea. To be honest, I tend to stick with the standard China ones from Fujian’s DeHua. Basic, even shape, even thickness, good lids, good pure colour, low cost. Available in a wide range of sizes almost everywhere in the world.

Tend to use a standard size for most teas, though sometimes use a larger gaiwan for Sheng Puerh.

Have flirted with JingDeZhen ones, however the problem with handmade gaiwan’s is that the lid is often never quite right and sometimes the porcelain is actually too thin.

Would be interested in hearing others views on their preferences. Thanks to Tea Guardian for a great online resource.

Always the gaiwan. Fujian white porcelain. Not necessarily Dehua. There are many great porcelain production centers. I would fancy using those from Jingde sometimes, but too high in cost to break one. They are better left for customers with bigger wallets.

There’s a number of gaiwan on jk tea’s online shop, but I can’t speak for the quality.  They are very inexpensive, however, so it is probable that they’re not fantastic.

M.

good gaiwan no need expensive. gaiwans i am selling same price but better. too bad i have no internet shop.

ChaWang, any pictures of your gaiwan? Which region are they produced?

Yes, do tell.

M.

i take pictures not good. some gaiwans like the pink gaiwan picture in tea guardian gaiwan page. thin edge (maybe 0.5 mm thicker than tea guardian picture gaiwan), deep lid button (deeper than t g gaiwan), white bone china. best for daily use making tea. most practical shape. only white no color, no painting. from dehua, fujian. i use everyday.

I would say yours is abt the same thickness.