u/chhunchingtrossy4

If you’re new to gaiwans, I’d start simple. A good gaiwan should feel comfortable, pour cleanly, and be easy to control.

For most people, a 100–120ml porcelain gaiwan is the best starting point. It’s small enough for gongfu brewing, but not so tiny that it feels difficult to use. Porcelain is also easy to clean and does not hold strong flavors, so you can use it for oolong, pu-erh, white tea, green tea, or black tea.

A few things to look for:

The rim should be slightly flared so it’s easier to hold and less likely to burn your fingers. The lid should fit well but still leave a clean pouring gap. The saucer should feel stable, not slippery. Avoid very thick or overly heavy gaiwans at first, since they can be harder to handle.

My advice: choose comfort and function before decoration. A beautiful gaiwan is nice, but a gaiwan that pours well is the one you’ll actually use.

A gaiwan is one of the most versatile pieces of Chinese teaware. It works especially well for loose-leaf teas because the wide opening lets the leaves expand fully, and the lid makes it easy to control the pour.

In my experience, a gaiwan is great for:

Oolong tea — especially Tie Guan Yin, Wuyi rock tea, and Dan Cong. The aroma changes beautifully over multiple steeps.

Pu-erh tea — both raw and ripe pu-erh work well, especially with short gongfu-style infusions.

White tea — Silver Needle, White Peony, and aged white tea can taste soft, sweet, and layered in a gaiwan.

Chinese black tea — smooth, malty teas like Dian Hong or Keemun are easy to brew and very forgiving.

Green tea can also work, but I’d use cooler water and shorter steeps since delicate green teas can get bitter if overbrewed.

That’s what I like about a gaiwan: it’s simple, flexible, and lets you really notice how a tea changes from one infusion to the next.

I’ve always been drawn to the stage before a ceramic piece feels “complete.”

There is something honest about the raw surface — the soft texture, the slight unevenness, the way natural light catches the form before glaze changes everything. Finished pieces can be beautiful, of course, but the unfinished stage often feels more intimate to me.

It makes me think about how much of pottery is not only about decoration, but about restraint: knowing what to add, what to leave alone, and when the material already has enough presence.

Do you also find yourself attached to the in-between stages of a piece?

This green tea isn’t bitter or astringent at all, and it leaves a subtle sweet aftertaste in your mouth.