#yixingclay

When brewing gongfu cha, there are two types of brewing vessels used, the gaiwan (pictured right) or a teapot. Everyone who brews gongfu cha tends to have a preference as to what vessel they like to use. And depending on the material used to make the vessel, using a certain vessel will greatly benefit you depending on the type of tea you might be preparing.

Gaiwan:

The gaiwan is one of the oldest methods of brewing tea, dating back to the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). The word “gaiwan” literally translates to “lid & bowl”. Most gaiwan’s also come with a saucer, however the one pictured above does not include one.

The gaiwan is used by brewing your loose tea directly in the bowl with the lid on top. The lid helps to prevent heat from escaping during the brewing process and also acts as a filter. Once the tea has steeped for the appropriate amount of time, traditionally you would drink the tea directly from the gaiwan, using the lid to hold back the loose tea. But the more common method is to drain the liquid into a fair cup (tea pitcher), again using the lid to hold the leaves in the vessel. 

Gaiwan’s come in a various shapes and sizes, and usually hold anywhere from 100ml-180ml. They come in many different designs, from simple, plain white porcelain, to beautifully hand painted works of art. When choosing what size gaiwan, the main factor to take into consideration is how many people will you be brewing tea for? A nice small 100ml gaiwan is perfect for solo brewing, while anything from 150ml or more is suitable for group brewing sessions.  

I personally prefer to use a gaiwan for brewing gongfu cha, as it is work very well for both large, full size leaves like dan cong oolongs, tightly rolled leaves like ti guan yin oolongs, or pressed teas like puerh. I find it also better allows you to admire and study the tea leaves as they open up between infusions. However there is no doubt that it takes a bit of time and practice in order to learn how to handle a gaiwan without getting burned (I will talk more on that at a later date), but once you have mastered your technique, using a gaiwan is a breeze.

Teapot

Whether or not your a tea drinker, you no doubt know what a teapot is. So then you might wondering what makes a gongfu teapot so different? Well for starters the pots used for gongfu cha, are obviously much smaller then the teapot your grandma uses to make tea. Like the gaiwan, these teapot usually hold smaller amounts of water, roughly 100ml-200ml. The smaller size of the pot and gaiwan is because when brewing gongfu cha, you are using a higher tea to water ratio which allows you to flash infuse the tea within a few seconds. This allows you to extract the purest and most true flavor of your tea.

These little pots are usually hand made, and good quality pots can run a very high price. They range in price anywhere from $50-$400+. They are sold in very simple shapes with a plain exterior, but are also available in odd shapes, like this round, but flatter one I have pictured above. For a higher price you can even get yourself a real unique pot shaped like animals, tree trunks and all kind of other beautiful designs.

I personally only tend to use a clay pot when brewing puerh teas, and sometimes a glass pot for certain types of delicate teas like white and green teas, or dragon balls. The reason for this brings me to my next point, which is the material in which your vessel is made from.

Materials

Gongfu teapots like gaiwans are usually made from one of three different materials. Glass, yixing clay, and porcelain. Different teas are better brewed with different materials based on such consideration likes the flavor of the tea, and/or how delicate a tea is.

Glass is best used for brewing delicate teas such as green and white teas. This is because glass releases heat faster, which allows the water to cool quicker. This is especially important when brewing delicate teas as using too high of a water temperature, will not only sculled the tea but will also extract the amino acid in the tea that causes bitter flavor. The other advantage to using glass is that because it is a clear material, you can watch how the tea reacts and opens during the brewing process, as well as the color of the tea as it brews. This is especially nice when brewing dragon balls, to watch them slowly open up over multiple infusions.

Yixing clay is the one of the most common materials used to make gongfu teapots. The major advantage to using a clay pot, is that the type of clay used to produce these pots is very well known to absorb the flavor and oils of your tea while brewing. Over time with repeated use, the pot will begin to increase the flavor of your tea as it continues to absorb the oils and flavor. Clay pots also hold their heat for a much longer period and therefore they are excellent for teas like puerh and oolong which are normally brewed at higher temperatures. 

The major disadvantage of using a clay pot is directly related to its main advantage. Because clay pots absorb the flavor of your teas over time, using the same pot for multiple teas will result in an odd mix of flavors building up in the pot which will directly effect the flavor of your tea when brewing. Most tea connoisseurs tend to use a single clay for only one type of tea, so it is not uncommon to find them using one clay pot strictly for ripe puerhs and another strictly for oolong teas.

Porcelain is another very common material, and is known as a universal material. Porcelain can be used for all tea types because it does not absorb flavors over constant use. It also releases heat at a slighter faster rate then yixing, but slower then glass, therefore it can support all brewing temperatures. So if your looking to have a single brewing vessel to brew all your teas with, you can’t go wrong with porcelain!