The difference between a gaiwan and a teapot

Dry tea leaves are placed in a teapot or gaiwan, then the vessel is filled with boiling water, and then the brewed tea is poured into a chahai (茶海, cháhǎi) or chabei (茶杯, chábēi). The fundamental difference will be in the speed of pouring, the optimal brewing temperature, the effect of the utensils on the taste of the tea, the development of its aroma and the convenience of viewing the boiled tea leaves, the so-called tea bottom.

Drain speed.

Each teapot has its own individual draining speed, which depends on the shape and volume of the teapot, the type of spout and strainer. If you don’t know tea and are brewing it for the first time, you may not guess the proportions, how many grams of this particular tea should be put in this particular teapot. And if there is more tea leaf in the teapot than necessary, the infusion will drain slowly and the drink will be oversaturated. And if the tea leaf is too small, it can completely clog the strainer or spout in the teapot.

Gaiwan is universal in this matter. The more you open the lid, the faster the tea will drain. To prevent tea leaves from getting into the drink, you can add a sieve to the chain between the gaiwan and the chahai. If the leaf is very small, you can press the lid tighter so as not to lose the small fraction of the tea leaf.

Brewing temperature.

For light teas, such as white, yellow, green, light oolongs, it is better to use not very high water temperature, so as not to overcook the tea, and the gaiwan copes with releasing the temperature faster than the teapot.

On the contrary, the teapot maintains the temperature longer and warms the tea leaves better, which has a beneficial effect on the development of dark teas, such as dark oolongs, red teas and heicha, including pu-erh.

And also, at high temperatures, the gaiwan overheats so much that even when using the correct comfortable grip, your hands can burn themselves on the walls and brewing tea in the gaiwan will be inconvenient, which, of course, cannot be said about a teapot with a handle.

Effect on taste.

Clayware has a cumulative effect from brewing previous teas and can add new shades of taste and aroma to the tea you are drinking now. Porcelain or glass do not have a cumulative effect, so it is better to use them for brewing tea that you are getting to know for the first time.

It is also convenient to see the so-called tea bottom in the gaiwan.