Teaware
In the set: Yixing Gaiwan (Zi Sha: Zi Ni), and two sets of Yixing Clay Zi Ni Aroma Teacups. Zi Ni's excellent porosity and heat-retaining properties work wonders in transforming the taste of tea, surpassing other materials like glass, porcelain, glazed teapots, or even other ZiSha clays.
At the heart of the Gong Fu Cha ceremony lies the gaiwan, a quintessential teaware piece that captures the essence of the tea leaves and brings out their best qualities. The delicate Chinese characters 静, 禅, 悟, 道 (Tranquility, Zen, Enlightenment, Tao) adorn this gaiwan's exterior, telling a story of serenity and self-discovery. To truly appreciate the delicate nuances of lighter teas such as green tea, white tea, and yellow tea, porcelain is the teaware material of choice.
This beautiful Gong Fu Tea Set depicts white cranes — a symbol of peace and longevity in Chinese culture. Throughout imperial times, cranes were depicted on the robes of officials to represent their rank. The greatest outcome of Chinese tea cannot be expected without a proper Gong Fu Cha Set.
This exquisite Gong Fu Cha Set made of translucent Mutton Fat Jade Porcelain includes a Gaiwan, Gong Dao Bei, two cups, and a tea strainer. Adorned with handwritten calligraphy that reads "Approach Tea With a Focused Heart," the set combines elegance and functionality, making it ideal for mindful tea sessions.
This Gong Fu travel set comprises a gaiwan and cups made with top-tier Kaolin clay from Dehua, Fujian. The components of the Travel Set pack perfectly into one another. The pouch is sturdy, compact, light, and easy to carry. The ideal set for Gong Fu Cha on the go.
The Heart Sutra Set, crafted from unglazed Dehua ZhuNi clay, includes a Gaiwan and Gong Dao Bei adorned with the Buddhist Sutra, and two teacups with minimalist brushstroke designs. The set features beautiful color contrasts and ergonomic shapes, enhancing the flavor, aroma, and overall tea-drinking experience.
This Gong Fu Tea Set includes a gaiwan and two teacups, crafted from porcelain and lined with silver. The set features serene landscape motifs in cobalt blue. Silver softens water, enhancing tea's sweet notes, while the porcelain exterior protects fingers from heat, making it both beautiful and practical.
This set includes a 170ml Shiboridashi and two 50ml Teacups. Crafted from aged Dehua clay, the high-temperature reduction firing and high-iron content glaze enhance the tea's sweetness and flavor. This set combines vintage charm with practical functionality for an exceptional tea-drinking experience.
This tea set by A Jie includes the "Rough Diamond" Gaiwan and "Weathered Rock" Teacup, both crafted using high-iron Dehua clay and a traditional wood-firing process. The rugged and faceted designs complement each other beautifully, and the smaller size of the gaiwan makes it perfect for solo tea sessions with your most precious teas. Each piece is unique, reflecting the natural elements of fire and clay, and brings out the tea’s natural sweetness.
The Jianzhan glaze is not only stunningly beautiful. Rich in iron, it makes tea taste sweeter and more rounded. Despite the exceptionally thin walls of this Jian Zhan teacup, the temperature of the brew will stay pleasantly warm for a long time. While you sip the tea, watch the colors of the glaze gently play and intermingle with the tea. Handmade by Yang Jia Jang, an Inheritor of Intangible Cultural Heritage and a National First-Level potter.
This 50ml Silver-Lined Porcelain Teacup features serene landscape motifs with scholars, painted in cobalt blue. The silver interior ensures even heating and softens water, enhancing the tea's sweet notes. The porcelain exterior protects fingers from heat, making it both elegant and practical.
Exquisite 35ml Mutton Fat Jade Porcelain Tea Cups. Smooth to the touch and slightly translucent, this material resembles a nephrite highly valued in Chinese culture. The handwritten calligraphy reads "一心问茶" (Yī Xīn Wèn Chá) – "Approach Tea With a Focused Heart." This phrase resonates deeply with the practice of Gong Fu Cha and Zen philosophy.
The tall shape of this 50ml Gong Fu teacup preserves the tea's fragrance. Its simple and elegant design is perfect for taking delight in observing the original color of the tea. Porcelain does not alter the genuine taste of the tea.
This 50ml emerald Gong Fu Teacup depicts white cranes — a symbol of peace and longevity in traditional Chinese culture. The inside remains white — this allows us to admire the various colors of the tea brew.
This 50ml Iron-Gilded Aged Clay Teacup crafted from Dehua clay that underwent high-temperature reduction firing, features a retro bronze finish. The high iron content of the glaze adds sweetness to the tea's flavor, enhancing the overall tea-drinking experience with a unique vintage charm. Perfect for tea enthusiasts.
The 60ml Handmade Woodfired "Weathered Rock" Teacup is crafted from high-iron Dehua clay and shaped by natural elements through a traditional wood-firing process. Its rough texture, inspired by weathered rocks, creates a beautiful play of light and texture. No two cups are the same, each bearing the unique marks of ash and flame from the kiln. The result is an earthy yet refined teacup that feels like a natural extension of the tea ritual, bringing together tradition, artistry, and the unpredictability of nature.
This 45ml teacup, made from unglazed Dehua ZhuNi clay, features a minimalist brushstroke design. Its traditional shape and beautiful color contrast between the rich interior and subdued exterior enhance both the visual and tea-drinking experience, making it a perfect addition to any teaware collection.
Crafted from clay that can be seen through the glaze, this 40ml cup has an earthy feel that resonates with the natural origins of tea. It fits comfortably in your hand and adapts seamlessly to your tea of choice. The wide opening brings the brew to a comfortable drinking temperature without a lengthy wait. The glaze is bright, providing a clean background that allows the true colors of your tea to shine through
The design of this 50ml teacup is simple and tasteful. Its frosted base transitions seamlessly to a clear upper half. Glass allows you to admire the vibrant color of the tea, watch the steam softly rise and dance on its walls, and observe how the light passes through the liquid, enhancing the rich hues of your tea. It's a visual pleasure that complements the savoring of your tea.
Aroma cups are an essential part of enjoying the tea, especially oolong tea. As its name suggests, it is used for smelling the fragrance of the tea before drinking it. Made from renowned Yixing ZiSha clay (ZiNi), these cups will perfectly complement your tea.
These 40ml clear glass teacups are great for enjoying the color of the tea, while the double walls protect your hands from the heat.
Yunomi is the most popular type of Japanese tea cups. They are used when enjoying tea alone or with friends, in an informal setting. When sipping tea from Yunomi teacups notice the warmth gradually spread throughout your whole body, while the tea's wonderful aroma entrances the mind. 160ml.
A deep and wide, 355ml chawan provides enough room for the chasen to effortlessly move back and forth to produce froth and dissolve the matcha powder. Its robust shape sits nicely in both hands. The sea foam-green lacquer with white accents summons images of ocean waves lightly passing over a sandy shore.
To indulge in proper matcha drinking, we recommend this Japanese matcha set which includes: Chashaku, a bamboo scoop used to measure matcha for serving; Chasen, bamboo whisk to properly mix matcha with water; And Chawan, the bowl in which to prepare matcha and to drink it from.
About Teaware [+]
As many variations as there are within tea categories, it is the same with teaware. It is to no surprise that there is an ideal teapot or gaiwan for each type of tea. Many find these through experimenting on their own, while some knowledge is more widespread. However, in general, there are a few things that are best to keep in mind when choosing the proper teaware for a particular type of tea, whether it's for Gong Fu, Chanoyu, or more casual tea drinking.
Chinese Tea
Gong Fu Cha wasn't always a thing. It took many centuries for the Chinese tea ceremony to evolve into what we know it as today. It was only in the past couple of centuries that gongfu tea began forming, with all its rituals and traditions.
Many centuries ago in China, people drank tea from big bowls, similar to modern-day chawan (in Taiwan, you can still find this style of drinking tea). When Lu Yu's book came out, The Cha Jing, paragraphs described that one should enjoy tea in small, concentrated quantities. With time local potters began developing smaller cups, gong fu cups.
What is Gong Fu Cha
Gong Fu Cha is a traditional Chinese tea ceremony. Concentrated amounts of tea leaf brew in small vessels for a short period. Translated, Gong Fu Cha means "making tea with skill".
Gongfu Tea Set
To brew tea Gong Fu style, we need a special Gongfu tea set. This set usually comprises a small teapot or gaiwan, little teacups, and a cha hai (also called gong dao bei) — at a bare minimum. Complete gong fu sets will also have tea utensils, like tea picks, brushes, a tea filter, and a Chinese tea table, Cha Pan – Gongfu Tea Tray. While having a complete set isn't crucial, it does create a great tea aesthetic for enjoying mindful ceremonies. Another unique component of a Gongfu set is a tea pet.
What is a Tea Pet?
Tea pets are small clay figurines that tea masters use during gong fu cha for various purposes. Some of these "pets" can even test water for the right temperature! Although primarily many use them as decoration, some enthusiasts also have them for good luck.
The tea pets are commonly made out of yixing clay and come in the form of animals or various Chinese good luck symbols. Many tea enthusiasts believe that tea, which has a soul, fills the tea pets with a soul.
Gong Fu Tea Cups
In Chinese, the little cups that tea drinkers use for tea are called Pinming cups. However, in the West, the term "gong fu cup" is more widespread.
Generally, these small cups vary from 20-50 ml, enough for merely a couple of sips. Indeed, having a couple of sips of tea may come off as odd to those of us used to giant tea mugs. Rest assured, once you've had gongfu style tea, you won't want to go back to the big mug. The flavor of tea is more intense, more robust. Furthermore, with each brew, it's like a whole new experience, an entirely new tea.
Aroma Cups
Aroma cups always come in sets of two — a short wide one and a tall narrow one. We use them together to smell the aroma of the tea. First, we pour tea into the tall cup, cover it with the short cup and flip them over. We drink tea from the short cup and use the tall cup to savor the aroma of the tea. This practice is most common with aromatic Taiwanese oolongs. However, you can most definitely use it with any tea.
Yixing Clay
Yixing clay (ZiSha) comes from an ancient county in Jiangsu province of China, situated by the delta of the Yangtze River. ZiSha is the most famous clay of China, and Yixing teapots are greatly revered and sought after by tea connoisseurs worldwide.
There are different types of ZiSha – Yixing Clay. The most famous is Zi Ni – purple clay, admired for its porosity and heat-retaining qualities. Because of its porosity, high iron oxide, and other minerals content, the clay interacts with tea and transforms its taste, adding to the tea experience.
The other main types of ZiSha that are being mined in Yixing and used for making teaware are:
• Zhu Sha or Zhu Ni – because of the high iron content, the clay has a bright red hue
• Hong Ni – also a red clay, ranging from dark red to red-brown, with characteristics similar to Zi Ni but a little less porous.
• Duan Ni – is a porous clay with good heat-retaining properties. Fired clay's color can vary from golden and beige to light yellow.
• Lu Ni – is a very rare Yixing clay with excellent heat-retaining properties. Its green hue easily distinguishes it.
Each of these main types of ZiSha clay has a couple or several sub-groups of clay; some are very rare, sought after, and therefore may cost a fortune.
Yixing teapots with thinner walls and lower porosity pair best with light and delicate teas: green, white, and yellow. And teapots made of more porous and thicker clay with good heat-retaining qualities can profoundly transform the taste of oolong, black (red), and pu-erh teas.
Chinese clay teapots from Yixing are almost never glazed, to allow the tea to interact with the clay and the tea oils to build up inside the teapot. The unglazed clay smoothes the tea taste and transforms it. With time, a yixing teapot starts producing unique flavor notes from the clay's accumulated tea oils and minerals. Considering this, many tea connoisseurs prefer not to brew different teas in the same yixing teapot unless the teas are from the same family or type of tea.
And not to ruin the amazing clay's interactive qualities, yixing teaware (and teaware in general) should never be treated with detergents, but rather with water only.
Jian Zhan
Jian ware (also known as Tian Mu Porcelain or Jian Zhan) is Chinese black porcelain originating from Jianyang, Fujian province. When drinking tea from a Jianzhan teacup, the brew's temperature will stay pleasantly warm for a long time, yet without burning you. Furthermore, the teacup's qualities soften the water and make it sweeter.
The difference doesn't go unnoticed when comparing the water side by side with a regular porcelain teacup. The precious aroma of the tea becomes more evident. It is common to use Jian Zhan teacups with Chinese green teas. However, we recommend pairing these teacups with simple brewing vessels made of porcelain or glass. This way, you can truly notice the effects of Jian clay.
Teapots and Gaiwan
There are two main ways to brew Chinese tea gong fu style: a teapot and a gaiwan. Chinese teapots are also small, usually ranging from 120-150 ml. Artisans typically make them from clay, like Yixing clay (ZiSha), porcelain, or glass.
What Is A Gaiwan?
A gaiwan is yet another Chinese brewing vessel. It consists of the main bowl, a saucer, and a lid. There was a time when people brewed and drank tea directly out of the gaiwan. However, nowadays, we use them almost exclusively for brewing. Most gaiwan are 110-130 ml and made of clay, porcelain, or glass.
Purchasing Teaware By Tea Type
Each tea is unique and requires an individual approach. Some teas have big broad leaves, which require more space and heat to expand properly. Others have delicate small tea leaf tips that don't require much space but may need a quick-pouring spout. Not only the size but also the material of the teaware plays a crucial role in tea brewing.
White Tea
White teas come in two main types — young and aged.
Young White tea is refreshing and graceful. We use a teapot or gaiwan with thin walls as not to overbrew it. Yixing clay may overpower the delicate flavor of the young tea leaves, so we don't recommend it for this tea category.
Aged white tea, on the other hand, benefits from thick-walled brewing vessels. For this category, we recommend going with a Yixing clay teapot or gaiwan. However, we do advise keeping it for just this tea type.
Yixing clay teaware is relatively porous. Thus, it absorbs the tea's aroma and tea leaf oils. For this reason, many tea enthusiasts choose to keep their Yixing clay teaware for one type of tea only. For example, you can use one Yixing teapot for various hong cha, but perhaps not for hong cha and pu-erh.
Green Tea & Yellow Tea
Thin porcelain or glass teaware works best with green and yellow tea. Green tea is fresh and delicate. It's best to highlight these notes with quick brews. It's also helpful to make sure the teapot has a quick pouring spout, which will lessen the chances of it over-brewing.
Light Oolong
Many light oolongs, for example, Taiwanese oolong, come in a tightly rolled shape. These tea leaves are big and wide. Furthermore, they need ample room to expand. For this reason, we recommend using tall and round teapots and gaiwan. You can use porous clay; however, porcelain and glass work best.
Wuyi Rock Tea & Dan Cong Oolong
Yancha and Dancong Oolong are a type of oxidized, dark oolong that comes in the form of long twisted tea leaves. The roasted, highly oxidized qualities of this tea type make it good with heat. You can use flat and short teapots with thick walls. Furthermore, porous clay teapots like Yixing are perfect. With time, the teaware will become coated with the oils and aromas of exuberant Dark Oolong. Moreover, the clay helps round out some of the more robust flavors of these darker, more oxidized teas.
Black Tea (Hong Cha)
Chinese black tea interacts well with high water temperatures. Thus thick-walled teapots and gaiwan are just right for it. Yixing teaware is excellent for hong cha, but be sure to brew more robust teas, like Smoky Lapsang Souchong in porcelain or glass. This way, it won't get absorbed into and overpower the porous clay.
Raw Pu-erh (Sheng Pu-erh)
Pu-erh is a fermented tea from China. It is unique, yet the teaware we use to make it can be pretty simple.
Young raw pu-erh is still somewhat strong and astringent. It's delightful when brewed just right, with quick infusions. For this reason, choose teaware with thin walls.
Aged raw pu-erh, however, is better with heat and benefits from teaware with thick walls and even Yixing clay (ZiSha).
Ripe Pu-erh (Shou Pu-erh)
Thick teapots that are good at retaining heat are perfect for ripe pu-erh. Ripe pu-erh works well with hot water temperatures and has aromatic woody, sweet notes.
Since pu-erh is compressed and the tea leaves aren't usually as big, teaware of any size will work fine.
Hei Cha and Liu Bao
Heicha and Liu Bao, similarly to pu-erh, showcases intense notes of earth, bark, and tobacco. When well-rounded and in balance, these qualities are the top attributes of the tea and what many tea enthusiasts savor. For this exact reason, porous teapots that can absorb any over-powering notes and nicely bring together all the flavors are the top choice.
Japanese Tea
Matcha
Matcha has a special place all on its own in the tea world. The teaware for matcha is like no other. For example, beautiful yet simple handmade Japanese tea cups called chawan are iconic in the Japanese tea ceremony.
We make matcha by whisking the green tea powder with hot water. For this, we need various tools: a chawan (matcha bowl), chasen (matcha whisk), chashaku (matcha tea scoop), and also a tea strainer for sifting the matcha powder and making sure its lump-free. At a bare minimum, you will need a bowl wide enough to whisk the matcha and a special whisk to make matcha tea. Investing in a traditional Japanese tea set is a sure way to know all your matcha needs are met.
Japanese Green Tea
Japanese green teas have small, delicate leaves. They require unique Japanese teapots for optimal brewing.
Kyusu
A kyusu is a traditional Japanese teapot made of clay. It has one side handle. In Japan, kyusu means teapot. However, in the West, we call specifically Japanese side-handle teapots kyusu. A typical kyusu teapot is made of clay and can be anywhere from 120-350 ml.
In Japan, you can find a kyusu teapot in most homes. People use them to brew casual teas, like sencha, genmaicha, hojicha, and more tender teas, gyokuro or kabusecha.
Shiboridashi
A shiboridashi looks similar to a gaiwan. However, it has a spout. Since Japanese teas are fine, the spout is there so that the tea lid can hold the tea leaves, ensuring a smooth pour.
Most tea enthusiasts use shiboridashi for umami-rich teas that require lower brewing temperatures, like gyokuro green tea, shincha, and premium sencha. A shiboridashi will provide you with the best-tasting Japanese green tea.
Tetsubin
A tetsubin is a traditional Japanese tea kettle. It is made of iron and is excellent at retaining heat. Traditionally, people used this kettle to heat hot water and wouldn't brew tea directly in it. Nowadays, a modernized version of this popular Japanese teapot exists called a tetsu-kyusu. While it is iron on the outside, it's enamel-coated on the inside. Use tetsu-kyusu for brewing teas in it, but don't put it on a stove not to damage the enamel coating! You can use it for most types of Japanese tea, and it is especially good for robust teas like wakoucha and hojicha.