spartcom5 said

Question on my gaiwan?

Hello everyone I finally bought a gaiwan for myself. This one https://www.amazon.com/Teagas-Yixing-Classic-Teacup-Chinese/dp/B00UPX6TG6/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1496390827&sr=8-3&keywords=gaiwan does anyone have experience with stuff made out of clay? It seems like it could brew a great cup of tea. However, how do I clean these things? I assume soap would be bad with unglazed clay…. Would hot water do the trick? What about after brewing tea? Just use water to wash it out? I also read somewhere that you should only brew one type of tea because the flavor gets trapped in the clay….. Is this true?? Should I have bought a porcelain gaiwan like this one? https://www.amazon.com/Teagas-Yixing-Classic-Celadon-Chinese/dp/B0177WWMSQ/ref=sr_1_11?ie=UTF8&qid=1496390827&sr=8-11&keywords=gaiwan Any advice is great thanks!

9 Replies
spartcom5 said

Dangit… I just read an article on gaiwan materials seems like I should have bought the porcelain one as I really don’t want to dedicate one gaiwan for one type of tea. Dang!!

Login or sign up to post a message.

I’m not really so into teaware that I’m the best person to be answering this but I’ll start in anyway. My understanding is that you really shouldn’t use much of anything to clean that type of material, just hot water, definitely not soap, and you probably should have bought a different kind of material gaiwan if the idea is to mix tea types brewed in it. I don’t think it matters what type of porcelain so much (celadon or not) but I’m sure others have varied experience with preferring whatever they do.

Login or sign up to post a message.

Psyck said

If you are not particular about the minute traces of teas that unglazed teaware would absorb and release, then you can use it for whatever you want. Some people do use their yixing clay pots to brew multiple types of teas without dedicating it to one profile. No harm in having one gaiwan dedicated to one type either, regular tea drinkers usually build a collection of teaware of different sizes and materials. So you should get a porcelain/ceramic gaiwan anyway, maybe even a couple of them in different sizes like 100ml, 150ml.

I don’t use ‘hot’ water to wash my clay pots, just rinse in normal tap water immediately after use & dry them with a tea cloth or leave them out to dry in the open (I do the same with porcelain/ceramic for that matter).

Login or sign up to post a message.

AllanK said

As gaiwans are cheap, why not buy the porcelain one too?

Login or sign up to post a message.

Ken said

With clay, from what I understand is you want to avoid undesirable flavors from mixing. Like roasted and unroasted. But you dont need to go overboard with the specialization.

Yeah I got the 11$ porcelain gaiwan till I got a 75ml one later.

Login or sign up to post a message.

onjinone said

Soap and water is fine with porcelain.

Clay should be allocated to a single tea type. You can just rinse with water.

AllanK said

While soap may be okay with porcelain it is generally unnecessary to use it on teaware unless it was a cup and you used sugar. Plain tea should wash well with just hot water.

onjinone said

Yes, I should have specified soap is completely optional and not required. I don’t personally use it on my own porcelain but some people may prefer it.

AllanK said

If you want to get rid of stains in porcelain there is a product from Mandala Tea that is really good. I am trying to remember the name, maybe Smart Soak? Maybe something else.

Login or sign up to post a message.

Login or sign up to leave a comment.