The switch to glass/gaiwans

Here's a pic of what's on my desk right now: double-walled Bodum glass, french press (only for the matter of filtering out the leaves; no pressing involved), and some delicious Green Anji!

I really do enjoy glass. :-D

-Drew

Dom> I have always been a stickler for pure white coating/enamel/porcelain

My tea practice mirrors yours to a great extent. Except for the morning wake-up, I essentially make all my tea in gaiwans. At work, it's basically glass all the way. I do make an exception at home, though, when I have the time to concentrate on tea. There I use thin porcelain gaiwans because they offer better temperature control. (I've never seen a glass gaiwan that rivals their light weight, which is to say, low heat absorption.)

/Lew

I switched to a glass pot a couple of years ago when I modified my first tea press. I switched to glass cups from smaller 100-500 ml tea presses which can be found in asian shops for a couple of bucks. They come with a sip spout at no extra charge. The cup is cradle in a plastic handle so it is protected from breaking. I found glass is a good alternative for making green and oolongs if you always boil water. It radiates and cools down without cooking the tea. Black teas infuse almost immediately so temperature isn't a problem. I drink my puer off the top and enjoy the fizzing. You get a different perspective on color appreciation because the infusion twinkles with different background light. If need be sit the cup on a white sheet of paper for base comparisons. I like glass because it is the lightest material. I always enjoy the performance of the leaves in the pot. It's the biggest missing dimension of brewing without glass.

Jim

Dom> I have always been a stickler for pure white coating/enamel/porcelain

I'm definitely with you on this one; gaiwans are very useful. The only tea that I brew in pots anymore is Gao Shan. I do have a pot that I especially use for Tie Guan Yin, but ever since the poor spring crop and all the warnings I've seen (including a news segment in Hong Kong last week) about the hygiene of the tea and additives, I've pretty much curbed my TGY drinking. **hopes for a decent and clean autumn crop**

Pu'er isn't a tea that's exactly appreciated for it's scent, so using a gaiwan is no problem. The other misc. wulongs that I drink also seem to go well in gaiwan. You don't have to worry about residual flavors affecting the flavor of the tea you are brewing and it's a much easier clean-up. I sometimes despise trying to get every last little bit of leaf out of those tiny freaking pots.

As for using a clear glass gaiwan, I've often thought of buying one, but I am simply too lazy to make a trip to the market these days. I guess I'll get around to it eventually. I'd have to find one that isn't so hot when you are brewing.

My title may have been a bit misleading, while I do sometimes use a glass gaiwan I usually use a porcelain or china one. I was trying to say: The switch to glass (mugs/cups) *and* gaiwans (of any sort - white/glass)

At work I now have a pretty decent setup. I use a Sunbeam HotShot which actually boils water to a high temp enough for Pu-Erh, and just let the water sit for 5-10 minutes after boil for greens and adjust for other teas. My glass mug and my trusty 'ol Peoples Brew Baskets. I need to order a gaiwan for work now and I can eliminate the brew baskets and the hassle completely. At home I boil in a kettle to the right temperature and use a gaiwan.

I still like my Pu-Erh and my Jasmine Green from Yixing though. I hadn't realized so many used clear glass, and I certainly was missing out... I kind of always equated it with those trendy coffee shops serving coffee in clear glass mugs. With my aversion to metal I have always had a Whistler all glass tea kettle for boiling water, so now I can stay with glass from beginning to end for the most part.

- Dominic Drinking: Dragon Tears

Please, please, pease, please don't apologize, Dominic...a james brown referrence there...this newbie appreciates the path. My tastes have grown accordingly to my ventures. I have found my tastes growing, shrinking, refining, and becoming tolerant as I brew more. At first I was staid and stubborn and relied on descriptions- and I either agreed or didn't. Now I reaize I have 'matoored'...my tastes are not what they were..and I feel, personally, even more interested. There are few chances to expand our internal rhetoric that also speak to the hedonist in us. Glad to see someone else surprised by their 'afficionado-ness' developing. And you, dominic, know what your doing! thanks for sharing.

G'day!

Thanks for posting, Dominic. I can understand the love of glass.

However, I want to post a counterbalancing opinion, which just happens to be the one that I hold. :)

My gaiwan usage travelled in the opposite direction to your own. I used to use gaiwan for all teas, then slowly moved my wulong and pu'er habits into various zisha pots as we acquired them. I use gaiwan for greens (which favour the lower temperatures of the gaiwan), and kuding, but not much else these days.

Having gone back to see what gaiwan brewing is like for teas with which I am very familiar, I notice a great difference, after becoming used to Yixing. It could be the lower temperatures of the gaiwan - mine are all white porcelain, which do not retain heat as well as the zisha. Perhaps it's because of the "clean" porcelain finish to the tea. Something, however, is different. To my particular tastes, I prefer the tea that comes from the pots, rather than the gaiwan. (Again, I should add that this is just a taste preference, and I salute you for using that which you find to be best for your own tastes, gaiwan or zisha.)

Also, glass. Again, I travelled in the opposite direction to you. I started with glass tasting- and aroma-cups, and steadily moved over to first pure-zisha, then zisha-with-white-enamel-interiors. The glass gives a clean finish, but there's something in the zisha that I won't give up. To my own perculiar tastes, the zisha gives a better flavour, and the glass gives me a certain... "glassiness" in the tasting that I don't enjoy - not an explicit flavour so much as a subtle modification of the flavours of the brew, that is. (Again, top marks to you for going with that which your tastes prefer. Many people aren't that brave, and just go with the majority.)

This above all, to thine ownself be true. :)

Toodlepip,

Hobbes

Hobbs,

I prefer using pots with the teas that are supposed to have a pleasant odor. My Gao Shans are exclusively brewed in different pots depending on the oxidation level. I didn't see what it did for pu'er very much, though. Can you expound on that?

I like the glass because it gives a clean flavor.

Heh - welcome to the [glass] group. I think I'm addicted to glass although I still enjoy my Chatsford.