What is a gaiwan? How to use a gaiwan

The covered bowl is a traditional Chinese tea set, mainly used for brewing Chinese tea. It consists of a cup body, a lid and a cup holder. It became popular during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) and is made of ceramics, porcelain (sometimes glass), with a capacity of 100-200 ml.

What teas are suitable for brewing with a gaiwan?

The gaiwan is generally used for brewing large-leaf teas, as when brewing teas with too small leaves, the tea leaves cannot be prevented from leaking out when pouring tea.

As a traditional Chinese tea ware, the gaiwan is particularly suitable for brewing Chinese teas such as white tea, green tea, oolong tea, and black tea. During the brewing process, the aroma will gradually emanate, and the different flavors and aromas of the tea soup in each brewing will unfold on your taste buds.

How to brew tea with a gaiwan?

1. Prepare Tea Leaves

Prepare the tea leaves you want to brew in advance.

2. Rinse the Gaiwan

Pour freshly boiled water into the gaiwan. The purpose of this step is to clean the dust from the gaiwan and preheat it.

3. Rinse the Tea Leaves

Place the prepared tea leaves into the gaiwan, about one-third of the gaiwan’s capacity (adjust the amount according to personal taste). Pour hot water over the leaves until they are just covered, then immediately pour it out. This practice, also known as “awakening the tea,” helps stimulate the tea leaves’ aroma and enhance the taste of the brew.

4. Steep and Serve

Pour hot water at the appropriate temperature into the gaiwan. For green tea, leave the lid off and steep for 30-45 seconds. For oolong and black tea, cover the gaiwan and steep for 45 seconds to 1 minute.
Adjust the lid to leave enough space for pouring. Hold the gaiwan’s rim with your thumb and middle finger, while pressing the lid with your index finger. Tilt the gaiwan forward slightly and inward, pouring the tea soup into a serving teapot.

5. Re-brewing

High-quality tea leaves can be re-brewed multiple times following the steps above, but increase the brewing time by about 15 seconds each time (adjust according to your taste). However, over-brewing will make the tea bitter, so try to avoid excessive steeping time.

The Benefits of Brewing Tea with a Gaiwan

1. Easy to Master Steeping Time

Using a gaiwan allows you to control the steeping time, making it convenient to adjust the strength of the tea soup. When using a regular teapot, over-steeping often leads to bitter tea due to prolonged steeping time.

2. Suitable for Various Tea Types

The gaiwan can brew most tea categories—whether green tea, black tea, or oolong tea—by adjusting the steeping time. Additionally, the gaiwan hardly absorbs tea flavors, allowing it to reflect the pure and authentic taste and aroma of the tea leaves without being affected by “flavor transfer” from previously brewed teas.

3. Easy to Clean

The gaiwan’s smooth surface resists tea scale buildup, requiring only a rinse with running water for cleaning.

How to choose a suitable gaiwan?

1. Choose a gaiwan with a thin porcelain body, as it absorbs less heat during brewing, maintaining high tea temperature to better enhance the tea aroma.

2. Knowing the gaiwan’s capacity is crucial when purchasing. A capacity between 130-145ml is most suitable. A lightweight gaiwan is easy to handle, even for those with smaller hands.

3. When selecting a gaiwan, pay attention to both the capacity and the design of the rim and lid knob. Opt for a gaiwan with a flared rim (where the edge curves outward prominently).

4. Choose a gaiwan that fits your grip comfortably to prevent scalding your hands while brewing.