Gaiwan Gong Fu Tea Brewer Set

Brewing tea with a Gaiwan is incredibly rewarding in so many ways, 'Gàiwân' directly translates to 'Lid Bowl' in Chinese. Commonly used in Gong Fu tea ceremonies these little ceramic bowls can be used as either a teapot or teacup.

This piece of tea brewing equipment is incredibly versatile and practicle to use for both traditional Gong Fu Cha tea brewing and western tea brewing.

How to strain tea with a Gaiwan:

• Hold the bowl with your thumb at one side and middle finger wrapped around to the other, using your index finger secure the lid in place. 
  
• The Gaiwan is not a perfect circle, its slight oval shape allows for a small amount of liquid to pass through the gap between the lid and bowl. The closed edge should be where you aim to pour from while the two opening edges are positioned on either side of your fingers securing the gaiwan.
• Slowly pour out your strained tea while holding back the tea leaves with the lid.
• Be extremely careful when using the gaiwan with hot water, only hold onto the rim and lid (body of the bowl gets very hot whilst brewing)

Basic Gaiwan Recipe:

1. Preheat your gaiwan by adding and then tipping out some hot water. 
2. Add 1-3g of looseleaf tea to your gaiwan. (The tea leaves give of a fantastic aroma so be sure to lift up the lid and smell throughout the brewing process)
3. For your first rinse fill up the gaiwan with about 50g or so of water, best to pour on the side of your gaiwan and to let the water fill up and fill your cup rather than pouring directly onto your leaves.
4. After around 1 minute you can tip this water out or pour it into a cup and taste it.
5. Let your leaves sit for 30-60 seconds in your gaiwan (with the lid on) before pouring your next 50g of water, steep, pour, drink, repeat.
6. You can continue this over and over again, depending on the tea processing, quality, age etc you may get anywhere from 5-15 steeps out of one tea serving

Brewing and straining tea with a gaiwan can take some time and skill to perfect. We highly recommend practicing with cold water to get used to straining prior to brewing.