In southwest China (Sichuan), they drink out of gaiwan every day. Here's a photo of some loser trying to do just that in a tea-garden of a famous temple down there:
and here's a photo of how it should be done:
Note that when the Chinese are doing this sort of gaiwan-drinking, they use very few leaves - maybe <10% of the volume. When you're brewing "properly" (gonfucha style), you fill it 1/3rd full. Then, as Scotto rightly says, you really have to decant after ten seconds.
In gongfucha, you decant into a jug called a "gongdaobei" - a "fairness cup", so called because it evens out the brew, so that everyone can have an equal-strength cup from it. Here's my gongdaobei pouring into a typical-size cup (3 sips):
All good fun! I'm sure your relatives are going to love the tea this week-end.
Toodlepip,
Hobbes
and here's a photo of how it should be done:
Note that when the Chinese are doing this sort of gaiwan-drinking, they use very few leaves - maybe <10% of the volume. When you're brewing "properly" (gonfucha style), you fill it 1/3rd full. Then, as Scotto rightly says, you really have to decant after ten seconds.
In gongfucha, you decant into a jug called a "gongdaobei" - a "fairness cup", so called because it evens out the brew, so that everyone can have an equal-strength cup from it. Here's my gongdaobei pouring into a typical-size cup (3 sips):
All good fun! I'm sure your relatives are going to love the tea this week-end.
Toodlepip,
Hobbes
