Gaiwan tea brewing

Gaiwan, which literally translates into "Lid bowl," consists of three parts: a lid on top, a saucer on the bottom, and a bowl in the middle. These parts represent heaven, earth, and people, respecitvely.

Gaiwan tea brewing is the prefered method for brewing most lighter teas, like our selection of some of the best green tea from China and our range of quality loose white tea. However, they can be used to brew just about any tea, and is also commonly used for brewing darker teas like loose black tea and cooked Chinese pu er tea. A benefit to gaiwan tea brewing, over brewing in a glass, is that the water is poured in and out quickly, as opposed to sitting in with the tea for a long time. This allows drinkers to get more from their leaves. Gaiwans are also great for serving multiple guests.

Below you will find a full set of instructions for a formal gaiwan tea ceremony. However, the gaiwan is still a great tool for enjoying a casual cup of high quality tea. In such cases, feel free to trim the steps to suit your needs.

	1. Ready the necessary equipment: gaiwan, serving cup, mesh filter (resting inside the serving cup), tea cups, tea tray, tea holder, and teaspoon.
	2. Steps 2-4 serve to rinse and warm the equipment. Start by pouring a small amount of boiling water into the gaiwan.
	3. Pour this water from the gaiwan out into the serving cup.
	4. From the serving cup, pour the boiling water into each of the serving cups.
	5. Add the tea leaves into the gaiwan. Fill it approximately 1/4^th of the way.
	6. Pour hot water over the leaves. In ceremonies, water is poured using the "three nods of the phoenix" motion, rhythmically raising and lowering the pot three times as water flows into the gaiwan.
	7. Soak the tea: For flower tea, brew for roughly two minutes, then go onto the next step. For other teas, the first brew is just a rinse to warm and open the tea leaves. Water should be poured out quickly after being poured in. The second brew should be around 20 seconds, adding 15 seconds for each subsequent brew.
	8. While the soaking the first brew, pour the hot water from the cups into the tray.
	9. Pour tea through the mesh filter into the serving cup. Please be careful during this step, the gaiwan will be hot. If you find it too hot, try picking the gaiwan up by its saucer within your fingertips and holding the lid with your thumb. Just be careful not to allow resting water on the saucer pour into the serving cup.
	10. Lastly, pour tea from the serving cup into the tea cups and enjoy!