yam mutzak- my set up

19 tevet 5781

i like to keep things simple. partly out of necessity and partly out of stress. less things means less to worry about and i, like many, already have enough to worry about. 

gaiwan. cup. water. just the basics. but because i am not ‘basic,’ there are a few twists.

 

my gaiwan is a nice, petite, white gaiwan. just like me.

 

it is 60ml and i bought it from Yunnan Sourcing for under $6 plus shipping. i am a delicate little bird, so i like the small size of this gaiwan so my tea sessions can be reasonable. id rather have two separate small sessions than one larger size one anyway so i can try different teas.

 

i actually have two of these small gaiwans. why? because i broke the lid on the first one just one week into owning it. the lid of my second one lasted not much longer. so now i have two gaiwan bowls and no lid, what am i to do? thankfully, the lid from one of my thrift store ‘Chinese’ style tea pots fits my gaiwan! yes, the lip has an edge that catches some small leaves and yes i do have to finagle it a lil bit while pouring so i don’t burn myself but it’s working great for now. plus, this lid seams to be more hearty than the previous ones.

 

i am still keeping my eye out for thrift store finds i could use for a diy gaiwan (a future post i will surely write). the lip on the bowl is the real key to a good gaiwan and not many things have that. for a cha hei/gong dao bei, i started out using a glass measuring cup. my former roommate had a cute small embossed glass pitcher that is probably meant for pouring cream. i do not have a tea tray/boat but do dry style and like using cute plates i find at flea markets to add some pzaz. when the weather gets nice again i will take photos of my outdoor set up which is quite darling (i have set aside a handful of stumps i like as my tea tables and love to decorate them with flowers or fun things from the woods).

 

i have a 120ml gaiwan and a cha hei i got off ebay ($10 for the gaiwan and $5 for the pitcher) that i use when i am pouring tea for other people. the gaiwan lid doesn’t fit super well but it is very pretty, fits my aesthetic perfectly, and is plenty good for now.

 

my kettle is a bonavita gooseneck where you can adjust the temperature manually. it was a trailer warming gift from my mom when i bought the travel trailer i now live in. thanks mom!

 

yes, this kettle might sound fancy, but as ive learned more about tea, ive learned there is always another level one can proceed to. as MarshalN points out, there are two ingredients to tea. leaves and water. MarshalN also talks about different kettles or tea pots and how those affect tea too. ie: gaiwan vs yixing vs other types of clay and the additional factor of the water kettle material. right now i am using tap water- gasp! and… i don’t always add new water before i reboil it all the time (double gasp)! this is something i most certainly want to experiment with and write about in the future. but for now, one ste(e)p at a time. hehe. 

 

what does all this rambling have to do with a kettle? 

 

my kettle is what holds my water which means the water can inherent characteristics from it. it is a stainless steel kettle. some people prefer glass kettles, Japanese cast iron kettles, or silver kettles. the glass kettle might have a more neutral affect on the water where the cast iron would add minerals to the water which is sometimes more desirable depending on what tea you are drinking (usually darker or aged teas).

 

right now, i am focusing on starting at the foundation. i first want to get my tea chops down and then once i have those i can enhance my skills from there. by that point, i will hopefully be more perceptive and more able to accurately speak to what the differences appear in using different water or if reboiling affects the tea and if so, to what extent.

 

this is how i make tea at this point in time. i am excited to revisit this as i experiment with different water and different kettles in the future.

 

sometime, i will write a future post about how i store my tea. riveting, i know.

xoxo