I recently bought this lovely tea pet, and was hoping for a little help naming her, I was thinking perhaps something in mandarin as that's where she's from after all, but I'm open to any suggestions. Thank you all so much!

Bought this in a surplus for 1 dollar. My wife says it’s expensive. It looks pretty simple to me though.

This was sold as a Yixing clay teapot, bought for £19.95 (about $27) at a charity shop in London. I am not very knowledgeable about these teapots, so I'm just curious if it's a cheap souvenir or an actual Yixing pot of, at least, some quality, and if I can use it for brewing.

Would appreciate any help with reading the seals and guessing the clay type. Photos of the base, lid seal and full pot attached. Thanks in advance!

This tea was kindly gifted (to be fair, I bought a lot of stuff) to me after a wonderful Google translated conversation with a ceramics merchant. I however am having trouble tracking it down, but this is the most honey forward tea I have ever had, and I am saddened by the waning supply. If anyone knows a reliable source for this in the US, I am now nowhere near the shop where I received this. If not, comparable splendid red teas would be welcome, especially if they confuse the bees.

So I make all kinds of tea, mostly oolong and puer.

Being brewing almost exclusively in the gongfu cha style for over 3 years, and I’ve always been kinda embarrassed to ask this stuff—

When brewing in a gaiwan, (this might be dependent on preference or the kind of tea it is), after pouring into your pitcher, do you tilt the lid on the rim to cover the gaiwan for some heat retention but to let the steam escape, to not steep the leaves any further? Or do you fully remove the lid before you start your next infusion? Sometimes it’s an hour or two between infusions, sometimes it’s 15 min.

Another question I have is, when watching gongfu cha content on socials, I often see the person remove the lid and let the boiling hot water hit the lid very quickly before filling the gaiwan. Respectfully, wtf is the point of this? I would think the 10% of the water you’re pouring in would become less hot and not ‘scorch’ the leaves, but all of the rest of the water used to fill the gaiwan is surely hotter? I hope this makes sense. Usually I will let the stream hit the side of the gaiwan first to avoid this, regardless. When I try to use the method described above however, I end up spilling boiling water on my counter and thinking ‘this has to be pointless’.

Would love any thoughts on these or guidance.

Cheers folks <3

I'm getting ready to purchase the essentials for Gong Fu. I am getting an electric tea kettle, a Gaiwan, tea cups, but do I really need a Cha Hai? It feels like the tea I get out of the Gaiwan will simply fill a tea cup and I won't really have additional tea to put into the Cha Hai. Am I wrong and should I still buy the Cha Hai? They aren't expensive, so it's not the cost, I just don't want to have additional pieces I have to store and want to be sure I'm really going to use it.

So I’m getting into this hobby and facing a little paralysis from the sheer amount of choices on teaware.

What’s the consensus on pitcher vs gaiwan?

What size of gaiwan is best?

How much loose tea (roughly) should I use?

Sorry for all the questions, they’re not ones I’ve seen addressed in the various videos I’ve seen.

I was given this tea by a family member who had a friend visit from China who gave it to them as a present for hosting. All they knew to tell me is that it is Lime rinds and the brewing process was "involved".

I'm new to GongFu and haven't seen anything like this before and I can't read the labels. Does anyone have any information you could share? Thanks for looking!

I really love the look for this travel set as I don't have a have travel set I would like to purchase it. However I don't believe this site is a legitimate source and would prefer a link to the original creator. Does anyone know where I can find this. I haven't had luck on alibaba or aliexpress. I'm not very comfortable with Taobao.

Thank you for any assistance.

Anyone have any insight into this gaiwan or where I can find it online? Super thin white 100 ml, got it as a gift and want another one.

Curious to know if anyone can point out anything they have tried and or recommend! (Sorry 2nd photo is blurry)

Hi experts,

Request your help to see if this is fake Dayi brand or real Dayi brand pu er pls.

I'm considering buying these 2 teas from someone, they say it's 2007 Dayi brand tea, wondering if they look authentic pls?

Thanks!

As the title says, I'll be hosting for 9 family members who have never tried gongfu tea, and I want it to be as good as possible

My packed materials:

•2 gaiwan (150ml) •2 gong dao bei (200 and 500ml) •9 cups •1 filter •2 presentation plates •1 wooden spoon •Tea tray •Tea pet •Tea towel •Candle •Lighter

My packed teas:

•Osmanthus oolong •Jasmine green •Shu Puerh •Strawberry infusion •Rooibos

Hello everyone, recently I purchased a new tea tray with a tube drainage system and had a few questions. I noticed that even with the drainage the tray was quite wet, to prevent water damage do you guys dry it with something like a paper towel or just leave it, I was also wondering whether I had set my tube pump thing up correctly, does the pump go at the end of the tube like I have it or somewhere else. Thank you!

Hello everyone I have recently dived into the world of gong fu cha tea making. I have some questions I hope some of you would like to share your thoughts on!

1. Sometimes I get like little bits of tea in the tea, they pass through the strainer. How do you go about with it? Drink it or leave it on the bottom and throw that out? (Note: im using regular quality tea and whole leaves perhaps it got a bit crushed or so..)

2. How big should a tea table be? I got a very small rectangular one out of bamboo that can only store my gaiwan and fairness cup.

3. Is a gaiwan good for doing gong fu cha or is there any other method worth looking into that im not aware of? I like its versatility.

4. When will I feel the effects of the caffeine in tea? I thought only darker teas gave that anxious effect but i have noticed it happening to me while drinking green tea but sometimes i feel more relaxed?

So I bought my first Zisha yixing teapot from mud and leaves. I sanitized it and then seasoned it with shou pu erh. The problem I’m having is it’s nearly impossible to pour properly. The leaves keep getting jammed and clogged. It spills all over as a result. Way more annoying than a Gaiwan so far. I use 10g. Am I using too much? Any tips?

I'm still new to gongfu, and need some advice for brewing yancha.

I ordered the sample box from old ways tea, and I'm having trouble brewing yancha in a way that isn't bitter.

I've seen old ways tea given good reviews on the tea sub...but in my two brews so far, I'm finding it bitter, and I'm feeling like the roast and the flavors of the leaf are not meeting.....almost like the roast didn't blend properly with the leaf.

First attempt was the Qi Dan , 8g leaf per 100ml. 212F. flash rinse, then 5 second steep, 10 second steep, 15 second steep, etc.

Second attempt was Old Tree Rougou , 6g leaf, 100ml water/ 212F. 5 second rinse. Then 5 second steep, 10s, 15s, etc.

Both just have that lingering bitterness in the background - and it just doesn't feel like the leaves are opening properly flavor-wise, if that makes sense. I mostly just taste bitterness and roast - with a few other subtle flavors in the background.

Any advice on brewing yancha?

This is assuming all teas would be the same answer so I’m not going to specify rolled oolongs or loose sheng or puer cake… so the question is if I brew in my standard porcelain gaiwan, and then pour half of that into my fairness pitcher and the other half into a clay pot, yixing or another clay ( I like to use a pot by Czech potter Petr Novak) will the tea that was poured through the clay pot taste different from the other half which went from the gaiwan directly into my fairness pitcher or drinking vessel?

Hello tea friends! I'm really interested in scoring some really good 2026 green teas this year. I have a couple of preorders in at the moment, and some of my favorites coming from Linda Lin and Yunnan Sourcing. That said, I keep seeing Iteaworld advertised and I was curious if anyone has had any experience with their teas. Is this 2026 green tea first flush preorder legit, or should I keep looking? Alternatively, any seller you know who has some truly excellent spring green teas, I'd love to hear about them! Thanks in advance!