"pilo_" > wrote in message
...
>
>
> it occurs to me this morning how crucial the
> drinking vessel can and should be to the tea
> experience. for example, i cannot drink ANY
> tea out of a mug. to drink a delicate green
> from so gross a construction would seem to
> be a bad thing. i've been drinking a lot of
> oolong lately, and for that i use a small, un-
> finished red-clay cup made in india. it adds
> immeasurably. for greens i have a small
> japan-made cup, like a little tea-bowl.
> these encourage sipping and savoring.
>
> i'd be interested to know if the cup you use
> adds to your overall tea experience..........p*

I do most of my tea drinking from small 2oz. Japanese cups, probably like
the one you refer to. I have one at the office that I use with my Zisha
Gaiwan to brew and drink green puerh. At home in the evening my wife and I
usually drink some Japanese green or an oolong in the same type cups. I
agree that it encouraged sipping and savoring. Somehow the tea just seems
to taste better from them. Maybe it's because I tend to slurp a bit of air
with each sip. Could help bring out the aroma in the taste.

I don't minds mugs for black or some greens such as gunpowder. I must admit
to occasionally brewing several steeps of sencha and filling a large travel
mug when I'm on the go. I'd like to get a clear glass gaiwan to brew greens
and oolongs at home.

Blues