HobbesOxon wrote:

.... I whack but I'm not a butcher ... (quote courtesy of Space Cowboy)

> My gaiwan usage travelled in the opposite direction to your own. I
> used to use gaiwan for all teas, then slowly moved my wulong and pu'er
> habits into various zisha pots as we acquired them. I use gaiwan for
> greens (which favour the lower temperatures of the gaiwan), and kuding,
> but not much else these days.

Since I tend toward greens, the switch may have been easier and more
fitting for me than for others. Also, I still brew my Pu-Erh in Yixing
as well as a few other select teas.

> To my own perculiar tastes, the zisha gives a better flavour,
> and the glass gives me a certain... "glassiness" in the tasting that I
> don't enjoy - not an explicit flavour so much as a subtle modification
> of the flavours of the brew, that is.

I actually agree here even though I am enjoying the glass, it is almost
a sterile taste. It adds no character nor does it subtract anything...
it just presents what is there for better or worse. Yixing does add
something to many teas, and as I've said a bunch I still brew my
jasmine green in Yixing and have for 8-10 years even though it is
considered "wrong" but it enhances the flavor to such a noticable
degree that I can instantly tell. I just really enjoy the great view of
the tea and the color in glass.

Overall though the gaiwan has enabled me to pinpoint and appreciate
certain teas much better and has actually exposed a few teas for not
being up to par such as some $200/lb. green kukicha that comes off has
harsh and unpleasant. I don't think I will ever become as attached to a
clear glass vessel as much as some of my mugs or teapots, since they
don't have much "soul" (touche for the James Brown ref. but I can
already see a connection to a particular gaiwan that has a good story
behind it.

Soemtimes it takes a shakeup to routine to grow, and that is exactly
what has been happening and I've been enjoying the ride.

- Dominic
Drinking: Kuding