I’d consider myself proficient with using a gaiwan now, but I wasn’t for the first few years of my tea journey. I was scared of them.
That’s not going to filter the tea properly. That looks uncomfortable to use. I’m gonna burn myself!
At first, I used tea infusers that sit in your cup. These bothered me for a few reasons: some tea types don’t expand and steep well in a confined space; they clogged constantly; and they can be annoying to clean.
I then took my first baby step towards gaiwans - with an “easy” gaiwan. It was a nicer experience, but still had some of the same issues: it tended to clog and was annoying to clean. It has a lip that is difficult to clean under. And it actually lets quite a bit of tea bits through.
Similar to this one:
After a few years, I got my first gaiwan for cheap, and I’m so glad I did! It was just easier. You can keep the lid mostly closed and it somehow filters tea bits better than my “easy” gaiwan. It’s soooo easy to clean. Now, I do actually use a filter sometimes to catch fine tea dust, but I don’t actually need to.
I’m sure gaiwans are synonymous with loose leaf tea for many people, but they aren’t common where I am in the US. So for anyone who hasn’t tried one, I say give it a try!
– PS - One cool looking kind of teaware I have yet to try is a shiboridashi. This looks like a better version of my “easy” gaiwan:
That’s similar to this all in one tea brewer:
You put the leaves in to the top compartment. Add some water, and when the tea is ready, you press the button at the top to let the tea liquor fall to the lower compartment.