Don Mei : Hey teaheads.
This is Don from Mei Leaf.
In THIS video : Why I Love Gaiwans.
In this video I'm going to be trying to express the reasons why I have such a love affair
with this piece of teaware [CLOSEUP SHOT OF GAIWAN ON TEA TRAY].
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It's Saturday, the 5th of November, which in the UK is "Guy Fawkes Night".
Guy Fawkes Night is the [holiday] that we let off lots of fireworks,, similar to independence
day.
It's a strange one because it's commemorating the failed plot to blow up the British government,
and I'm never quite sure if we're letting off fireworks to celebrate that the plotters
failed, or to celebrate rebellion.
I like to think it's a bit of rebellion, which is quite nice.
So if there are some fireworks going off around me I do apologize.
Today, or tonight, I want to explain to you, and give you some reasons, as to why I love
brewing in the Gaiwan.
Anybody who's watched my YouTube videos will know that it is one of our "go to" pieces
of kit.
[CLOSEUP OF GAIWAN ON THE TEA TRAY] This is our weapon of choice whenever we are brewing
tea.
So, why do I love it so much?
Well, there are three reasons why I love the Gaiwan.
The first is simply the image of it.
I think it is beautiful.
[DON HOLDS GAIWAN UP TO THE CAMERA FOR CLOSEUP] It is so simple, [and] so primitive in many
ways.
It is just a bowl with a lid, but the balance of it, the look of it, [and] the aesthetic
of it, I think, is really, really nice.
When you go to China and you visit farmers, they are all brewing with Gaiwans.
So this is really the authentic, simple way of brewing tea, and I just think it looks
beautiful.
which is why we use it in our Mei Leaf logo.
If you look somewhere up there [DON POINTS TO TOP-RIGHT CORNER OF THE SCREEN] you'll
notice the Mei Leaf log, [and that] we've used the Gaiwan, because it is so beautiful.
[DON HOLDS UP THE LID] The lid is meant to represent the sky, or the heavens.
The base is meant to represent the earth.
The bowl is meant to represent life; what's living on earth - the plants, humanity...
So there's a poetic symbology to the shape of the Gaiwan.
But simply it is, I think, a very beautiful object.
It is [also a] really, really direct brewing.
It's so authentic, and raw, that I think its image is really, really cool.
Those of you who use Gaiwans I'm sure know what I mean.
There's something really hands-on, really direct, [and] really raw about it that kind
of takes away the ceremony of the teapots and democratizes tea, which I think is a really,
really great thing.
So that's my first reason for living Gaiwans; simply the image of the Gaiwan.
Right.
But there's no point in having image without function, and Gaiwans are a functional powerhouse.
For such a simple piece of kit, it's amazing, the functionality of this teaware.
The second reason why I love Gaiwans is how direct - or close - you are to the brewing
process; how close you are to the leaves.
[CLOSEUP OF GAIWAN WITHOUT LID ON TEA TRAY] Because of the fact that we have [a] really
large lid, and a very large opening [DON HOLDS UP GAIWAN WITH LID REMOVED FOR CLOSEUP CAMERA
SHOT], which is very much larger than any teapot.
I mean, if I compare it to a teapot opening you'll see.
[DON HOLDS UP A YI XING CLAY TEAPOT WITHOUT LID NEXT TO THE GAIWAN] Right?
This [Gaiwan has] a much larger area than a teapot, and because of that you have so
much more information that you're getting from the brewing process, and therefore your
brewing experience is much richer.
You can see the leaves so much more than if you were peering into a teapot.
You can really see [the leaves] as they are dry, and you can see them as they brew right
in front of your eyes, [and] so it's really, really direct visual information.
The second thing is that when you pour water over the leaves [DON POURS WATER FROM KETTLE
INTO GAIWAN FILLED WITH LEAVES] not only can you see them, but you can also manipulate
them.
You can use the lid to manipulate the leaves [DON STIRS LEAVES WITH GAIWAN LID], and that's
really, really nice.
Again, it just helps to move them around, especially if they've been sitting for a while,
[such as if] you've left them between infusions, and you just need to move them around.
[DON POURS INFUSION FROM GAIWAN INTO SERVING CUP] You have much more direct contact with
the leaves.
Also, this design, with this large lid and large opening, means that the amount of aroma
that's coming off the leaves during brewing is so much stronger than if you're brewing
in a pot.
[DON SMELLS GAIWAN LID] The lid just seems to capture the aroma so much more than a pot.
[DON HOLDS YI XING CLAYPOT LID UP NET TO GAIWAN LID] Now this [teapot lid] will pick up aroma,
but not to the same level as a Gaiwan.
Also, the large opening means that the aroma that comes off while you are brewing is so
much stronger, and aroma is a fundamental part to the tea tasting process.
So [it's] not just tasting it on your tongue, but smelling it, and it just gives so much
more aroma around the table when you're brewing with a Gaiwan.
That is the second reason why I love the Gaiwan; how direct and close you are to the brewing
process.
The third, and final, reason why I love brewing with a Gaiwan is the amount of control that
it affords you whilst you are brewing.
Let's go through that.
The first is temperature.
[CLOSEUP SHOT OF GAIWAN ON TEA TRAY] Gaiwans are perfect for all types of tea.
If you're brewing with a glass Gaiwan then [it] is only really suited to green teas [DON
HOLDS UP GLASS GAIWAN FOR CAMERA CLOSEUP], or teas that you're brewing at cooler temperature.
The reason for that is that glass radiates heat at a much faster rate, so it cools as
it's brewing a lot more.
Also, this [Gaiwan] can get quite hot if you're brewing with boiling water.
But porcelain is great.
You can brew all types of tea in it.
It's transparent in flavor - which is different to the Yi Xing pots which add and change the
flavor - so it's great for tea tasting.
You can brew all types of tea.
Obviously, if you're looking for brewing teas at a very high temperature for a longer, extended
period of time, then the clay really comes into its own, because the clay has a much
slower heat radiation, and therefore holds the heat for longer.
But, in general, porcelain is great for all types of tea.
The other way that you can control the temperature with the Gaiwan is using the lid.
[DON POURS HOT WATER FROM KETTLE INTO GAIWAN] So if I was to pour this [boiling water] -- now,
this is an Ali Shan Cream Jin Xuan Oolong, so we're brewing with boiling water - but
let's imagine that this is a green tea [DON PLACES LID ON GAIWAN].
You can leave the lid off [DON TAKES LID OFF OF GAIWAN] so it just makes the heat dissipate
quicker.
You can leave a large gap.
So you have a bit more control over the heat,[and] over how hot the brewing is.
The other thing you have, in terms of temperature, [DON POURS INFUSION FROM GAIWAN INTO SERVING
CUP] is control according to how you pour the water.
Because you have such a large area here [DON POINTS TO THE OPENING TOP OF THE GAIWAN] that
you're working with, you can start to do this like the "long pour", [DON HOLDS KETTLE HIGH
IN THE AIR AND MAKES POURING GESTURE] where you're pouring from a greater height, and
that greater height means that the water cools down.
Not always do you have the perfect water temperature.
You may feel like, "Oh, it's a little bit hot."
but you don't want to start trying to get temperature thermometers out and measuring
it.
[DON POURS WATER FROM KETTLE RAISED HIGH OVERHEAD INTO THE GAIWAN] So instead, just pouring
from a larger height means that you can cool the water down.
[CLOSEUP SHOT OF KETTLE WATER ENTERING GAIWAN] You couldn't really do this unless you had
a large surface area, or gap, to hit.
Let me just pour this away [DON POURS TEA INFUSION FROM GAIWAN INTO SERVING CUP] The
other thing that some tea brewers will do is pour around the edge of the Gaiwan.
[This], again, allows the water to be a little bit cooler before it hits the leaf.
[DON POURS WATER FROM KETTLE AROUND THE EDGE OF THE GAIWAN BOWL] So this large surface
area, and the splayed edge of the Gaiwan, means that you can pour around the edge of
the Gaiwan and it just cools the water down a little bit more.
So in terms of water temperature you have more control.
The other thing that you have more control over is your infusion times [DON POURS TEA
INFUSION FROM GAIWAN INTO SERVING CUP].
The reason for that is because -- let me first drink some tea.
I've got a full Gong Dao Bei here, and I want to taste this tea.
[DON POURS TEA FROM SERVING CUP INTO DRINKING TEACUP] This is Ali Shan Cream.
[It's] the Jin Xuan Oolong, which is the milky Oolong, but not the scented variety.
This is the authentic cultivar.
Cheers!
[DON SIPS TEA] Lovely.
Great.
So the second thing that [the Gaiwan] allows you control over is infusion time.
[DON HOLDS UP YI XING CLAY TEAPOT TO CAMERA FOR CLOSEUP] Now, if you think of a Yi Xing
pot like this -- and I'm not trying to bash Yi Xing pots, because you know how much I
love them - but with any pot, because it's got a smaller opening it has a longer pour
time.
So if you're really geeking out, and you want to make sure that your infusion times are
exact, you have to take into account how long it takes for the pot to pour.
For something like this [Yi Xing pot] it's about ten seconds.
So let's say I wanted to do a ten second - or a 15 second - brew, I would have to remember,
"Okay.
I need to start pouring at about two or three seconds in in order to make that brewing time."
With a Gaiwan it is completely different [DON POURS TEA INFUSION FROM SERVING CUP INTO TEACUP].
With a Gaiwan the pour is pretty instant, [DON POURS WATER FROM KETTLE INTO GAIWAN]
or it's a matter of a couple of seconds, because again, you can adjust the opening here of
pouring [DON PLACES LID ON GAIWAN AND GESTURES THE ABILITY TO USE LID TO ADJUST THE SIZE
OF THE OPENING BY MOVING LID], [and] make it really large so that when you pour it out
it's like, [DON POURS INFUSION FROM GAIWAN INTO SERVING CUP] "One...two...seconds."
and you're done.
[CLOSEUP OF GAIWAN FILLED WITH BREWED LEAVES ON TEA TRAY] So you can really get much more
accurate infusion times when you're using a Gaiwan.
The final thing is [that] because you can have a large gap you can get rid of a lot
more of the tea dust, or broken leaves, in the tea wash.
So if you're using any kind of pot [DON HOLDS UP YI XING CLAY POT] it will have a smaller
spout, and usually has some filter, which will catch some of those broken leaves.
Therefore, [this] will mean that you are brewing not purely with full leaves, but with some
of the broken leaves.
Whereas when you do your tea wash with the Gaiwan you leave a large opening [DON HOLDS
GAIWAN UP TO CAMERA FOR CLOSEUP] [by tilting] the lid, and that will mean that you're washing
away a lot of the tea dust and broken leaves, and that means that you have a higher quality
brew.
So, these are the reasons why I love Gaiwans.
We're going to be doing another video showing you how to use the Gaiwan, so look out for
that.
[11:00] I know [that] the Gaiwan users out there already love using Gaiwans.
I hope that you share the reasons I have given to you.
But if you've got any more please leave them in the comments section below.
That's it tea-heads.
If you made it to the end of this video then PLEASE give [it] the thumbs-up.
Check out our YouTube playlists and let us know if there are any videos that you would
like us to make.
If you have any questions or comments then please fire them over.
Other than that, I'm Don Mei from Mei Leag.
Thank you for being a part of the revelation of true tea.
Stay away from the tea bags, keep drinking the good stuff, and spread the word, because
nobody deserves bad tea.
[WAVING] Bye.