This lovely green gaiwan is the perfect size for tasting a tea through many infusions, flexible enough to brew solo or for up to four people with smaller cups.

This smaller size is particularly traditional in Fujian and Guangzhou for steeping fine oolongs where you pack in as much leaf as possible and do short hot infusions all day. The wide lid finial makes this particularly easy to hold and angle for pouring.

Modern gaiwan convention skips the saucer, letting the gaiwan be used flexibly with a board, a tea boat, or on a runner.