When it comes to tea wares, there is no shortage of fanaticism. If you ask a tea addict to show you his or her stash, you can bet on no shortage of teapots or perhaps gaiwan.
Tea cups though, hardly generate the same level of excitement, if at all.
In Chaozhou gongfu tea there are 4 treasures- namely Yixing (Zisha) pot, small porcelain cups, clay kettle and the charcoal stove.
While the clay kettle and charcoal stove have since found modern alternatives (though not necessarily superior) but drinking cups are seldom accorded the same level of attention as the beloved Yixing pots.
Weng Hui Dong’s (翁辉东) Chaozhou Cha Jing ( 潮州茶经) includes a section on tea cups which I will just quote an extract with translations below:
“茶杯:
Tea Cups
白地蓝花，底平口阔。
White with blue painting, flat base with wide mouth (opening of the cup)
径不及寸，建窑白瓷制者，
Diameter less than an inch, made from Jian kiln white porcelain
质薄如纸，色洁如玉，
As thin as paper, pure in color as jade,
盖不薄则不能起香，不洁则不能衬色。
If it’s not thin (the tea) won’t be fragrant, if it’s not pure the color won’t be ostensible
杯亦宜小宜浅，小则一啜而尽，浅则水不留底。”
Cups are suited to be small and shallow, small enough to consume in a mouthful, shallow enough that no water is left behind
While this is written predominantly with oolong tea in mind, much of the same principles applies to other teas, albeit to a lesser extent.
Shape
Weng did not elaborate on this but flat base is quite intuitively primarily for stability.
Wide mouth or the shape that the cup flares out is something that is especially appreciated in gongfu brewing. Because of the heat that is required to unleash the aroma of oolong tea, freshly poured oolong tea is very hot.
Having a generous flare provides better insulation against the heat, making it more comfortable to hold.
In addition, the size or lack thereof of the tea cups makes a wider mouth easier to grip.
Size
“Diameter less than an inch”
Tea cups used in gongfu brewing are often described as half a ping pong ball in size, more precisely circa 30 cc.
Small cups, small vessels are the essence of gongfu brewing as described in this article.
In fact, from the extract above, you can see that references to its tiny size are repeated, small enough for a mouthful to be exact.
At the same time, the diameter is mentioned as too wide a cup would allow the heat and aroma to dissipate quickly.
Material
“made from Jian kiln white porcelain”
建窑 or Jian kiln is short for Jianyang, one of the famous kilns of that time but the main issue is porcelain and not just any porcelain.
That is somewhat hyperbolic but the thinner the better.
You can do a comparison by serving Dancong in a thin porcelain cup against a thick ceramic one to tell the difference.
It is not just the aroma of the tea but the “empty cup fragrance” (杯底香) that is best served by porcelain as well.
Thin porcelain retains the “empty cup fragrance” very well and the other end of the extreme is glass where the empty cup is virtually devoid of the pleasant orchid fragrance that characterizes good Yancha for example.
Color
“pure in color as jade”
Not only has “white” been mentioned twice, the cups should be as pure in color as jade. This is to accentuate the color of the liquor.
In tea appreciation, observation of the liquor color is one of the requisite steps and a clear white cup allows the drinker to do so better, much like how wine drinkers observe the color against a white napkin.
Shallow
“Shallow enough that no water is left behind”
In gongfu tea, each cup is consumed in totality. Thereafter the drinker will appreciate the aroma of the empty cup.
Personally I find the empty cup fragrance every bit as enjoyable as the “hot fragrance” of the tea.
This is only ostensible when the cup is empty.
In order not to detract from the elegance of tea appreciation, “bottoms up” should not be taken literally and a shallow cup will help ensure that.
Conclusion
小，浅，薄，白- small, shallow, thin (material) and white.
Compared with other tea wares, tea cups can be rather inexpensive and a decent one should cost no more than a couple of dollars.
Dollar for dollar, tea cups go a pretty long way in extending your enjoyment.
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