Tea-cupping set

Form#

Body

two matched white-porcelain pieces: (1) an upright cylinder (cupping mug) with a triangular serrated teeth-notch (锯齿形缺口) at the front rim to hold back tea leaves when inverted horizontally, and (2) an open hemispherical white tasting bowl that receives the strained liquor¹²

Notched pouring rim

serrated tooth-notch (滤茶齿口) cut into the front rim of the cylindrical brewing cup

Handle

small vertical loop handle on the back of the cylindrical brewing cup opposite the serrated notch

Lid

flat disc lid with a small steam hole, used to trap aroma on the wet leaves for sensory smelling

Knob

tall cylindrical or ring finial on the lid for one-handed grip when inverting the cup into the bowl

Base

flat foot-ring on both cylinder and bowl

Typical capacity#

Sensory evaluation uses a specified preparation method as well as specified equipment. ISO 3103:2019 concerns preparing tea liquor for sensory tests; its public abstract does not establish that every Chinese evaluation cup has the same dimensions. Use the applicable standard and edition for the intended test, rather than mixing mug, gaiwan and ISO equipment into one universal specification.

Variants and sub-types#

Sensory evaluation uses a specified preparation method as well as specified equipment. ISO 3103:2019 concerns preparing tea liquor for sensory tests; its public abstract does not establish that every Chinese evaluation cup has the same dimensions. Use the applicable standard and edition for the intended test, rather than mixing mug, gaiwan and ISO equipment into one universal specification.

History#

1. 19th to 20th centuryAdapted from export tea-taster's cupping mugs into Chinese national tea-grading standards; standardized in uniform bright-white porcelain so that liquor colour, clarity, leaf aroma, and spent-leaf appearance can be compared side by side without vessel bias.¹

Related#