🍵gaiwan or yixing: how i actually decide

the session that settled it for me: a 2023 Mi Lan Xiang that tasted flat in porcelain and came alive in clay

01
Porcelain gaiwan, 100-120ml
(rinse first) my default for anything I haven't brewed before, it tells the truth about the leaf
02
the tea that started this list. first two steeps in the gaiwan were thin, switched to yixing on steep 3 and the honey note finally showed up
03
Small unglazed yixing pot, zini clay
dedicated to oolongs only, never soap. resteeps well past what the gaiwan gets you on the same leaf
04
Fenghuang Shuixian base cultivar (unroasted)
tasted this next to the Mi Lan Xiang to understand what the honey-orchid processing actually adds
05
Tasting cups, 20-30ml, thin porcelain
06
Gongfu tray with drainage
bought the cheap one for two years, upgraded, wish I had sooner tbh
07
Second yixing pot for green/lighter oolongs
still deciding if I actually need this or just wanted an excuse