Gaiwan with off-center fitting lid
drzarkov
I just bought a gaiwan from the local shop of a long-established &
reputable Taiwanese tea vendor. The gaiwan-- comprised of two bowls,
one slightly smaller than the other, and a saucer and lid-- is made of
very fine, almost translucent, pale-green porcelain. The price-- $85--
made me hesitate, but it seemed so finely made that I convinced myself
that I "had to have it." When I got it home & looked at it with more
attention, I noticed for the first time that the lid fits the larger
bowl tightly only when the lid is placed well off center. I remember
reading elsewhere that the lids of well-made gaiwans are constructed
this way deliberately, so that the lid need only be nudged a few
millimeters to sip the tea or drain it off into another bowl. The
archives of this newsgroup have nothing to say about this. Obviously
I'm not knowledgeable about these things. (I bought my first gaiwan
several weeks ago-- at less than a fourth of this one's price-- and
its lid fits OK when centered, though not as tightly as the new
one's.) I appeal to your collective experience: did I get a lemon?
drzarkov
Joey Roth
Not at all. Gaiwan lids are supposed to only fit tightly when they're
off-center. As you said, this allows the tea to be filtered when the
lid is centered. Also, the off-center fit is what makes the gaiwan such
an elegant teacup.