Ceramic Kungfu Tea Set with Travel Bag

Working sets follow a capacity math that links pot to cups. Western: an 800–1200 ml teapot divided across 6 cups gives roughly 133–200 ml per cup, which is why British teacups land at 6–8 oz. Gongfu: a 100–200 ml pot plus a fairness cup 20–30% larger feeds 4–6 cups of 20–50 ml each. Sencha: a 240–360 ml kyūsu plus a yuzamashi feeds 5 yunomi of 90–150 ml. Moroccan: a 750 ml–1.2 L barrad pours into six 80 ml glasses across three rounds. Anchor on the teapot; everything else cascades from its volume.

The major traditions each produce a recognizable style: British afternoon-tea services for six in bone china or porcelain (teapot, creamer, sugar, cups, saucers, side plates); Chinese gongfu kits built around a gaiwan or small clay pot, fairness cup, and small cups; Japanese matcha sets (chawan, chasen, chashaku) and sencha sets (kyūsu plus five yunomi); Moroccan brass barrads with six enameled glasses on an engraved tray; Russian samovar services; and Korean darye sets in muted neutral ceramics. Modern minimalist sets from Hario, Bodum, and JIA Inc. compress the format into 3–5 pieces in glass or porcelain.

A modern gongfu set runs 6 to 14 pieces: a gaiwan or small 100–200 ml Yixing/Chaozhou teapot, a cha hai (fairness pitcher, roughly 20–30% larger than the pot), 4 or 6 small cups of 20–50 ml each, often paired aroma cups, a cha pan or tea boat for drainage, and a vase-shaped holder containing six bamboo tools — funnel, scoop, needle, tongs, spoon, brush. A cha he (presentation dish) and a cha chong (tea pet) are common additions. The fairness cup itself was invented in Taiwan in the 1990s.