What a master cup is At a gongfu tea table the host keeps one cup back for themselves. That's the master cup, zhu ren bei. It doesn't match the guest cups and isn't meant to. You pick it because it sits well in your hand and suits what you drink. The cup 80 ml, which is one pour from a small teapot or gaiwan and about three sips. The bowl is wide and shallow, 6.6 cm across and 4 cm tall, on a short unglazed foot. It sits in the palm rather than being held by a handle. The clay is coarse stoneware from Dehua in Fujian, thrown by hand. You can see the throwing rings inside the bowl and feel the grain of the clay under the glaze. White glaze is brushed over the upper half in a broad band; the lower body is left bare and dark. Iron in the clay comes up as small black speckles during firing and is left as it is. How it drinks A wide shallow cup gives the tea more surface. Aroma comes up fast and the tea cools quickly, which suits oolong, aged white tea and ripe pu-erh. It also helps if you find small cups of fresh-brewed tea too hot to drink straight away. If you'd rather your tea hold its heat, a taller cup does that better. Specifications Capacity: 80 ml Width: 6.6 cm Height: 4.0 cm Material: coarse stoneware clay Firing: high-temperature reduction Finish: white glaze over bare clay, unglazed foot ring Origin: Dehua, Fujian, China Care Rinse with hot water before first use. Hand wash only, no dishwasher or microwave. The foot ring is unglazed and a little rough, so use a coaster on polished timber or glass. Every cup is thrown by hand. Measurements move by a few millimetres and no two glaze patterns are the same, so the one you get won't look exactly like the photo. If you're near Salamanca, come and pick one up at the Tea Bar. A cup is easier to judge in the hand than on a screen. Related Tea Wares · Gaiwan · Teapots