Titanium travel gaiwan set review

A month or so ago I ordered [this titanium gaiwan set](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0B4J5JVTP) as an anniversary present for my wife. It arrived yesterday and we've been having fun trying it out.

I mentioned this set in a recent post about gaiwans for hiking, and one question popped up that I was curious about myself: wouldn't a metal gaiwan get very hot to use, even a titanium one?

It turns out that no, this is actually one of the coolest-handling gaiwans I've ever tried. Although the sides of the gaiwan and cups are pretty thin they are actually double-walled. I tried brew after brew of near-boiling water to make a shou pu-erh and the sides of the gaiwan and cup were still cool to the touch! The finial of the lid and rim of the gaiwan were only moderately warm at most, certainly not unpleasantly hot.

And of course, being titanium, the set is ridiculously lightweight. Even after a number of sessions it still surprises me to pick up the empty gaiwan and feel almost no weight at all. Even with water is it noticeably lighter than any gaiwan in my collection no matter how thin the walls.

I'd say the only downside of this set is that the "form-fitting" carrying case is actually a generic case obviously intended for a variety of different contents. The gaiwan and cups fit very loosely inside it. I'm tempted to order a couple more cups to fill it out a bit more, or add padding and a filter. There's certainly no danger of breakage though from the contents rattling about loose.

So if you've been tempted to try out a titanium set, I have to say I would recommend them.