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FYI... at least on the older model there's what I would call a safety feature and I"m glad it's there. The kettle will maintain temp ~2degrees but once you pick up the kettle, you have to press the button to hold the temperature again. Otherwise it just sits there and cools down. Sort of annoyed me...

Have you looked into the old (but still available) old model? At this time it is less than half the price of the newer model (on Amazon at least). https://www.amazon.com/Bonavita-BV382510V-Variable-Temperature-Gooseneck/dp/B005YR0F40 Of course, maybe the nicer base is worth the difference to you, j...

klepto , you went with the Bonavita BV07002US? I'm considering a Bonavita at some point. My electric kettle works fine, but it's over ten years old. It does what it has to do, but it would be nice to have the temperature hold feature. I have to boul water in between infusions, which isn't all that ...

I thought I would post some thoughts on what I’m learning and how drinking tea has changed for me after drinking “western-style” for most of my life. I touched on some of this in my introduction and other posts, so I’ll keep this brief. I have always loved drinking tea. There was almost some meditat...

I do purchase a different spring water for when I travel, but I now use a gaiwan for travel so I guess the different waters may not matter so much. I think I will stick to my main spring water for the kobiwako houhin, although I already have not been sticking to that principle for my other kyusu. I...

Akira Hojo shared some interesting information with me when I inquired about dedicating my new Junzo Kobiwako houhin to just Japanese greens. This was Akira's response to my question: Do you know why some people claim that we must use one teapot for one type of tea? It is not because of the contamin...

What a great thread. Such delightful photographs. This is the first time I might have regretted getting rid of my Canon Rebel XS SLR because of disuse. My phone camera is just so-so.

This is some powerful advertising here. I want to go out and buy 100 pots and 1,000 grams of a variety of tea leaves.

Okay, in that case I have blended before. If I come to the end of a cannister of tea and there is not enough for a serving, I will blend it with some tea from a new bag. You can hardly tell the difference with the store bought teas. I think the difference, if any, would be discernible in a higher qu...

Thank you, Bok . All of your points do make perfect sense. I'm starting to understand this and am gravitating toward this way of drinking tea more often. I just purchased a 160ml kyusu, and now I'm eyeing a gaiwan and houhin. I guess it's a different experience than what I am used do, but I'm having...

I'm interested in purchasing a gaiwan. Can someone help me understand the popularity of the smaller gaiwans and teacups? I come from a lifetime of drinking 10-12 oz mugs of tea. I still drink tea out of cups, but lately I haven't been reaching for the 12 oz mug anymore. And I find myself spending so...

Sounds interesting. Do you blend teas often? It's not something I ever considered doing, and I wouldn't even know how, save for just pure experimentation. I've never tried strainers or infusers. Before I purchased my kyusu, I was using the Daiso tea bags to brew my tea. Recently I have been consider...

Lovely, what teas did you get ... if any? Thank you. For starters I picked up a 100gm bag of organic sae midori asamuchi. At first I wasn't sure if I liked it or not. I though it tasted too grassy (almost reminiscent of wheat grass), and had no astringency at all. But the second and third time I tr...

It's the simple things. My cup arrived yesterday. I am a happy man.

If you are wanting a larger Kobiwako pot, I think the kyusus are the only available option right now. Plus some of the advantages of a hohin (ease of loading leaves, cleaning) would be a part of a larger kyusu as well. Thanks, but after reading the posts, I'm thinking maybe the houhin would be nice...

Okay, so I emailed Akira with some questions about the houhin I was going to purchase (160ml), but then I thought about it. I just bought a 160ml kyusu from Artistic Nippon. Do I really need a houhin right now? I'm wondering if I should go with one of his 300ml kobiwako pots. He even has a 290ml in ...