Deep shiboridashi as general-use teapot?

[Tor]

"Filterless hohin" conveys the right meaning, I agree. It depends if one's definition of "shiboridashi" is based on flat shape or absence of filter. I used "shiboridashi" (adding "deep") as this is what Hojo calls it. I have seen pictures of teapots that had a "shoboridashi" shape but had a filter (from Murata if I remember correctly). They were called "hohin" I think, but "shiboridashi with filter" would have worked too.

Shiboridashi (絞り出し) literally means “squeezing the broth”. It was originally designed so that we can use its lid to squeeze out the tea broth from the wet leaves when we decant. The “skirt” style came later as it’s easier to manage, but then it lost the ability to squeeze.

[faj]

One should not underestimate the value of ease of cleaning of simpler brew vessel shape when in less-than-optimal physical setups--e.g., for travel or an office where all you have is a bathroom sink to clean in out. Being able to rinse quickly and wipe clean without needing to flush a lot of water through nooks and crannies (poorly accessible filter holes, narrow inverted rim areas) can be a fine bonus with a gaiwan, shibo, and some (but not all) hohins.

I fully agree.

To your point, Hojo's website shows hohins that have their widest opening at the very top, while others are more spherical, with the opening smaller than the widest part. You easily see how, with the first type, it is easier to reach every internal surface when rinsing. You also see how the shape affects the angle of the surface where the filter holes are located.

Basically, the "deep shiboridashi" and those "wide-opening hohins" are very similar in everything but the filtration method.

This is also why I mentioned the shiboridashi might be a good choice for me at the office, as I do not tend to drink small-leaf teas there, and cleaning is obviously easiest, owing to the extremely simple geometry.

[faj]

Shiboridashi (絞り出し) literally means “squeezing the broth”. It was originally designed so that we can use its lid to squeeze out the tea broth from the wet leaves when we decant. The “skirt” style came later as it’s easier to manage, but then it lost the ability to squeeze.

Interesting @Tor. Maybe this brings water to @Baisao's argument that what Hojo sells should be called a "filterless hohin". I stand to be corrected by someone who knows the proper translation of hohin, though...

By "squeezing the broth", do you mean actually removing the lid and applying pressure to the leaves, or does that just mean creating a thin cavity that, when shaking the teapot to get the "last drop" out, will naturally squeeze the leaves?

My understanding is shiboridashis are used most for gyokuro. Are there other teas one would want to "squeeze"?

[Tor]

You just squeeze the wet leaves, like using a pair of (handleless) kitchen tongs, between the body and its lid.

I guess you can use it with any kind of tea, but they aim for gyokuro because we normally use a lot of leaf with very little water, so the decanted tea broth is very little without squeezing. Normally the retention is about 2 to 3 times of dry leaf weight. So if we use 5g dry leaf, 30ml water, the decanted tea broth will be 30 - (5 * 2.5) = 17.5ml. (BTW, with good quality gyokuro, I could spend 15-20 min savoring this tiny 17ml potion)

Some teas could get bitter when squeezed. I don’t squeeze my gyokuro. I just let it drips.

[faj]

You just squeeze the wet leaves, like using a pair of (handleless) kitchen tongs, between the body and its lid.

Thanks for the clarification @@Tor,

Are there people who actually squeeze the leaves, or has that fallen out of usage and remains mostly as a vestige in the name of the vessel?

[Tor]

Are there people who actually squeeze the leaves, or has that fallen out of usage and remains mostly as a vestige in the name of the vessel?

I don’t know for sure, but I’d guess the latter. It may need some skills to squeeze without sacrifice the broth’s quality (if that is do-able).