Ode to the Kyusu

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Baisao
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Wed Jan 19, 2022 11:23 pm

Now that is an odd duck! A taller pot would be a more elegant solution to the problem since the leaf bits settle to the bottom, yes, even fukamushi.

Thanks for sharing, @pizzapotamus
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Bok
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Mon Feb 07, 2022 6:33 am

Joaka Mumyoi, a very nice gift from a thoughtful friend. I have to admit, these fellas look so much better in real life than on pictures! And the clay is real lovely to the touch and to look at. Effect on tea yet to be determined… ongoing
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wave_code
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Wed Feb 09, 2022 8:53 am

nice one @Bok, I'm curious what you'll wind up pairing it with.
Hojo's photos... well they really don't do the pots any favors do they? When I got my Nosaka pot I was so happy, both that its a very nice and well made pot, but also that it looked 10x better in person than the photo
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teatray
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Thu Feb 10, 2022 10:17 pm

Beautiful pot, @Bok. How are these from a technical perspective, any leaking / dripping?
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Bok
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Thu Feb 10, 2022 10:41 pm

teatray wrote:
Thu Feb 10, 2022 10:17 pm
Beautiful pot, Bok. How are these from a technical perspective, any leaking / dripping?
Perfectly engineered. Seems to be from that Japanese school of thought that likes to do haphazard-sloppy-looking, but underneath perfectly made teapots. They also really do not photograph well, despite being lovely looking in person.
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teatray
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Thu Feb 10, 2022 11:06 pm

This little stinker arrived a couple of days ago and took the crown of 'cutest kyusu' in my small collection. Like any diva, it is difficult to work with, in this case rewarding even the most careful pouring with considerable drippage. Nevertheless, I thought learning to love it would come easy, until I smelled it. First came a strong but clean/inoffensive clay/earth/humus/chalk-kind of smell, but then there was a pungent "aftersmell" of something nasty, reminding me of chlorine. Not a great start for a glazed kyusu I got for neutral tastings. I wonder whether it was a returned item, maybe one that was cleaned improperly before returning/reselling? Or maybe it was produced this way--could it be the chestnut, combined with the clay? The seller (Sazen) says:
Handmade ceramic teapot by Gōichirō Ishiguro. Made of clay from Shigaraki, fired at 1250 °C for 18 hours.

Kannyu, crackle glaze is created by thermal expansion difference between the clay and the glaze. After the glaze solidifies (as the kiln cools) it shrinks more than the clay. To relieve the tension of being stretched, it cracks. Afterward, the pot is dipped into water tinted with Japanese Horse Chestnut, that goes into the cracks, making the cracks more visible.
So far, a few rinses with the shower on high pressure and boing twice for a few fours helped a lot, but I can still identify hot water that was in it in a blind test with equalized temperature. I guess I'll have to look up that thread on restoring unglazed teapots...
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Baisao
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Sat Feb 12, 2022 1:29 am

@t@teatray, an overnight soak in sodium percarbonate may help.

If the pot doesn’t work out and you like the general aesthetics of it then I suggest getting a kyusu from Inge Nielsen. My experience has been that they are perfectly neutral, have an exceptionally fast pour, and perform well above what they cost.

Best of luck!
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teatray
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Sat Feb 12, 2022 4:18 am

Baisao wrote:
Sat Feb 12, 2022 1:29 am
@tteatray, an overnight soak in sodium percarbonate may help.

If the pot doesn’t work out and you like the general aesthetics of it then I suggest getting a kyusu from Inge Nielsen. My experience has been that they are perfectly neutral, have an exceptionally fast pour, and perform well above what they cost.

Best of luck!
Very attractive pieces by Inge, thanks for the suggestion! Gave mine a hot vinegar bath yesterday, still getting the vinegar smell out, but shall try sod. perc. next, if the smells persist. All this hassle for a simple glazed pot should probably make me tired of it, but, yeah, the more time I invest, the dearer it becomes and I really want to make it work now. Weird psychology.
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Dogen
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Mon Feb 28, 2022 5:57 pm

I bought this Junzo kyusu in Shihateapot. The description told that it was good in fermented teas. I haven't seen this kind of design in Sazen even in Artistic Nippon.

It is porous as it dries easily. It also has a good pour, better than other pours in my other kyusus. The handle is also nice!
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teatray
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Mon Feb 28, 2022 9:13 pm

Dogen wrote:
Mon Feb 28, 2022 5:57 pm
I bought this Junzo kyusu in Shihateapot. The description told that it was good in fermented teas. I haven't seen this kind of design in Sazen even in Artistic Nippon.

It is porous as it dries easily. It also has a good pour, better than other pours in my other kyusus. The handle is also nice!
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Kyute kyusu! I also like handles that don't dig into the skin for no reason.
Teetrinker
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Thu Mar 17, 2022 4:30 am

Iam more into Oolong brewed with my Yixing, but this Kyusu is always a pleasure to use.
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RayClem
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Fri Mar 18, 2022 2:18 pm

I do not have a Kyusu, but perhaps there should be one in my future. I have very sensitive fingertips, so using a Chinese style gaiwan usually results in burned fingers. I like the handle design the Kyusu.
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teatray
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Sat Mar 19, 2022 3:31 pm

Teetrinker wrote:
Thu Mar 17, 2022 4:30 am
Iam more into Oolong brewed with my Yixing, but this Kyusu is always a pleasure to use.
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Love it! Is it the 100ml by Iroku IV?
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teatray
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Sat Mar 19, 2022 4:27 pm

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Seto-yaki sometsuke kyusu by Mayuki Kato (via Chaki Chaki). Been looking for a small glazed teapot for a while. After two disappointments (one each from Japan & Taiwan), this one is excellent in taste (i.e. not affecting it) and handling (except lid, which isn't snug, but doesn't cause problems & pour is good). My vessel of discovery for Taiwanese oolong.

Also got this flat kyusu to explore the effect of pot shape on brews. Cheap, no-frills hasami-yaki via Sazen but really like it b/c of good pour and snug lid (covering the hole actually almost stops the flow--haven't seen this yet with porcelain and hohin-style spouts).

So far, they seem to make equally good High Mountain Oolong but subsequent infusions are better with the tall kyusu, probably mainly (only?) due to much better heat retention. Will be interesting to compare sencha (for which I currently seem to favor flat kyusu, albeit non-glazed which maybe confuses things in my head).

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Teetrinker
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Sun Mar 20, 2022 3:01 am

teatray wrote:
Sat Mar 19, 2022 3:31 pm


Love it! Is it the 100ml by Iroku IV?
Thanks, 180ML, by Iroku IV.
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