I'd love to get some feedback before I buy my next kyusu. Unfortunately, I just broke the lid to my Tokoname kyusu (https://www.yuuki-cha.com/teaware/japan ... ame-teapot) and although I may try to glue it together (food-safe glue recommendations appreciated), it was not very expensive and I'm ready to try something a bit different. My back up kyusu is an Arita porcelain one given to me as a gift when I was an exchange student in 1979. So, here are my questions/observations.
1. Have any of you compared the taste difference between Banko and Tokoname kyusus? I often read how both of these clays tend to mellow out the bitterness of the tea. To be honest, I like some astringency (not bitterness) to my sencha and would prefer to retain as much of that as possible.
2. I've read that porcelain has much less effect on tea flavor. I suppose that's because they are typically glazed and I know some Tokoname is glazed as well. The main thing I've enjoyed about using the porcelain is how nicely it cleans up. There's no "seasoning" over time if that makes sense but my Tokoname pot has picked up a brownish coating inside that has not been easy to remove (and nor am I sure I should want it removed) but it's unsightly nonetheless. I also like the white color of the inside of the porcelain to better see the tea color and also the water level, etc.
3. I really do like the finer mesh "sasame" clay filter on many of the Tokoname pots, including my own. My porcelain one has a very small "ball" filter with far fewer holes. I do enjoy fukamushi senchas from time to time and they are filtered pretty well by my Tokoname pot (although I nearly always do a secondary screening while pouring into the cup). So I'm not sure I would like the Banko pots because nearly all of them seem to have the ball filter with fewer holes.
I love the look of the very wide, low profile, flat (mostly Tokoname) kyusus I see online but their capacities are surprisingly quite small. I brew tea just for myself but still like to brew a large mug sized cup of sencha. The smallest size I would consider is probably 250 ml. I guess I'm leaning towards a glazed, Tokoname pot but would consider the others if I can find them with a finer mesh, ceramic filter. Anyway, I appreciate whatever ideas you may be willing to share!
Kyusu Chat (Tokoname vs. Banko vs. Arita)
I have a banko kyusu by Otsuki Shun and another on the way by Bigetsu. I can attest that the Otsuki one has a superbly crafted super-fine ball filter that is excellent with fukamushi. In fact, it surpasses all my other teaware for this type of tea, as it not only filters and pours nicely but is easier to clean as well. The only drawback is the slight play of the lid--nothing really bad but a disappointing detail in what would otherwise be perfect form & handling. (In the photo, it may be difficult to judge just how tiny the filter holes are: that's a small 180ml kyusu, the ball is maybe an inch in diameter. The surface irregularities are not visible to the naked eye in normal use.)
The clay is not my favorite though. It imparts a kind of sour/metallic taste. I lent it to my father (without comment on the issues I had) to keep if he likes it, but he doesn't: he found it had a "factory taste". It could very well be that it just needs more time / serious seasoning, but not liking it so far.
So why am I getting a Bigetsu? I bought the Otsuki kyusu together with a Bigetsu samashi. (1) I like the sheen of the Bigetsu better. It's more grayish-pink, compared to the violet Otsuki. It's difficult to describe and web photos can't really show how banko kyusu look at all, because they don't capture the sheen. (2) More importantly, I like the taste and smell of Bigetsu's clay: I perceive it as warm and sweet from the outset. The samashi has replaced my previous slip-cast tokoname on my tea tray, so I thought I'd get a matching kyusu to see how it goes. The filters don't seem as superbly crafted (might be connected to Bigetsu's advanced age?), but I hope they perform similarly in practice.
Volume-wise, obviously you know best what you need/want, but I generally drink a lot of liquids, and with sencha I find 100ml per cup to be plenty. If you resteep 3 times, that's 300ml (less leaf absorption). If I want to drink a whole lot, I sometimes go for 150ml. With a sencha that resteeps well, that gets me 600ml (4x), or even 900ml (6x) in the (rather exceptional) case of TdJ's Tobetto.
I have tried two unglazed, reduction-fired flat tokoname, one by Jinshu (130ml, <90ml usable) and one by Umehara Koushi/Gyokko kiln (200ml, good for 100ml-150ml brews). It's my favorite shape for sencha so far, but I prefer the (much cheaper) one by Umehara (nice pour, snug lid, fine filter). The Jinshu clay had a distinct "pot" taste that I didn't like (though new owner is very happy with it). Also, the lid had bad circular symmetry, snug in one position, but not if you rotate. The special Jinshu filter, while performing very well with fukamushi in terms of fast pour, retained a lot of particles and was more effort to clean.
If you're going for glazed, I think it makes sense not to restrict choice to Tokoname (in fact, isn't it difficult to find Tokoname with inside glaze?). Some Arita-yaki, Seto-yaki, Hasami-yaki might come in a shape/size you like, but you'll not find exceptionally fine filters on glazed pots, at least from what I have seen.
If you go for unglazed, IME, it's not as easy as Tokoname vs Banko, it matters a lot what clay exactly they are made of.
The clay is not my favorite though. It imparts a kind of sour/metallic taste. I lent it to my father (without comment on the issues I had) to keep if he likes it, but he doesn't: he found it had a "factory taste". It could very well be that it just needs more time / serious seasoning, but not liking it so far.
So why am I getting a Bigetsu? I bought the Otsuki kyusu together with a Bigetsu samashi. (1) I like the sheen of the Bigetsu better. It's more grayish-pink, compared to the violet Otsuki. It's difficult to describe and web photos can't really show how banko kyusu look at all, because they don't capture the sheen. (2) More importantly, I like the taste and smell of Bigetsu's clay: I perceive it as warm and sweet from the outset. The samashi has replaced my previous slip-cast tokoname on my tea tray, so I thought I'd get a matching kyusu to see how it goes. The filters don't seem as superbly crafted (might be connected to Bigetsu's advanced age?), but I hope they perform similarly in practice.
Volume-wise, obviously you know best what you need/want, but I generally drink a lot of liquids, and with sencha I find 100ml per cup to be plenty. If you resteep 3 times, that's 300ml (less leaf absorption). If I want to drink a whole lot, I sometimes go for 150ml. With a sencha that resteeps well, that gets me 600ml (4x), or even 900ml (6x) in the (rather exceptional) case of TdJ's Tobetto.
I have tried two unglazed, reduction-fired flat tokoname, one by Jinshu (130ml, <90ml usable) and one by Umehara Koushi/Gyokko kiln (200ml, good for 100ml-150ml brews). It's my favorite shape for sencha so far, but I prefer the (much cheaper) one by Umehara (nice pour, snug lid, fine filter). The Jinshu clay had a distinct "pot" taste that I didn't like (though new owner is very happy with it). Also, the lid had bad circular symmetry, snug in one position, but not if you rotate. The special Jinshu filter, while performing very well with fukamushi in terms of fast pour, retained a lot of particles and was more effort to clean.
If you're going for glazed, I think it makes sense not to restrict choice to Tokoname (in fact, isn't it difficult to find Tokoname with inside glaze?). Some Arita-yaki, Seto-yaki, Hasami-yaki might come in a shape/size you like, but you'll not find exceptionally fine filters on glazed pots, at least from what I have seen.
If you go for unglazed, IME, it's not as easy as Tokoname vs Banko, it matters a lot what clay exactly they are made of.
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Thanks, Teatray! First, I apologize for not posting this under the teaware section. I haven't been on this site for a long time but anyway, I appreciate the feedback and may message you directly as well. I think the normal progression of sencha-drinking experience does indeed lead us to smaller kyusus over time. The pots I admire the most are typically much smaller than those I'm using. I'll drop my volume stipulation to 150 to 200 cc and that will open up many more options especially in the flat designs. I think the lighter colored Tokoname kyusus are likely not glazed but are made with different clays other than the standard red Shudei. After more research I think the ivory colors are likely made with "Koudei" clay. Anyway, I'm just ready for a lighter-colored pot. I did find a couple porcelain pots with the sasame filter but they were not as fine as those on Tokoname. I think I'll steer clear of Banko for now but thanks for the photos. If that's only a 1 inch ball then it certainly is very fine. There seems to be so much trial and error with all of this and I can see my teaware cupboard filling up over time!