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Pot for brewing gyokuro

Posted: Tue May 15, 2018 12:31 pm
by Janice
I love gyokuro and drink it at least several times a week. I’ve seen various opinions posted here and on other sites about style and clay and I’ve experimented with a variety of different clays and shapes. Right now my favorite is a 50 ml mixed porcelain Korean Pot that I purchases when Tead Off was selling tea ware ia Teaware Online.

I’m thinking about buying a small Banko pot but I’d really like to know what other people here find give them the best results.

Re: Pot for brewing gyokuro

Posted: Wed May 16, 2018 12:47 am
by pedant
i've never had a banko kyusu. i like using a hokujo shiboridashi for gyo

Re: Pot for brewing gyokuro

Posted: Wed May 16, 2018 6:43 pm
by Chip
Typically gyokuro is brewed with a wide opening vessel like a shiboridashi or houhin. And the lid is often left off while brewing. The wide opening prevents overheating and allows viewing of the precious leaves.

I typically use a houhin because I have ... an abundance of them. I recently after all these years finally purchased my first "shib" by Hokujo.

Problem ... or benifit with most shibs is they are typically very low volume. Thus I prefer houhin which are often larger but still small enough.

Also, since I usually only have gyokuro on hand for a few months each year leading up to shincha. So I never compared clays much. If a houhin did not brew a satisfactory session, I would just move on to another.

Tokoname, Banko, Hagi are my primary go to clays ... but each can vary quite a bit. For instance, each tokoname potter uses seemingly different clays.

Re: Pot for brewing gyokuro

Posted: Thu May 17, 2018 6:45 am
by Psyck
Is the height more or less the only difference between a shibo and houhin? Can both of them also be called an easy gaiwan?

Re: Pot for brewing gyokuro

Posted: Thu May 17, 2018 1:32 pm
by Chip
Psyck wrote:
Thu May 17, 2018 6:45 am
Is the height more or less the only difference between a shibo and houhin? Can both of them also be called an easy gaiwan?
The width to height ratio is typically higher on a shib. So yes, the shib is relatively wider and the houhin is relatively higher ... Typically.

The houhin typically has a round rim with a screen below the rim at the added spout. The lid covers the entire rim.

The shib typically has a spout as part of the rim, so the rim is not an absolute circle, and the lid does not cover the rim at the spout. The spout may have a "rake" or nothing at all.

You could call them a "gaiwanesque". :mrgreen:

Re: Pot for brewing gyokuro

Posted: Thu May 17, 2018 4:23 pm
by Janice
Did I mention that I have TAD (teaware addiction disease)? I just counted 5 shibs and 4 hobins in my teaware cabinets. I did learn to brew gyokuro on Teachat following instructions from Kevin of O-Cha but I’ve been forgetting the part about leaving off the lid. I put it on for the photo because the glaze is so pretty. This is a 60 ml shib from Andresz Bero.

I’m still interested in Banko clay but clearly it’s not an emergency.

Re: Pot for brewing gyokuro

Posted: Fri May 18, 2018 5:09 am
by Psyck
Chip wrote:
Thu May 17, 2018 1:32 pm
<...>
You could call them a "gaiwanesque". :mrgreen:
Thanks for clarifying, I'm just a noob on Jap teas & teaware, do plan to get into it sometime in the future though.

Re: Pot for brewing gyokuro

Posted: Fri May 18, 2018 5:19 am
by pedant
please see also: viewtopic.php?f=20&t=504

Re: Pot for brewing gyokuro

Posted: Fri May 18, 2018 6:50 pm
by Janice
5405FC15-AD34-4B5F-BB73-834C776D34FA.jpeg
5405FC15-AD34-4B5F-BB73-834C776D34FA.jpeg (292.62 KiB) Viewed 8035 times
My first shiboridashi. I purchased the set from O-Cha when they reopened after the tsunamI. I’m getting very good results even though the shib is glazed. Maybe technique is more important than clay.

Re: Pot for brewing gyokuro

Posted: Sat May 19, 2018 1:17 am
by Baisao
I personally prefer glazed teaware for gyokuro and unglazed for other Japanese teas. It’s a personal preference as I really don’t want clays altering the flavor of gyokuro. I’m more forgiving with sencha and enjoy trying different clays with them.

I hear people sometimes say that a shiboridashi allows the leaves to expand more than in a houhin (or even a large kyusu) but I see no merit in this idea. The leaves open prefectly well in all but the narrowest teapots.

A humble kyo-yaki houhin like this works perfectly well. It’s one of my favorite pieces despite being made by an unknown potter. I treasure it as much as my famous name teapots.

Re: Pot for brewing gyokuro

Posted: Fri May 25, 2018 10:05 pm
by steanze
Janice wrote:
Fri May 18, 2018 6:50 pm
5405FC15-AD34-4B5F-BB73-834C776D34FA.jpegMy first shiboridashi. I purchased the set from O-Cha when they reopened after the tsunamI. I’m getting very good results even though the shib is glazed. Maybe technique is more important than clay.
Nice set. It looks like it's inspired to the work of Miwa Kyusetsu X.