looking for a side-handle kyusu

[wildisthewind]

I'd like to get a sidehandle-style kyusu to use with a wide variety of teas. So that, I believe, means internally glazed. I was looking for something around 250ml and not too much more than $125 or so. I've found a few things, but none that quite fit the bill.

Any leads?

[Victoria]

Try http://www.artisticnippon.com , http://hojotea.com/item_e/available.htm , eBay search; Tokoname teapot or sencha, Arita, also search Antiques/Asian/Japan/teapots
If you want larger pot search Dobin. Lots of options, some Tokoname are very high fired and dense pots so can be used with various teas, also many beautiful porcelain kyusu, enjoy.

[wildisthewind]

Thanks Victoria. How will I know if a pot is made of high-fire, low-porosity clay? I hope to be able to brew a malty red and a delicate green back to back in the same pot with just a rinse, without any coloration.

[Victoria]

After I posted my reply above I realized that I actually don't use any of my high fired Tokoname for the gamut of teas, I stick to sencha or oolong for each pot. Many of these sites post interior shots, so you can see if it's glazed. Your best bet though is probably a porcelain kyusu. Elegant antiques come up on eBay, so create a search with notifications there. Otherwise, see what's on artistic nippon.

[Victoria]

This is my delicate porcelain Inoue Harouni kyusu used for any type of tea. You can occasionally find similar ones on eBay under Asian Antiques/Japan/Teapots. The second vine handle seto-ware glazed pot I also use for many different teas.

[wildisthewind]

Yeah, I wanted to avoid porcelain if possible. Most of my other teaware is porcelain, and since I'll be using this kyusu for longer steeps (not quite western, closer to competition brewing) I wanted the heat retention of stoneware.

I ended up going with http://www.thes-du-japon.com/index.php? ... cts_id=244, which has a matte-looking ash glaze on exterior and interior, and the seller says will be suitable for switching between teas. Will let you know how it is when it arrives.

[Janice]

Very nice pot. It looks unglazed inside, so you get any benefits that brewing in banko clay provides.

[wildisthewind]

Very nice pot. It looks unglazed inside, so you get any benefits that brewing in banko clay provides.

Nope, it's actually got the same ash glaze inside that you see on the outside. That was the appeal.

[Bok]

if it is wood fired (fired at high temperature from 3days to several weeks), the clay will become as sealed as a glazed pot.

[Janice]

My comments were based on reading about the pot on the Thes-du-Japon site. There’s a photo of the interior of the pot and it appears to be the brown of unglazed banko Clay and there’s no mention of wood firing. I’ve been looking at banko pots more closely because I’ve seen references to it being a good clay for Gyokuro but the ones that Thes-du-Japon has right now are too large for a one person Gyokuro pot.

[wildisthewind]

if it is wood fired (fired at high temperature from 3days to several weeks), the clay will become as sealed as a glazed pot.

Yes, though it depends to an extent on clay composition. YiXing, for example, is high-fired to I think cone 11 or 12, but from what I read doesn't vitrify fully due to mica content.

[wildisthewind]

My comments were based on reading about the pot on the Thes-du-Japon site. There’s a photo of the interior of the pot and it appears to be the brown of unglazed banko Clay and there’s no mention of wood firing. I’ve been looking at banko pots more closely because I’ve seen references to it being a good clay for Gyokuro but the ones that Thes-du-Japon has right now are too large for a one person Gyokuro pot.

According to the vendor, the ash glaze is applied inside as well as out. If you look closely at the interior shot, you can see the white pooling of glaze at the bottom.

[Janice]

My comments were based on reading about the pot on the Thes-du-Japon site. There’s a photo of the interior of the pot and it appears to be the brown of unglazed banko Clay and there’s no mention of wood firing. I’ve been looking at banko pots more closely because I’ve seen references to it being a good clay for Gyokuro but the ones that Thes-du-Japon has right now are too large for a one person Gyokuro pot.

According to the vendor, the ash glaze is applied inside as well as out. If you look closely at the interior shot, you can see the white pooling of glaze at the bottom.

Thanks for pointing that out. It’s very subtle and I missed it.