Hokujo, Kobiwako & Iga Clay

[gregcss]

+1, genmaicha will influence your sencha brews. I'd use glazed teaware for genmaicha, at least until you have a leftover pot to dedicate to it. No experience with the Kobiwako (want to try it!), but I think it'd be also very reasonable to go for a simple pot from Tokoname as your first sencha pot (made from the standard local clay, called shudei/kokudei depending on firing/color).

The one from Klasek could be a bit overpriced at €120. Perhaps justifiable for someone in the EU (customs hassle already solved, VAT included), but if you're in the US, you should have many better options (US sites or Japanese sites & easier import). There are some links on the stickied Japanese teaware post.

Thanks for the input. The one from Klasek comes to 99,31 € without VAT. I will continue looking at other options before committing.

[LeoFox]

+1, genmaicha will influence your sencha brews. I'd use glazed teaware for genmaicha, at least until you have a leftover pot to dedicate to it. No experience with the Kobiwako (want to try it!), but I think it'd be also very reasonable to go for a simple pot from Tokoname as your first sencha pot (made from the standard local clay, called shudei/kokudei depending on firing/color).

The one from Klasek could be a bit overpriced at €120. Perhaps justifiable for someone in the EU (customs hassle already solved, VAT included), but if you're in the US, you should have many better options (US sites or Japanese sites & easier import). There are some links on the stickied Japanese teaware post.

Thanks for the input. The one from Klasek comes to 99,31 € without VAT. I will continue looking at other options before committing.

If you're in the US, consider just buying from Japan. Take advantage of the usd-jpy conversion rates right now

[gregcss]

+1, genmaicha will influence your sencha brews. I'd use glazed teaware for genmaicha, at least until you have a leftover pot to dedicate to it. No experience with the Kobiwako (want to try it!), but I think it'd be also very reasonable to go for a simple pot from Tokoname as your first sencha pot (made from the standard local clay, called shudei/kokudei depending on firing/color).

The one from Klasek could be a bit overpriced at €120. Perhaps justifiable for someone in the EU (customs hassle already solved, VAT included), but if you're in the US, you should have many better options (US sites or Japanese sites & easier import). There are some links on the stickied Japanese teaware post.

Thanks for the input. The one from Klasek comes to 99,31 € without VAT. I will continue looking at other options before committing.

If you're in the US, consider just buying from Japan. Take advantage of the usd-jpy conversion rates right now

Are there a couple shops that you recommend?

[LeoFox]

Thanks for the input. The one from Klasek comes to 99,31 € without VAT. I will continue looking at other options before committing.

If you're in the US, consider just buying from Japan. Take advantage of the usd-jpy conversion rates right now

Are there a couple shops that you recommend?

Thes du japon has some nice offerings - make sure though to click the japanese flag before check out to purchase in jpy instead of usd. He is pretty bad with the conversion

[teatray]

I really like my beginner* pot from Gyokko kiln. While basic, they're wheel-thrown & generally the real deal (several in the family that run it are certified traditional Tokoname craftsmen). Mine has perfect pour but I know from others that some drip a bit. You can find them on TdJ, Sazen (same as TdJ, do switch from USD to JPY, even if that removes the free delivery to the US--it's worth it), Artistic Nippon, Chaki Chaki & others. Rishi Tea in the US has a limited selection at extremely low prices as well.

(*I don't think it's wasteful to get a beginner pot, as it will help you figure out your preferred size & style before springing for something fancier, if you feel the need. You can then repurpose it for less fancy tea like genmaicha, hojicha, etc.)

[gregcss]

@teatray and @LeoFox thank you for the suggestions.

[gregcss]

I'm hesitant in getting a kyusu that has a ball filter rather than the larger flat filter...both ceramic/clay and not stainless steel. I feel the smaller ball filter will clog easier and slow down or halt the pour. The Hojo tea pots dont have any pictures of the filters so I may contact them to ask.

[Janice]

There should be a description and a photo of each filter for each category of pot on the Hojo site.

[faj]

I'm hesitant in getting a kyusu that has a ball filter rather than the larger flat filter...

In my experience, ball filters have fewer issues than direct hole filters. Within the same side wall area, you can fit a ball filter that has more total hole area than with direct holes, and in addition to total area there is probably a higher chance that at least some of the holes stay clog-free due to them having different orientations. Various direct-hole filters behave very differently. The bigger and more numerous the holes, the lesser the tendency to clog. My Watanabe Tozo hohins basically never clog, while using my Gisui teapots for fukamushi or sencha that has a lot of smaller particles can require care or become downright frustrating (let us call that poor technique on my part).

If by "larger flat filter" you mean the truly large, fine-meshed, sasame-type filters, I have only had one of those. A part of the filter has broken off and I rarely use it now, but I cannot say I remember it as being easier to live with than ball filters. I am not a frequent fukamushi drinker though, nor a user of ultra-flat teapots.

[Bok]

(let us call that poor technique on my part).

I was gonna say, most filter-no filter issues are actually pouring technique issues

[faj]

(let us call that poor technique on my part).

I was gonna say, most filter-no filter issues are actually pouring technique issues

You can say that difficulty cutting a steak with a spoon reveals poor technique.

But then again, you could also say people mainly known to drink oolong might not have the most challenging teas to filter.

[gregcss]

@Janice Yes you are right. I see the direct hole filter picture at the top of the section listing. Thank you.

@faj Thanks for the input on the ball filter. Sounds like it'll be fine...and if it wasn't then I'm sure they would have stopped making them long ago. I was referring to the fine sasame filter, and thank you for mentioning direct hole filter because I see that is what's used on one of the Hojo pots I am looking at.

@Bok haha, true I lost patience with single hole yixing pots and have since moved to a modern pot with strainer.

[LeoFox]

(let us call that poor technique on my part).

I was gonna say, most filter-no filter issues are actually pouring technique issues

You can say that difficulty cutting a steak with a spoon reveals poor technique.

But then again, you could also say people mainly known to drink oolong might not have the most challenging teas to filter.

What's the point again of drinking deep steamed sencha particles while at the same time casting curses at teabags?

[faj]

What's the point again of drinking deep steamed sencha particles while at the same time casting curses at teabags?

That is not me doing that, because I do not use or think teabags nowadays, and I rarely drink deep steamed sencha. However, it might make sense doing as you describe for those who like deep steamed sencha but dislike teabags, which does not seem unreasonable to me.

[LeoFox]

What's the point again of drinking deep steamed sencha particles while at the same time casting curses at teabags?

That is not me doing that, because I do not use or think teabags nowadays, and I rarely drink deep steamed sencha. However, it might make sense doing as you describe for those who like deep steamed sencha but dislike teabags, which does not seem unreasonable to me.

Well, I think it might make their lives easier to just drink deep steamed stuff in tea bags. Once contaminated with those particles, the pots can be so hard to clean