How many Kyusu do you own? And bonus question, how many do you use? So, 2 answers are permitted.

1
89
20%
2-3
96
22%
4-5
42
10%
6-7
14
3%
8-10
10
2%
11-14
6
1%
15 or more
10
2%
I USE 1
63
14%
2-3
67
15%
4-5
23
5%
6-7
6
1%
8-10
3
1%
11-14
3
1%
15 or more
10
2%
 
Total votes: 442

User avatar
Feb 3rd, '11, 07:44
Posts: 509
Joined: Oct 8th, '10, 06:59
Scrolling: scrolling
Location: Germany

Re: Ode to the Kyusu

by Stentor » Feb 3rd, '11, 07:44

He said he does this from time to time to keep it clean and to remove "staining" from brewing different kinds of tea in the same kyusu, e.g. houjicha and sencha.
Maybe it gives the kyusu a neutral aroma again. Maybe it'll actually remove tea stains?
I guess we are much more afraid of damaging our precious teaware than the Japanese are.
If I had an old Tokoname kyusu I'd give it a shot but the two that I have are still very much in use and have only been used for sencha anyway.

User avatar
Feb 3rd, '11, 12:16
Posts: 4536
Joined: Apr 1st, '09, 00:48
Location: Bangkok

Re: Ode to the Kyusu

by Tead Off » Feb 3rd, '11, 12:16

Stentor wrote:He said he does this from time to time to keep it clean and to remove "staining" from brewing different kinds of tea in the same kyusu, e.g. houjicha and sencha.
Maybe it gives the kyusu a neutral aroma again. Maybe it'll actually remove tea stains?
I guess we are much more afraid of damaging our precious teaware than the Japanese are.
If I had an old Tokoname kyusu I'd give it a shot but the two that I have are still very much in use and have only been used for sencha anyway.
Most people are interested in getting their teapots seasoned by building up residue/oils from their tea. This helps to give the brew a better flavor in most cases. Why would you want to take this away from a teapot unless there was something amiss or you wanted to clean out an older, unknown pot that you bought somewhere and wanted to recondition. That's a lot of time invested to start from scratch again.

User avatar
Feb 3rd, '11, 13:06
Posts: 509
Joined: Oct 8th, '10, 06:59
Scrolling: scrolling
Location: Germany

Re: Ode to the Kyusu

by Stentor » Feb 3rd, '11, 13:06

Tead Off wrote:Most people are interested in getting their teapots seasoned by building up residue/oils from their tea. This helps to give the brew a better flavor in most cases. Why would you want to take this away from a teapot unless there was something amiss or you wanted to clean out an older, unknown pot that you bought somewhere and wanted to recondition. That's a lot of time invested to start from scratch again.
Yes, I have been doing the same thing with my Tokoname teapots, strictly sencha from the start.
What it might be useful for is if you have one teapot that you don't want to dedicate to one type of tea but use as a "multi purpose" teapot instead.
Such a pot you would need to stay as neutral as possible. I was just wondering if this could be achieved by soaking it in a baking soda solution from time to time. I wasn't suggesting to do it with every teapot :)

User avatar
Feb 3rd, '11, 14:38
Posts: 404
Joined: Feb 24th, '09, 12:01
Scrolling: scrolling

Re: Ode to the Kyusu

by rdl » Feb 3rd, '11, 14:38

Stentor wrote:Have any of you ever tried soaking your Tokoname kyusu in a solution of luke warm water and baking soda for a thorough cleaning? I got this tip from AN and was wondering if any of you have experience with it.
stentor,
i do this every so often. the apocryphal stories of seasoned pots, as well as real discussion, in my knowledge, are always chinese. not japanese. i prefer to clean my pot because sencha tea is so fresh and (i'm looking for the right word) pasty after being steeped. it adheres to the tea pot unlike other teas. i see it not building up a patina, but a layer of organic tea that can turn bad. i've used nothing but a hot water rinse for my oolong unglazed pots, but in my opinion sencha is different. you wrote AN suggests this; it would be interesting to see what other teaware merchants are saying.

User avatar
Feb 3rd, '11, 21:41
Posts: 1574
Joined: Dec 30th, '08, 21:16
Location: The foot of the great Smoky Mountains

Re: Ode to the Kyusu

by iannon » Feb 3rd, '11, 21:41

The One Nerikome to Rule them all! :twisted:

Image

User avatar
Feb 3rd, '11, 22:26
Posts: 4536
Joined: Apr 1st, '09, 00:48
Location: Bangkok

Re: Ode to the Kyusu

by Tead Off » Feb 3rd, '11, 22:26

rdl wrote:
Stentor wrote:Have any of you ever tried soaking your Tokoname kyusu in a solution of luke warm water and baking soda for a thorough cleaning? I got this tip from AN and was wondering if any of you have experience with it.
stentor,
i do this every so often. the apocryphal stories of seasoned pots, as well as real discussion, in my knowledge, are always chinese. not japanese. i prefer to clean my pot because sencha tea is so fresh and (i'm looking for the right word) pasty after being steeped. it adheres to the tea pot unlike other teas. i see it not building up a patina, but a layer of organic tea that can turn bad. i've used nothing but a hot water rinse for my oolong unglazed pots, but in my opinion sencha is different. you wrote AN suggests this; it would be interesting to see what other teaware merchants are saying.
I think it's the same principle at work whether it's Chinese or Japanese tea. Both types build up a residue. I don't see how they turn 'bad' unless mold or some other problem develops from not rinsing with very hot water and allowing to dry properly. I have never had this problem with any unglazed Chinese or Japanese teapot. I think if one wanted to use a single teapot for different types of tea, a glazed or porcelain pot would be the best choice.

User avatar
Feb 4th, '11, 09:20
Posts: 80
Joined: Jun 8th, '10, 06:26
Location: Mainz, Germany

Re: Ode to the Kyusu

by sebpassion » Feb 4th, '11, 09:20

IMG_22472.jpg
IMG_22472.jpg (53.51 KiB) Viewed 1078 times
this is my new 8oz gyokko kyusu and one of my mino cups

User avatar
Feb 4th, '11, 11:50
Posts: 258
Joined: Apr 28th, '09, 18:04
Location: Chicago

Re: Ode to the Kyusu

by chicagopotter » Feb 4th, '11, 11:50

iannon wrote:The One Nerikome to Rule them all! :twisted:

Image
Looks like yours and chips are siblings...Do you know the maker or where did you get your?

User avatar
Feb 4th, '11, 15:31
Posts: 89
Joined: Feb 1st, '09, 15:03

Re: Ode to the Kyusu

by JustinW » Feb 4th, '11, 15:31

Image

Teruyuki

I was going for a Hokujo originally, but after seeing this one I fell in love. :)

My first real kyusu. The one I've been using is the dark green Momiji one that's pretty common. It made an excellent first pot, but the difference compared to the Teruyuki is amazing.

As far as the brew goes, I found that it dulled the aroma a bit, but it improved the mouthfeel, and enriched the flavors.

It's a beautiful pot.

Justin

User avatar
Feb 4th, '11, 17:46
Posts: 84
Joined: Sep 16th, '10, 05:20
Location: 40º 25' N, 03º 43' W

Re: Ode to the Kyusu

by exquisite » Feb 4th, '11, 17:46

Teruyuki became special for me, nowadays I only pull mine out for gyo:
ter.JPG
ter.JPG (2.48 KiB) Viewed 1028 times
ter2.JPG
ter2.JPG (2.59 KiB) Viewed 1028 times
ter3.JPG
ter3.JPG (3.24 KiB) Viewed 1028 times
Last edited by exquisite on Feb 4th, '11, 17:50, edited 1 time in total.

User avatar
Feb 4th, '11, 17:49
Posts: 84
Joined: Sep 16th, '10, 05:20
Location: 40º 25' N, 03º 43' W

Re: Ode to the Kyusu

by exquisite » Feb 4th, '11, 17:49

ter4.JPG
ter4.JPG (3.2 KiB) Viewed 1026 times
ter5.JPG
ter5.JPG (2.73 KiB) Viewed 1026 times
ter6.JPG
ter6.JPG (3.28 KiB) Viewed 1026 times

User avatar
Feb 4th, '11, 20:05
Posts: 509
Joined: Oct 8th, '10, 06:59
Scrolling: scrolling
Location: Germany

Re: Ode to the Kyusu

by Stentor » Feb 4th, '11, 20:05

sebpassion wrote:this is my new 8oz gyokko kyusu and one of my mino cups
The HUGE lid is awesome. Where did you get it if you don't mind my asking?

User avatar
Feb 5th, '11, 00:08
Posts: 404
Joined: Feb 24th, '09, 12:01
Scrolling: scrolling

Re: Ode to the Kyusu

by rdl » Feb 5th, '11, 00:08

Tead Off wrote:
rdl wrote:
Stentor wrote:Have any of you ever tried soaking your Tokoname kyusu in a solution of luke warm water and baking soda for a thorough cleaning? I got this tip from AN and was wondering if any of you have experience with it.
stentor,
i do this every so often. the apocryphal stories of seasoned pots, as well as real discussion, in my knowledge, are always chinese. not japanese. i prefer to clean my pot because sencha tea is so fresh and (i'm looking for the right word) pasty after being steeped. it adheres to the tea pot unlike other teas. i see it not building up a patina, but a layer of organic tea that can turn bad. i've used nothing but a hot water rinse for my oolong unglazed pots, but in my opinion sencha is different. you wrote AN suggests this; it would be interesting to see what other teaware merchants are saying.
I think it's the same principle at work whether it's Chinese or Japanese tea. Both types build up a residue. I don't see how they turn 'bad' unless mold or some other problem develops from not rinsing with very hot water and allowing to dry properly. I have never had this problem with any unglazed Chinese or Japanese teapot. I think if one wanted to use a single teapot for different types of tea, a glazed or porcelain pot would be the best choice.
Tead Off,
i am not suggesting anyone change their habits - if what is working works, by all means continue. my only two thoughts to your comments are, first, if the tea pot has a metal filter, that traps lots of tea residue in it that hot water won't wash away (of course it is possible just to remove it to clean, although it will loose it's shape), and second, if one tries a baking soda soaking and see the results of what is cleaned from the tea pot, well, that was enough to convince me.
i fully agree with your advice: "if one wanted to use a single teapot for different types of tea, a glazed or porcelain pot would be the best choice."

User avatar
Feb 6th, '11, 11:23
Posts: 27
Joined: Jan 16th, '11, 14:41
Scrolling: fixed
Location: Wales
Contact: el gringo

Re: Ode to the Kyusu

by el gringo » Feb 6th, '11, 11:23

Thought I'd post a pic of my first kyusu :)

Image

Its only a cheapish pot from O-Cha, but I'm very pleased with it. It pours really well and is so much easier to use than my little glass teapot.

User avatar
Feb 6th, '11, 11:25
Posts: 2228
Joined: Jul 22nd, '09, 10:55
Location: Capital of the Mitten
Been thanked: 1 time
Contact: AdamMY

Re: Ode to the Kyusu

by AdamMY » Feb 6th, '11, 11:25

el gringo wrote:Thought I'd post a pic of my first kyusu :)

Image

Its only a cheapish pot from O-Cha, but I'm very pleased with it. It pours really well and is so much easier to use than my little glass teapot.
Looks great El Gringo!

+ Post Reply