TeaChat

Let's imagine that a great artist accepts to make any kind of kyusu you want. What would be your choice ?

I am mainly talking about shape here, more than size or filter, but please feel free to add any details you'd like. Photos, links or sketches are of course more than welcome.

Do not get me wrong I love all of my kyusu's but at the same time I am not eager to get another one. Unless of course I can get a nice low profile one such as this one: http://www.artisticnippon.com/product/t ... kyusu.html

In fact every once and awhile I toy around with the idea of contacting Toru to see if he can find me another one of those. Something about that low profile appeals to me, I find it very hard to explain.

This guy seems just right to me. Keep it small.

I am more likely to go 'oooh!' for one that is flatter than for one that is taller, but really as long as it is more round than egg-shaped, I'm content.

brandon wrote:This guy seems just right to me. Keep it small.

I agree. I really like the shape and size of that one. If the color had a light green design overlaying a darker green base, it may be the perfect kyusu in my eyes.

Ball shapped always appeals to my eye first ... drawing my attention away from others. But then I settle down and look at anything. I try to be open minded.

Next, a bit taller than wide ...

Flatter is something I have to endeavor to look for ... I have some that are "squat" but none that are "flat."

Since you asked, my typical range is 4-8 ouncers. I will go a bit smaller or larger if the right Kyusu or need arises.

Screens. Prefer clay, I have pretty much refined my pouring to the point that almost any screen will work. I find that I like to have examples of all screens around. I want to try them all. But have no fave except "clay."

And re: size, mine are same as Chip's, 4-8 oz. I really dislike the idea of a metal screen, aesthetically, which is probably odd considering how much tea I brew in plastic kamjove devices.

I use to love the lower ones but now like rounder ones with a small lip around the lid, with the widest part of the pot either slightly above mid way or slightly below like the pots shown below.

Failing that I'd go a touch taller due to them handling Fuka a little better in general. With lower coming in last now. This is just in general of course. And a pot can capture me in any form.

I'll carry on using the same artist that B posted



That's pretty spot on to me.

Screen: ball (done well with holes flush to the wall)/direct/clay screen. Any of those

Size 150-250ml is perfect for me but can stretch just fine to 300ml at a push.

My new tachi pot is also perfection shape wise. Just so happens that the clay is superb as well.

brandon wrote:

This guy seems just right to me. Keep it small.

How many times have I been tempted to buy this very kyusu... ? Maybe I will !

I've been close. I dig its brother too.

I think we should keep these brothers within a few hundred miles, give them a chance to visit once in a while !

I also love this shape a lot, closer to his father's work as a friend told me.

That's one of those tending towards taller than wide where the extraordinary finish totally trumps the shape and I'd over to have that in my collection.

4 oz?!?! That is teeny tiny!

I'd love to try such a tiny pot, but I'm very satisfied with my 270ml/9.1oz Hiramaru Banko from Tachi, since I can fill it as little or as much as I want according to my needs Or are you supposed to choose the size of the kyusu to match your needs? I'm still quite new to Japanese ways of tea, so I don't know if filling the pot only half is considered acceptable?
The Hiramaru also fits perfectly in my two hands when I put them together. Love the chocolate colour!

I like flatter shapes too, especially the Banko Shidei. Had it been less expensive......
(Photo from Artistic Nippon)

Maneki Neko wrote:4 oz?!?! That is teeny tiny!

I'd love to try such a tiny pot, but I'm very satisfied with my 270ml/9.1oz Hiramaru Banko from Tachi, since I can fill it as little or as much as I want according to my needs Or are you supposed to choose the size of the kyusu to match your needs? I'm still quite new to Japanese ways of tea, so I don't know if filling the pot only half is considered acceptable?

4oz is about 120mL which is really not all that small. It's a great size for sencha and gyo, especially higher quality sencha. For me, personally, 4 to 6 120mL steeps of sencha and I'm good to go for several hours in terms of both liquid volume consumed and caffeine intake. That's the volumetric equivalent of 2 to 3 cups of coffee.

I suspect that most people on these forums find that the more they brew, the more they tend towards the smallish pots.

Of you're right that you can half-fill larger pots. There's nothing wrong with that. I brewed 150mL steeps in a 350+mL pot for a long time. But in my opinion, it's a little bit better to have a pot that's only about 20% larger than the intended brewing volume. If you fill to the rim every time, the pot won't always pour smoothly, but if you fill too little, then the tea can cool too quickly, and you can also get leaves stuck on the pot walls above the water level where they won't get steeped.

I agree with you about how pretty those Banko pieces are.

270ml/9.1oz is not all that big either, given I can fill exactly two sencha cups from one full pot. That would be much if I'd do many steeps, which I don't. Usually only one or two, utilising the rest of the leaves' goodness by eating them.

Since my husband doesn't really like tea and we rarely if ever have green tea-loving guests, I drink it all myself.

I don't mind pouring two cups at the same time, but yeah, a one cup size pot and more steeps might indeed be more enjoyable with respect to the difference in each subsequent steep and experimenting with water temperatures