New Shigaraki Kyusu Are Up On Hojo's Site

[茶藝-TeaArt08]

For anyone else that is interested and has been waiting: Hojo just released a batch of new Masaki Tachi Shigaraki kyusu. I'm grateful to have gotten one; they are selling quickly. Hojo wrote that this batch is a little darker because there is more iron in the clay.
(http://hojotea.com/item_e/available.htm)

Blessings!

[kyarazen]

which one did you pick?

[Tead Off]

I'd take anyone of those Yixing pots over those kyusu that he uses in his videos.

[MarshalN]

At least he's posting prices now

[Teaism]

I was driving the whole day in Malaysia and just checked the site and they are all gone. Akira told me that he sold out all and many are bought by my friends...thanks to the publicity in my blog on them.Haha!

I just hunted down one friend and she bought 3 pots. Got to hassle her for one. This batch looks very nice. I have batch one and two. Batch 4 is coming out soon and this time I was promised a pre-launch preview

For those who bought it...congrats and it is a nice and enjoyable pot.

Cheers!

[Muadeeb]

I've been waiting for months to snap one of these up but when I checked the site last night, I was disappointed to see that they're all 100ml and I wanted something bigger. I emailed Hojo about one of the sasame filter Kobiwako pots he has up there, since I plan on using it for Fukamushi. I did an A/B test a couple months ago at Mad Monk Tea with Taylor's Kobiwako and my glazed Petr Novak, and I was impressed with how the Kobiwako deepened the flavor. The Shiggys are a bit more pleasing to my eye, but size is more important to me.

[Chip]

... I suspect he may have known they were pretty much sold out as I did not even get the email notification despite Akira knowing I was very interested ... and have been asking about them periodically for a while.

Maybe he knew they were not in the volume range I was seeking ... but they are very appealing little guys.

[茶藝-TeaArt08]

Maybe he knew they were not in the volume range I was seeking

I was disappointed to see that they're all 100ml and I wanted something bigger.

I was surprised myself at the size. When I saw the notification I flashed quickly over to Hojo's website and expected to see larger sizes. I scanned from top to bottom figuring he must have put the smaller pots at the top and was surprised to find that they were all 100ml. I really didn't expect them to be this size. For me, a 100ml is perfect and unexpected. Though I would have welcomed anything from 80-180ml. I am seldom using anything over a 180ml; though I do have a some larger vintage Yixing that I will use if I go bigger and would like to pick up one of the 300+ml Echizen pots when the time is right.

I just hunted down one friend and she bought 3 pots. Got to hassle her for one. This batch looks very nice. I have batch one and two. Batch 4 is coming out soon and this time I was promised a pre-launch preview

Wow...clearly some spare funds around...that or a deep devotion to Shigaraki.

Does anyone know why, given the demand, the Shigaraki teapots are so seldom produced and more expensive? Is the clay rarer or harder to find etc.? Just from within the forum I notice a semi-continual interest in the pots.

which one did you pick?

Kyrazen, I went with the round body and picked S731-2.

Blessings!

[blairswhitaker]

Does anyone know why, given the demand, the Shigaraki teapots are so seldom produced and more expensive? Is the clay rarer or harder to find etc.? Just from within the forum I notice a semi-continual interest in the pots.

"given the demand" perhaps here in with lies the key to your question.
Hojo is arguably a marketing genius. At the very least he is an expert on supply and demand as well creating very enticing product write ups. I kind of doubt the clay is that rare or hard to find, it is however Hojo's personal selection that only he commissions for use in conjunction with Masaki-San. Hojo also has a very clear sense of "taste" if you follow his products and tea selection you will see it emerge. His tastes have fallen in favor with the general teachat crowd and show a valid influence, though not to say their are those who do not find his tastes preferable amongst this forum.

Now combine that with the fact that many Teachaters hype these pots. I myself am one. I own two of these pots and would only consider another one if the clay came out in a new shape such as a hohin, or perhaps a yuzamashi.... Yes, I would defiantly get a yuzamashi. I feel a lot of his claims take license of poetic language, but these pots seem to be rather substantiated in their claim to fame. I have tried a selection of nearly every type of his clays, and for me this is the hands down winner when it comes to sencha. Masaki-San is also an excellent craftsman and his work is supremely functional.

while I believe no simple answer to your question is adequate, these pots have become a sort of "holly grail" and will likely only increase in perceived value and desirability.

[kyarazen]

actually there is not so much written hype on shiragaki. Hojo applies the same marketing/writing styles to all other clays, nosaka, mumyoi, kobiwako etc, the other clays and pots dont move so quickly..

its also not the maker..since tachi's banko doesnt move as fast as his shiragaki..

its a delight that the shiragaki came as 100ml size this time round.. perfect for many of the users whom will be using them for non-japanese ones. he will be getting the larger ones later, so that will cater to the japanese tea drinkers

Does anyone know why, given the demand, the Shigaraki teapots are so seldom produced and more expensive? Is the clay rarer or harder to find etc.? Just from within the forum I notice a semi-continual interest in the pots.

"given the demand" perhaps here in with lies the key to your question.
Hojo is arguably a marketing genius. At the very least he is an expert on supply and demand as well creating very enticing product write ups. I kind of doubt the clay is that rare or hard to find, it is however Hojo's personal selection that only he commissions for use in conjunction with Masaki-San. Hojo also has a very clear sense of "taste" if you follow his products and tea selection you will see it emerge. His tastes have fallen in favor with the general teachat crowd and show a valid influence, though not to say their are those who do not find his tastes preferable amongst this forum.

Now combine that with the fact that many Teachaters hype these pots. I myself am one. I own two of these pots and would only consider another one if the clay came out in a new shape such as a hohin, or perhaps a yuzamashi.... Yes, I would defiantly get a yuzamashi. I feel a lot of his claims take license of poetic language, but these pots seem to be rather substantiated in their claim to fame. I have tried a selection of nearly every type of his clays, and for me this is the hands down winner when it comes to sencha. Masaki-San is also an excellent craftsman and his work is supremely functional.

while I believe no simple answer to your question is adequate, these pots have become a sort of "holly grail" and will likely only increase in perceived value and desirability.

[blairswhitaker]

I also should mention hojo has exclusivity with this product. You can purchase Masaki-sans Banko pots from numerous sources and at far better prices. Oddly enough I have yet to meet anyone in japan who is even aware the shigaraki-Masaki pots exist much less have an opinion on them. This further leads me to believe the teachat hype is even more of a driving force. I do notice that all the other pots are released in greater numbers creating a real or perceived notion of limited supply in regards to this particular clay.

[Alex]

I love my Siggy but don't rate the clay that highly for sencha (its decent enough but I much prefer Nosaka). So wasnt interested in another....still felt tempted when I logged in and saw 2/3 of them weren't sold

[Sasameyuki]

I was able to order one of these Shigaraki beauties but I haven't decided yet on which type of tea to use it for. Are there Teachatters who tried sheng pu-erh in these kyusu? What would you recommend?

[William]

I was able to order one of these Shigaraki beauties but I haven't decided yet on which type of tea to use it for. Are there Teachatters who tried sheng pu-erh in these kyusu? What would you recommend?

Try every type of tea you usually drink, choose the matching that appears to you the best. Enjoy.

Regards,
William.

[kyarazen]

I was able to order one of these Shigaraki beauties but I haven't decided yet on which type of tea to use it for. Are there Teachatters who tried sheng pu-erh in these kyusu? What would you recommend?

i'm intending its use for sheng pu-er and perhaps yancha