TeaChat

This is my quick review for the Small Kiyomizu-yaki Kyusu Teapot By Ippodo

I'd eyed up this kyusu for some time but always knew that it wasn't going to be quite worth the price for what it was. However I really wanted this size and shape so I knew the time would come to order one....and it did

Ippodo are great so I won't review the transaction but just to say it was perfect.

First thing that struck me when opening the box was this lovely smell of aromatic burnt wood. I don't know if that's what it smells like in their shop, but if it does then I really want to go there.

Now on to the kyusu.

As soon as I lifted the lid off the kyusu it chimed in that fine way that high end porcelain does. Which for the price I expected. First thing I noticed which was nice was the direct filter, which looked like on 5 holes on their website but was actually 9 (see picture below)

The spout has a sharp finished edge and the pour is decent for this sort of spout shape. The finish is perfect with not a single blemish or scratch, and the base is perfectly flat with zero wobble. The knob on the lid is lovely to grip and the feel in the hand is excellent for a kyusu of this size, the handle for instance fits my hand far better then my 200ml hojo pot. For reference I measured to the rim and its just shy of 140ml so a 120ml serving size as listed on the site seems in keeping.

Regarding the price it would have seemed more reasonable to me for it to be 25% cheaper but I would re-buy in an instant as its just what me and the wife wanted to brew various teas in.

The filter performs great. There's a cup it poured of Asu sencha in the pictures below. That was poured in about 3 seconds or less. Tasted amazing but doesn't all tea brewed in lovely new teaware?

I hope this review was of interest to some. Here's the pics

What a beautiful little thing! Enjoy!

Nice ! A bit pricy indeed, but very well made. Over there, they tend to put a lot of leaves in it, like 10g of sencha, and what seems to be even more Hojicha.

I hope it will make a good companion to your black clay kyusu. I like to use both.

Very nice, Alex, thanks for sharing! I really like the wide, low profile on that one, and the stylized IPPODO characters on front look really nice without looking like a logo!

Drax wrote:Very nice, Alex, thanks for sharing! I really like the wide, low profile on that one, and the stylized IPPODO characters on front look really nice without looking like a logo!

Yeah I love low & wide as well. Just find them really inviting and they make you feel really involved with the tea. Glad you enjoyed!

David R. wrote:Nice ! A bit pricy indeed, but very well made. Over there, they tend to put a lot of leaves in it, like 10g of sencha, and what seems to be even more Hojicha.

I hope it will make a good companion to your black clay kyusu. I like to use both.

Its wonderful. Me and my wife have been running different teas through it all day. Had a really nice dragon well in it earlier. Its pricey but I feel I'll get its cost per use down to mere pence in a very short time

Really nice teapot! Now I am deciding to purchase something like it but I am wonder if it is not bit pricey. I really like the function, design, quality, easy-to-use/wash and volume of my gyokuro teapot from Maiko http://www.maiko.ne.jp/english/shopping ... 0301-2.jpg But the price tag is somewhere around 25 usd The shape of Ippodo kyusu is beautiful, also design with logo is nice to me. Do you think it is worth the price considering the quality of porcelain?

The porcelain is lovely....its so high fired and strong it nearly sounds like metal.

Its hard to say if its worth it or not but I'll try. If there were loads of these style at half the price, same size and shape then this wouldn't be worth it. However as I could source nothing else like this, then yes to me its well worth it. I'd by it again in a flash. Its become my most use bit of teaware now and I can't see that changing. I love it! and the more time passes the more meaningless the money involved becomes.

Its just as lovely as any clay pot I've bought in this price range, and I've been using it far more, so yes its worth it......to me.

If I was going to get rid of my pots and just keep one then this would be it.

Hope that helps a little.

Yes, this subjective look from owners side is very helpful for me. This makes purchasing of any teaware so adventuring experience

Thanks for additional info Look like it should be good choice for my teaware collection.

Awesome! glad I could be of help

I bought one of those a few years back. Very functional, but I'm not as much of a fan of porcelain for brewing high-end Japanese green teas. Dunno, but reduction clay seems to favour my taste buds. Still, a nice piece (despite the steep price). Also, the larger Tokoname kyusu that they sell performs admirably with every tea that I've put thru it.

Side by side I prefer this to my reduction clays for taste. I've always had a soft spot for porcelain though. For 5 years I used nothing but a porcelain gaiwan so I think that plays a role in my taste.

I'll be going between both of course though

Wow really nice pot thnx for sharing

Bigdumogre wrote:Wow really nice pot thnx for sharing

You're most welcome!