I am in love with a teapot. A kyusu teapot. Before you call my love for an inanimate object unnatural, take a look at it, and judge for yourself.
Kyusu by
debunix, on Flickr
See the grooves from forming on the wheel?
The crawling glaze peeling back to show the naked clay?
The lovely strainer-spout?
I find it astonishingly beautiful, hard to take my eyes off of it. Lid fit is neat, but given the coarse clay, it's not surprising that the lid doesn't fit quite tightly enough to completely stop the pour when the hole in the lid is covered. Still, it pours out completely in about 12 seconds, a neat stream.
Delicious first sencha. Mmmmm.
The balance and feel of the pot in my hand is fantastic. The handle has slip and glaze at the end of it, where I like it to feel smoother and softer against my hand, with a bit of exposed raw/rough surface at the bottom of the handle, where the texture helps with easy grip. It's so subtle and so perfect that it took me a while to realize what a lovely little detail that is. It holds heat very well, but the handle is thin and cool, and I'd be confident handling this pot with boiling water if I were using it for a different kind of tea. The pot doesn't balance on the handle, but it balances in my hand, balances in my eyes, and balances my tea.
I am a very happy camper. I think I can even survive the next week or so while I wait for my shibo (!) to arrive. So glad I broke down and added this lovely thing to my order. And now pushing my sencha as hard as I ever had, up to an 8th infusion or so with near boiling water, still getting some distinct sencha-sweetness, because I don't want to stop using my pot.
Thank you Petr!