Petr Novák - Pots under influence of tea

[Petr Novák]

There's only one thing about it that puzzles me: Petr chose not to put the lid hole in the center of the lid, under the lid handle. The top of the handle is hollowed out so without a hole at the bottom of it, water collects in there after pouring the rinse over the pot and I have to shake it out. Not really a complaint, just an observation.

Muadeeb, Thank you for sharing! It looks like your are the gungfu cha kind of guy:) I like how this clay slowly age with being used and I look forward to hear your observations about this, one day, as well.

I sometime put hole under the knob, but maybe more offten out of the centre, depending on whole design and my feeling about it. Do you feel it better to have it in the centre for your tea sessions?

Hollow space in knob is kind of fun to me but to be honest I did not realized that it can make a disturbances when showering the pot. Especailly with such small one, it have to happen:) Thanks for the advice, I will think about it.

Enjoy the pot!!

[debunix]

Having the hole off center in the lid gives me something to play with while waiting for the next infusion...."does it look better like this? or like this?"

[hopeofdawn]

Just my personal preference, but I actually find it a bit easier to have the hole off-center on the lid than through the middle of the knob. The reason for this is if the pot is really hot, I can still put one finger on the knob to keep the lid on while pouring and not affect the flow of tea. The knob keeps my finger from scorching, unlike the main part of the lid which can get pretty painful, especially if I'm brewing a black or oolong with water off the boil.

[inge]

Some people like the hole in the center of the knob so they can control (stop) the flow while pouring. But it's a simply matter of preference or aesthetics... Just my five cent's worth....

[LouPepe]

One set I received from the last orders I made. Not the best pic since I'm in the middle of moving, but I had to christen the new tearoom I love the glaze! And the thinner cup!! (Compared to the rough clays). Lovely work Petr..

[debunix]

Beautiful set. I just happened to spot this while enjoying tea from my tiny black magda teapot today--it's warm in the office, so I put in a lot of Zhangshu Lake oolong, filled it with hot water, give it a long steep, pour it into a big cup, and fill up with cool water for a lovely drink. Much as I'd like to say I bought it for just such practical purposes, it was mostly about it being incredibly cute, but it is a lovely practical little pot for a variety of teas (being glazed inside). And I love the subtle matte shine of the glaze in different lights--sometimes hints of copper in it, sometimes black as night.

Mmm. May you enjoy your set as much I love this little cutie!

[LouPepe]

Beautiful set. I just happened to spot this while enjoying tea from my tiny black magda teapot today--it's warm in the office, so I put in a lot of Zhangshu Lake oolong, filled it with hot water, give it a long steep, pour it into a big cup, and fill up with cool water for a lovely drink. Much as I'd like to say I bought it for just such practical purposes, it was mostly about it being incredibly cute, but it is a lovely practical little pot for a variety of teas (being glazed inside). And I love the subtle matte shine of the glaze in different lights--sometimes hints of copper in it, sometimes black as night.

Mmm. May you enjoy your set as much I love this little cutie!

That sounds wonderful! Funny you say it, but I plan on using this shibo for "utilitarian" brewing. Mainly oolongs in the mornings before work as I fill a thermo for my wife to take to her work. It's the perfect size at 150 ml, with 7-8 steeps I fill her up and have some myself.

And yes, the glaze offers many beautiful color variants as the light changes and bounces off the surface! The cup even has some big patches that look crystalized almost like a jeweled (natural mineral) surface. I'll cherish this piece for years to come

Hope yours brings you joy for many more tea sessions!!

[Jaymo]

I also use one of my pots from Petr (the one in my profile pic) to brew oolong for a thermos for work. My thermos is relatively small though and the pot is on the large side, so it only takes 2 to fill it.

[LouPepe]

I also use one of my pots from Petr (the one in my profile pic) to brew oolong for a thermos for work. My thermos is relatively small though and the pot is on the large side, so it only takes 2 to fill it.

And I bet you wouldn't have it any other way! It's always a joy when the pot provides as much satisfaction as does the tea.

I have a 200 ml pot from Petr I would like to get some input on. It's a smoother unglazed clay on outside with a greenish/yellowish sage glaze on the inside as well as covering the whole lid. Will post pictures when I get a chance. Maybe others have similar pieces but I've not seen that glaze used much.

[debunix]

Celadon?

[LouPepe]

I don't think it's celadon. At least not similar to the typical celadon I've been exposed to. Still need to take those pics. But in the meantime, the last pot I received from the last firing-

[LouPepe]

Simple, yet beautiful. Wabi-sabi to the core. 90 ml and on it's first brew using Sheng, it's performance was not far from my dedicated yixing

[debunix]

Lovely and humble little pot, indeed! Young or aged sheng?

I've been very happy with the effects of several of Peter's unglazed pots I've used for sheng and shu--a treebark, a 'bizen'-like unglazed pot, and another quite plain little shiboridashi. Two of them are at home together, and I'm considering whether to subspecialize them into one for sheng and one for shu, or young/old sheng.... When the weather cool down some more, I anticipate some pleasant sessions trying to figure out which one for which teas!

[LouPepe]

Lovely and humble little pot, indeed! Young or aged sheng?

I've been very happy with the effects of several of Peter's unglazed pots I've used for sheng and shu--a treebark, a 'bizen'-like unglazed pot, and another quite plain little shiboridashi. Two of them are at home together, and I'm considering whether to subspecialize them into one for sheng and one for shu, or young/old sheng.... When the weather cool down some more, I anticipate some pleasant sessions trying to figure out which one for which teas!

Young! The only other unglazed PN piece I have I've also used for both Sheng and Shu, and have been very pleased. The pot(shibo) picks up wonderful scents of the last tea brewed within. It's also picked up some dark stains at the base from the shu. Is that common with the unglazed pieces? I kind of like it. It looks like " tea-sap" bleeding out. I think it would particularly look fitting on a treebark pot

[LouPepe]

Here are some pics of the shibo with the shu-pu stains. Anyone else get these on their pots? This considered the high-iron clay? I like them on this piece.