What do you think about this kyusu

[malmstrom]

Hi all!!

My girlfriend gave me as a gift this teapot:


What do you think about? The strainer inside is a 360* stainless steel.

The capacity is 200 ml.

For which kind of tea is best suitable?? And, for brewing, how much water would you use?

Thanks for the support,
Marco

Moderator edit: Links removed per forum rules, please read under Introduction. Picture added.
Chip
Tea drinker who happens to Moderate

[brandon]

Nice girlfriend.

The slightly smaller size, strainer and flat shape make this a pretty all around good pot for almost all Japanese teas.

Sencha
Sencha fukamushi (likes a stainless mesh strainer)
Gyokuro (likes smaller, flat pot)
Genmai Cha

This will not work well for oolongs, but it wouldn't hurt to brew some Chinese green this way.

[Chip]

Very nice kyusu. Generally the more flat the kyusu, the intent is more towards cooler brews such as Gyokuro. You could also cold brew in this as well.

If the listed capacity is 200 ml, figure a practical capacity of 150 or so ml given such a wide opening and flatness of the kyusu.

[malmstrom]

Thanks for the response!!!

But before the first brew, I would like to understand if I need to do some "activation steps" for the teapot, like the yixing's! There are so much information about, that I'm a bit confused!!!!

Also for the brewing, usually for Japanese tea, warming the pot is needed?

Thanks a lot for the help!
Marco

[Chip]

What tea are you going to brew in it?

No real special prep for a Tokoname kyusu, just rinse it well with hot water.

I generally preheat, and for a flatter kyusu that will lose heat quickly, I would certainly preheat it.

A rounder kyusu, some people preheat and then brew sencha with cooler temp. Some people do not preheat and pour hotter water into the kyusu (the water temp will drop quickly in this case, thus the hotter water).

A neat feature of preheating the kyusu, and putting the leaves into the preheated pot, as the leaves warm, they give off a wonderful aroma. However, put the leaves into the pot only 10-30 seconds before pouring the water in.

[malmstrom]

Thanks Chip!

I will brew all kind of japanese green tea (I don't have the possibility to have more teapots!)

Thanks for the suggestions, I will try both the methods for brewing!!

[malmstrom]

Here i post two scans of the paper that was inside that kyusu:
http://img269.imageshack.us/gal.php?g=img025h.jpg

some one can understand what is written?

(I hope to respect forum rules with this posts!)

[funkmaster nice]

I have this one.

It's my favorite looking kyusu. It has a fast pour. I've had some issues with water coming out the top. I do fill it to its absolute max though so that might be a problem. If you pour slow and don't fill it to the lid it should be fine. It is definitely different because it is so small and low. To me the appearance is worth it. The wrap around filter is great even for finer leaf teas. I put everything it it!

[malmstrom]

Oh! nice funkmaster! I also love the way it pur, very fast!!!
Do you know of what kind of clay is made?

[t4texas]

I like this pot a lot. Is it available on-line?

[thirtysixbelow]

It has similar styling to a banko teapot which can be found on artistic nippon.

[Bert]

this is a kyusu from the keiko sortiment. i always liked the flat shape of it and the texture, but it is a price-intensive one.

[Chip]

FYI, the flatter the kyusu and wider the opening, the more apt it is to come out of the top as you pour, can be a bit messy as a result.

Also taller is better for fukamushi type sencha.

[t4texas]

FYI, the flatter the kyusu and wider the opening, the more apt it is to come out of the top as you pour, can be a bit messy as a result.

Also taller is better for fukamushi type sencha.

Can you show or link to pots that work well with fukamushi senchas? Does the wrap around screen work best?

[Chip]

I like a slightly tall pot for fuka. This allows for surface area for the fuka leaves to cling to as you begin to pour, less likely to clog up the screen this way.

But I use a lot of different post for fuka, just not a flat pot. The wrap around scren works very well, but with the right pot a sasame will work too.

A lot of success with fukamushi is simply learning how to pour it for each pot. Fukamushi is not hard to pour once you figure that out, but anyone who ruined a brew becasue of a clogged mess will tell you, you can mess it up.

Getting the leaves back down for successive brews is very important. Starting a pour with a half clogged screen will likely cause more problems.