NEW! Official Teaware of the Day!

[Ferg]

Beautiful piece ferg, the wheel thrown lines give it the appearance of still being wet fluid clay. I've gotten into the habit of using one of my yuzamashi (my avatar) to weigh and deliver precious leaf to the pot

Oh, thanks Victoria! I like your avatar. I'll have to do a search to see a bigger pic of it later on. This yuza measures in at 210ml, so it's a good size for this pot in particular. I pour almost 3/4 of way up and it fills the pot almost perfectly each time. From your pic, it almost does look like a tea scoop shape! Nice idea on the weighing utensil. Perhaps I'll do the same once I get that scale...

[Ferg]

I usually don't use them .. but I must say it is a lovely piece! Nice acquisition Ferg!

I used to pour the water from kettle into kyusu directly, but after Chip recommended first boiling the water and letting it cool down (rather than using my pre-set kettle temps, I cheat), it was taking too long. I then resorted to using my actual 100ml cup (gaiwan from Origin that has been repurposed) to cool the water. However, it wasn't enough water when poured into pot. Damn, now that I think about it, I hadn't even considered I was pouring water from used cup into the kyusu. Whoops! So this yuza is a good fix.

[victoria3]

Kyusu set_sm.jpg (64.78 KiB) Viewed 914 times

Beautiful piece ferg, the wheel thrown lines give it the appearance of still being wet fluid clay. I've gotten into the habit of using one of my yuzamashi (my avatar) to weigh and deliver precious leaf to the pot

Oh, thanks Victoria! I like your avatar. I'll have to do a search to see a bigger pic of it later on. This yuza measures in at 210ml, so it's a good size for this pot in particular. I pour almost 3/4 of way up and it fills the pot almost perfectly each time. From your pic, it almost does look like a tea scoop shape! Nice idea on the weighing utensil. Perhaps I'll do the same once I get that scale...

My yuzamashi is part of an antique Tokoname mogake set, the craftsman yet to be identified. I like how large yours is, mine is much smaller. The only other set I've seen like mine is owned by Hiro at Everyone's Tea, he got it from his grandfather. The white clay is very fine, very dense and very smooth. Expertly crafted.

IMG_1283.JPG (46.95 KiB) Viewed 914 times

[Ferg]

Beautiful set Victoria! Love the mogake against the white clay. The maker doesn't look familiar to me. Perhaps someone from the community can shed some insight or point you in the right direction to sources to find out. I do like the shape of your yuza! Nice and wide-brimmed for quicker cooling. Ok, off to Grandmother's house I go!

[William]

That kyusu is so lovely Victoria!
I really like the mogake effects on tea wares .. as well as on sake sets too!
Thanks for sharing with us!

[Bok]

And took a couple pictures of this yuzamashi by Gisui. This is actually my first yuza! Don't know why I waited so long to get one.

First Yuzamashi.jpg

Love the feel in the hand and the lines throughout.

Front Bill.jpg

And wouldn't be the same without a Gisui thumbprint, or two in the case of this yuza! I've come to endear the little personal touches.

Thumbprint.JPG

Makes me thinking of how hard I tried to get rid of exactly those fingerprints when doing my own pottery… haha

[Ferg]

Makes me thinking of how hard I tried to get rid of exactly those fingerprints when doing my own pottery… haha

Ha, sorry. The perfectionist in me objects to such things, but after holding in hand my feelings have changed!

[Bok]

Makes me thinking of how hard I tried to get rid of exactly those fingerprints when doing my own pottery… haha

Ha, sorry. The perfectionist in me objects to such things, but after holding in hand my feelings have changed!

It’s much harder to let go than to be perfectionist.

Perfectionism is just patience and hard work.

To let go you have to be so good at something that you do not care anymore about perfection
(not to be confused with being sloppy).

[jayinhk]

Bok, let's see some of your work!

[Ferg]

These new tools for brewing Japanese tea arrived this week. Thanks Jay for the recommendation of the Tanita. Made in Japan just seemed to be more fitting. I have used everything twice now, with great accuracy. Note to self, don't pick up glass filled with boiling water! A stick of cold butter, Grandpa's remedy, did the trick and took the burn away.

Japanese Tea Tools.jpg

[debunix]

These new tools for brewing Japanese tea arrived this week. Thanks Jay for the recommendation of the Tanita. Made in Japan just seemed to be more fitting. I have used everything twice now, with great accuracy. Note to self, don't pick up glass filled with boiling water! A stick of cold butter, Grandpa's remedy, did the trick and took the burn away.

Japanese Tea Tools.jpg

And you're set for lots of other things as well with tools like those: the thermometer is useful in determining when things are done baking/roasting, or when the oil is hot enough to fry things; and I pull out my scale from time to time when working with recipe ingredients on a smaller scale than my bigger scales can really measure accurately (spices, leavenings), and when dividing small packages of something (gelatin, onion soup mix, additives for aquarium water).

[victoria3]

These new tools for brewing Japanese tea arrived this week. Thanks Jay for the recommendation of the Tanita. Made in Japan just seemed to be more fitting. I have used everything twice now, with great accuracy. Note to self, don't pick up glass filled with boiling water! A stick of cold butter, Grandpa's remedy, did the trick and took the burn away.

Japanese Tea Tools.jpg

And you're set for lots of other things as well with tools like those: the thermometer is useful in determining when things are done baking/roasting, or when the oil is hot enough to fry things; and I pull out my scale from time to time when working with recipe ingredients on a smaller scale than my bigger scales can really measure accurately (spices, leavenings), and when dividing small packages of something (gelatin, onion soup mix, additives for aquarium water).

Yeah, now you are really set up for Japanese precision. Not sure how you are keeping notes, I recommend Evernote app or sim to log your steeping parameters. Does that meat thermometer stand up by itself when you're measuring temp. or do you have to hold it?

[debunix]

My Thermapen (different brand, same basic design) does not stand upright, but it does report temps in a flash. It would be nice for cooling water for a finicky tea if it did stand up...

And now for something different: gaiwan and cup by Shawn McGuire, tenmoku/iron red glazes, matching pieces that I don't share often enough. The gold drips in the bottom of the cups make every use feel like a special occasion, and the gaiwan's saucer is deep enough to hold hot water for long steeps like a miniature tea bowl:


170529 Morning Tea _DEB8479 by debunix, on Flickr


170529 Morning Tea _DEB8486 by debunix, on Flickr

They're worthy of the Fushoushan from the TC special buy last year, and it takes very few leaves to fill up this gem, so a little of the precious stuff goes a long way.

[Ferg]

These new tools for brewing Japanese tea arrived this week. Thanks Jay for the recommendation of the Tanita. Made in Japan just seemed to be more fitting. I have used everything twice now, with great accuracy. Note to self, don't pick up glass filled with boiling water! A stick of cold butter, Grandpa's remedy, did the trick and took the burn away.

Japanese Tea Tools.jpg

And you're set for lots of other things as well with tools like those: the thermometer is useful in determining when things are done baking/roasting, or when the oil is hot enough to fry things; and I pull out my scale from time to time when working with recipe ingredients on a smaller scale than my bigger scales can really measure accurately (spices, leavenings), and when dividing small packages of something (gelatin, onion soup mix, additives for aquarium water).

Yeah, now you are really set up for Japanese precision. Not sure how you are keeping notes, I recommend Evernote app or sim to log your steeping parameters. Does that meat thermometer stand up by itself when you're measuring temp. or do you have to hold it?

Hello debunix and Victoria! Thanks for the replies back. Good to know I can cross utilize the thermometer. Thank you for taking the time to describe other uses for it. I need to start cooking more too.

Unfortunately the thermometer does not stand up on it's own. It's the only item I wasn't crazy about from the go. I will check out the Thermapen. Which thermometer do you have Victoria?

I was mainly following other's notes on the '17 shincha kinari. Just experimenting before brewing the '16 side-by-side, as I only have so much of that one left. You'll have to give me advice on setting up for comparison. As in should I be brewing both at the same time in different vessels or according to the same parameters on back-to-back days. I don't think my computer or phone are the appropriate hardware to download the apps. Waiting it out for the iPhone 8 later this year which will allow me to use these.

Last, love the red on black pieces debunix. Beautiful pieces by Shawn! Looks like a lovely session with high quality leaves. Off to the family's for a cookout. Hope you both have a nice Memorial Day!

[victoria3]

Ferg from what debunix said your thermometer might be faster than mine, mine takes 12seconds to go from 74f to 178f. The thermometer I use is a Taylor Digital Thermometer -40 to 446F /-40 to 230C. I do like that I can leave it while I wait for a lower temp to be reached.
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