The one stop corn starch treatment topic!

[Chip]

Could you use other types of starch, such as tapioca, potato, or arrowroot? I have an amazing blue and brown glazed clay kyusu which has two cracks; one near the top which leaks profusely, but a smaller one near the base which is a slow leaker and am wondering if it could work. I only use it for whites and pouchong, as the opening is wide.
It would be incredible to find someone who did the gold fix.

I heard the Japanese will do a rice starch treatment. I guess other starches might work as well.

Good luck!

[Evan Draper]

Ah rats, I just found this thread. My wife has an ugly coffee mug that leaks. I was close to convincing her to throw it out, but now I see I have to fix it.

[Se7en8ight]

Hello hello

This forum has so much to offer... it's insane. Every topic I read makes me want to read more about other topics.

This cornstarch trick is really awesome. But should we be worried about bacterial growth? Starch breaks down quite easily and as it does wont the bacterial waste products affect the flavor of the Tea?


78

[Chip]

Has not killed me ... yet.

In the case of Hagi, so much tea and whatever else seeps into the cracks.

[Chip]

... the dreaded "chink" ... this time it is a Tokoname kyusu, brand new.

First use, I poured boiling water into a yuzamashi and then a few moments later ... into the kyusu to preheat it for sencha as I have done without thinking many thousands of times.

I was immediately greeted with a distinct chinking noise that likely lasted less than a second. But the deed was done, the clay sounds "dead" when tapped and it has a dripping leak.

I have continued to use it. The dripping almost stops completely when there are wet sencha leaves in it. I was hoping that maybe the fukamushi would clog it up, and it would stop leaking, period. But this has not happened.

There are no visible to the naked eye cracks.

So, I am contemplating the cornstarch treatment ...

[Fuut]

... the dreaded "chink" ... this time it is a Tokoname kyusu, brand new.

First use, I poured boiling water into a yuzamashi and then a few moments later ... into the kyusu to preheat it for sencha as I have done without thinking many thousands of times.

I was immediately greeted with a distinct chinking noise that likely lasted less than a second. But the deed was done, the clay sounds "dead" when tapped and it has a dripping leak.

I have continued to use it. The dripping almost stops completely when there are wet sencha leaves in it. I was hoping that maybe the fukamushi would clog it up, and it would stop leaking, period. But this has not happened.

There are no visible to the naked eye cracks.

So, I am contemplating the cornstarch treatment ...

Oh my god.. Please don't tell me nr1 is the subject in your tale

[Chip]

Oh my goodness, NO. It is not the Gisui kyusu.

It is a "tortoise" kyusu by Touju. Keep in mind, I have 3 others by Touju that have never had any problems.

They brew great sencha, pour perfectly, and have aesthetic charm. I would buy another ... just a fluke.

[Fuut]

Way to choose your words carefully

That would've been a sad sad moment. .

Not to say this wasn't sad, but especially the 'brand new' part let me wonder to the sop kyusu..

[Chip]

Way to choose your words carefully

That would've been a sad sad moment. .

Not to say this wasn't sad, but especially the 'brand new' part let me wonder to the sop kyusu..

Yeah, I would have been horrified, especially since it is likely not replaceable.

I found the crack. It is <2" (5cm). It runs under the spout. The bottom side actually heaves out a tiny bit. So the two sides of the crack do not match up exactly. This reduces the likelihood of success with a corn starch treatment ... it might still work ... but I am now thinking of a thin layer of clear food grade silicone. The location would not really be visible.

Truth is, while this is an artisan kyusu, the kyusu lacks a signature. And thus I got it pretty cheap. Not cheap enough to toss, but I was going to use it in a road set.