I'm thinking of getting a kyusu for hojicha. Is there a handful of places that people like to get them from? And how expensive are they? I'm seeing a lot of 20-60 dollar pots on amazon and ebay, but I'm not sure I trust amazon for teaware, and with Ebay most of the pots are used.
Also what is the typical size of a kyusu? I see a lot of 300+ ml pots and that seems pretty big. Are kyusu pots usually bigger?
Sep 23rd, '13, 14:16
Posts: 852
Joined: Mar 4th, '10, 22:07
Location: somewhere over the rainbow
Re: Kyusu
Kyusu are usually around 150-300mL. They can vary in size quite a bit. Sometimes people get them bigger for sharing and commercial-grade tea; sometimes smaller for higher-quality sencha and gyokuro. Personally I prefer < 150mL for most of my sencha.
Popular places for teachat members to purchase kyusu are: You can find reasonable kyusu for anywhere from $20 to $200 (or even higher if you're a high roller) stateside. I bought a nice factory-made kyusu for around US $10 when I was in Kyoto. It would be a perfect choice for Hojicha; it's a little more than 250mL in volume.
Popular places for teachat members to purchase kyusu are: You can find reasonable kyusu for anywhere from $20 to $200 (or even higher if you're a high roller) stateside. I bought a nice factory-made kyusu for around US $10 when I was in Kyoto. It would be a perfect choice for Hojicha; it's a little more than 250mL in volume.
Re: Kyusu
One issue with houjica is that the aroma may affect your ability to use the tea for Sencha. My first Kyusu purchase was the Shincha pot from Dens tea, which is also a good source for houjica. It's larger than my other Kyusu, so good for teas that aren't steeped more than once or twice. I reserve it for houjica and Genmai Cha, and use my tokoname pots foe Sencha and Karigane.
I second Poohblah's mention of Artistic Nippon. I'm brewing Sencha in my 75ml Kenji Nerikomi pot that I purchased from AN a few months ago. Good pots, good prices and very personal service.
I second Poohblah's mention of Artistic Nippon. I'm brewing Sencha in my 75ml Kenji Nerikomi pot that I purchased from AN a few months ago. Good pots, good prices and very personal service.
Re: Kyusu
To be honest I'm not really a green person anymore. I drifted into oolongs and the longer I stay in that category the darker / more roasted I tend to go. Would it even be worth it to get a kyusu just for hojicha? I've already got a yixing and a gaiwain, it's just that the site I was at showed hojicha being brewed in a kyusu.JRS22 wrote:One issue with houjica is that the aroma may affect your ability to use the tea for Sencha. My first Kyusu purchase was the Shincha pot from Dens tea, which is also a good source for houjica. It's larger than my other Kyusu, so good for teas that aren't steeped more than once or twice. I reserve it for houjica and Genmai Cha, and use my tokoname pots foe Sencha and Karigane.
I second Poohblah's mention of Artistic Nippon. I'm brewing Sencha in my 75ml Kenji Nerikomi pot that I purchased from AN a few months ago. Good pots, good prices and very personal service.
Re: Kyusu
How does this happen? I just found myself on the Artistic Nippon website looking at pots. Fore more information see the thread on TAD.
Another reputable vendor that carries some less expensive pots suitable for houjica is O-Cha, which is also an excellent source for tea.
Another reputable vendor that carries some less expensive pots suitable for houjica is O-Cha, which is also an excellent source for tea.
Sep 23rd, '13, 14:43
Posts: 852
Joined: Mar 4th, '10, 22:07
Location: somewhere over the rainbow
Re: Kyusu
Uh, it's worth buying a kyusu just to own a kyusu.mageta wrote:To be honest I'm not really a green person anymore. I drifted into oolongs and the longer I stay in that category the darker / more roasted I tend to go. Would it even be worth it to get a kyusu just for hojicha? I've already got a yixing and a gaiwain, it's just that the site I was at showed hojicha being brewed in a kyusu.JRS22 wrote:One issue with houjica is that the aroma may affect your ability to use the tea for Sencha. My first Kyusu purchase was the Shincha pot from Dens tea, which is also a good source for houjica. It's larger than my other Kyusu, so good for teas that aren't steeped more than once or twice. I reserve it for houjica and Genmai Cha, and use my tokoname pots foe Sencha and Karigane.
I second Poohblah's mention of Artistic Nippon. I'm brewing Sencha in my 75ml Kenji Nerikomi pot that I purchased from AN a few months ago. Good pots, good prices and very personal service.
I think a glazed kyusu of reasonable size (200mL ish? depending on your personal preference) is worth keeping around because you can use it to quickly brew just about anything. The Den's blue kyusu is popular for that purpose. I don't own one though. IIRC it's < $20 and it's supposedly a decent deal.
Re: Kyusu
Better yet, go with this: http://www.denstea.com/teapots-cups-shu ... 5_379.html
I've been using one of these for houjicha, genmaicha, iribancha, etc. for years...and the price is right.
I've been using one of these for houjicha, genmaicha, iribancha, etc. for years...and the price is right.
Re: Kyusu
I actually own both of those Den's Kyusus as my only two kyusus, and I'm thinking about adding a nice one to my collection. They're great, but I think I'm ready to step up to something a bit more refined. I'm going to save my pennies until I can afford either one of those rugged hagi pieces on Artistic Nippon or a Shigaraki unglazed one from Hojo. I was hoping for a TeaSwap or SO to come around this summer, but my birthday is coming up in a few weeks and I've been really good lately.... 