Kyusu Recomendations

[beachape]

Sadly, I just broke my den's yutori teapot. I was washing it and I knocked it pretty hard against the sink...

On the bright side, I am now in the market for a new teapot. I'm looking for a simple design kyusu with a sasame filter. Size about 8-10oz. Looking to spend $50 or less including shipping.

The only one I've seen that I've liked so far was this:
http://www.artisticnippon.com/product/t ... amaru.html

I've looked around at artisticnippon, den's, hibiki-an, yuuki-cha, o-cha, and zencha. Are there any places I missed that are relatively easy (not going for the tokoname catalog)?
Thanks!

[Geekgirl]

Tokoname catalog is not hard if you're willing to do a few emails back and forth. That would be my suggestion, especially for your price range. The other suggestion would be Rishi's kikumaru for a bit above your budget, or the fukugata for a bit below including the shipping.

[Chip]

That is a nice one ... I had looked at it awhile ago. Nice and simple yet has panache.

That is a pretty good list. There are others, but most other vendors have one issue or another. I would add Rishi to the list. A lot of members own the Kikumaru including yours truly http://www.rishi-tea.com/store/kikumaru.html

EDIT: heh, Geek beat me to it, but the Kikumaru would cost less than the one from AN.

[tingjunkie]

FWIW, I think you've already picked out the sexiest one around in that price range. Back when I was thinking of buying a good kyusu, I did a ton of looking, and the Masahito was the one I would have gone with. Turns out, I'm more into Chinese teas lately, and have been filtering my money into a blossoming Yixing habit.

[Tead Off]

Sadly, I just broke my den's yutori teapot. I was washing it and I knocked it pretty hard against the sink...

On the bright side, I am now in the market for a new teapot. I'm looking for a simple design kyusu with a sasame filter. Size about 8-10oz. Looking to spend $50 or less including shipping.

The only one I've seen that I've liked so far was this:
http://www.artisticnippon.com/product/t ... amaru.html

I've looked around at artisticnippon, den's, hibiki-an, yuuki-cha, o-cha, and zencha. Are there any places I missed that are relatively easy (not going for the tokoname catalog)?
Thanks!

May I ask why you choose such a big pot? Do you often drink with a lot of friends? What kind of tea do you normally drink?

[beachape]

I have a smaller kyusu for small brews, but sometimes I enjoy a larger cup and sometimes I will share. So don't worry I won't go without tea today.

Thanks for recommending rishi, the Kikumaru looks cool. I like the Artistic Nippon one only a little more, but I only wish shipping wasn't so much...

[AdamMY]

May I ask why you choose such a big pot? Do you often drink with a lot of friends? What kind of tea do you normally drink?

I think if you use the Kyusu to brew Sencha with the size of a lot of these Japanese cups I have been seeing 11 ounces is 2 cups filled to the top or 4 half full.

I do not find my 11 ounce kyusu to be large at all, though I find it funny because I consider my 120ml yixings to be on the large size for gongfu like brewing.

[beachape]

Forgot to mention I will be using it for sencha.

Sometimes you need a smaller pot, sometimes you don't. I think the reason I'm looking for a larger pot is because I drink a lot of less expensive sencha these days. I usually save my smaller pot for the good stuff. Otherwise I find that I need to refill too often, ha. I also think it is important to have your pot match your cup size, and I've got some cups that would work nicely in the 8-10oz range.

For chinese teas I've got some tiny pots, but now I use the largest one (maybe 6oz) most frequently because I've been drinking cheap shu. I just don't have time to use the smaller ones. That doesn't mean I like them any less

[ummaya]

The only one I've seen that I've liked so far was this:
http://www.artisticnippon.com/product/t ... amaru.html

Great Kyusu ! I purchased one of these 5 months ago after I broke my first Kyusu; the real thing is more beautiful than in the pic and it is a pleasure to handle it. Sadly I also dropped it into the sink while washing it 2 weeks ago: total lost. As soon as I can I'll order a new one. Go for it.

[Chip]

Coincidentally I was going to mention that Beachape will have to be a LOT more careful with this Kyusu versus the Sherman Tank version from Den's that I thought was bomb proof til reading this topic.

All it takes is a slight ding in the wrong place ... like the spout tip and the handle.

But this will also bring focus in the brewing ...

[beachape]

Ha, I thought that thing was bomb proof too. I'd dropped it a few times in the sink without any trouble. I was washing it with soap and it gets so slippery. With a non porcelain kyusu I won't use soap which will help, but I've still got to watch out.

[Intuit]

Try a gentle scrubbing using a ScotchBrite pad with hot water. No soap needed to remove tea stains/residue.