Why are teacups always so small?

[Geekgirl]

I have the singing cups from teamasters. They are nice. I use them frequently.

[Proinsias]

I guess it would be a lot easier to just use a fair cup, as you mention. That way just about any cups could be used without worrying about the pot size. It's weird that when brewing Japanese tea you use an extra vessel before brewing to cool the water and with Chinese tea you use an additional vessel after the brewing as a step between the pot and cups.

I'm making this up as I go along but thinking there's a lot more boiling, or close to boiling, water involved in the Chinese tradition than the Japanese one. Hence the Japanese have water coolers and the Chinese have steps which cool the tea. From what I gather in the Japanese tradition if everyone wants to taste the same tea they do so by passing around the same tea bowl, in the Chinese tradition they employ a faircup or some fancy pouring. Is there a traditional way to ensure everyone has a similar brew when pouring a few cups from the one pot in the Japanese tradition?

If the 4 ounce kyusu is the Gyoko pine bark one, I agree this is an awesome little kyusu. I usually avoid obi-ami filters, but I purchased this anyway and I am not disappointed.

Mine's has a sasame filter, I've never used an obi-ami filter. Here's a vendor pic:

I love it. My first proper, the other is glazed and is used for storing tea, kyusu and I'm in no rush to get another.

Sorry for going way offtopic in your thread Entropy

[britt]

Singing cups description here on Tea Masters blog, which also has a video of the cup being made to 'sing'.

He's more talented than I. No singing yet from mine!

[britt]

Is there a traditional way to ensure everyone has a similar brew when pouring a few cups from the one pot in the Japanese tradition?

If the 4 ounce kyusu is the Gyoko pine bark one, I agree this is an awesome little kyusu. I usually avoid obi-ami filters, but I purchased this anyway and I am not disappointed.

Mine's has a sasame filter, I've never used an obi-ami filter. Here's a vendor pic:

I love it.

Many Jpanese tea vendors emphasize pouring small amounts of tea into each cup, and repeating this many times so all cups taste the same.

I just checked Yuuki-cha and couldn't find your kyusu listed. It may be that the one I purchased replaced the original Gyoko if it was no longer available. Gyoko usually uses sasame filters even on small kyusu, so I don't know why mine has the obi-ami but I like it anyway, especially considering the reasonable price and the 3.9 ounce size.

http://www.yuuki-cha.com/popup_image.php?pID=132

[zen41]

OK, now for my second post. I tend to drink tea alone about 99.5% of the time (sencha),so I have a 5oz simple clay (non glazed) kyusu and my 5oz lightly glazed personal sencha cup that works perfect for my daily tea needs. I also have 2 other sencha cups and a 9 oz clay kyusu which I have used twice in two years for those rare (and I mean rare) guests who are into quality greens . Most of my friends are happy with a cup of lipton saving my wallet.

I personally do not like matching sets. Aesthetically I think sets are bland, but to each his/her own.

[Chip]

Hi Zen41. Wow, another Thailander. Between Malaysians and Thailanders, you guys should all host a satelite TC convention over there and invite us all over!

Since you mention sencha ... seems the better the sencha, the smaller the cups I choose tend to be. You can always add a glass pitcher to your mix and use it as a fair cup which I do often, did this morning actually.

Sets are OK, as long as I mix things up. So a set might get used once every 4 sessions. Then it is kind of cool using a set. But a lot of sets are just boring, not any I use however!

[Mrs. Chip]

Hi Zen41. Wow, another Thailander. Between Malaysians and Thailanders, you guys should all host a satelite TC convention over there and invite us all over!

+1 and Welcome to the forum!

[Herb_Master]

Hi Zen41. Wow, another Thailander. Between Malaysians and Thailanders, you guys should all host a satelite TC convention over there and invite us all over!

Any chance of holding the convention between Sept 8 and Sept 28 when I will be in Malaysia!

[entropyembrace]

*sighs* is still looking for a kyusu and teacup that are the same size and not too expensive (less than $80 USD...preferably more like $60) I was going to buy from O-cha but their large arita-yaki teacup sold before I had the tea-funds available.

yuuki-cha has a couple of small banko pots (120ml and 150ml) and teacups which are the same size but I´m a bit nervous ordering from them and I´d prefer a kyusu and teacup that are around 250 to 300ml each.

hmmmm Yuuki-Cha has some larger kyusus that are the same volume as a chawan roughly...and some pairs of kyusu and chawan that fit in my price range too...tempting.

Any other suggestions of where I could look or should I just keep watching the O-cha site like a hawk for another large teacup to appear? Yuuki-Cha is tempting...but Chip´s experience is making me nervous especially since I have no history with them.

btw I´m not totally against going for a chawan but they seem to be more expensive and in the case of ordering from O-cha I wouldn´t get the 10% off deal from the green tea starter set...

[Chip]

Hi Zen41. Wow, another Thailander. Between Malaysians and Thailanders, you guys should all host a satelite TC convention over there and invite us all over!

Any chance of holding the convention between Sept 8 and Sept 28 when I will be in Malaysia!

You can go in my stead ... enjoy! Remember the TC addage.

Pictures or it didn't happen ...

[britt]

*sighs* is still looking for a kyusu and teacup that are the same size and not too expensive (less than $80 USD...preferably more like $60) I was going to buy from O-cha but their large arita-yaki teacup sold before I had the tea-funds available.

yuuki-cha has a couple of small banko pots (120ml and 150ml) and teacups which are the same size but I´m a bit nervous ordering from them and I´d prefer a kyusu and teacup that are around 250 to 300ml each.

hmmmm Yuuki-Cha has some larger kyusus that are the same volume as a chawan roughly...and some pairs of kyusu and chawan that fit in my price range too...tempting.

Any other suggestions of where I could look or should I just keep watching the O-cha site like a hawk for another large teacup to appear? Yuuki-Cha is tempting...but Chip´s experience is making me nervous especially since I have no history with them.

btw I´m not totally against going for a chawan but they seem to be more expensive and in the case of ordering from O-cha I wouldn´t get the 10% off deal from the green tea starter set...

For Chinese tea and the related, notoriously small cups used for this style, I took the advice of another forum member and purchased a fair cup. I actually purchased a whole set with gaiwan, fair cup, and six 2 ounce cups. Worked so well that I purchased a fair cup to use with my Yixings as I was seriously limited in the Chinese teacup department. I would refuse to buy the tiny cups because many of my pots were much larger than even a pair of cups. I had passed by many very nice Taiwanese cups because of their small size. Now I don't worry about it. If I like the small cups I buy them and use the fair pitcher.

I don't try to visually or volume match Japanese teaware when I use it. I just use a kyusu and cup or cups that I enjoy using together. If the cup is smaller, I fill the kyusu two thirds or so full. If the cup is larger, it gets filled only half-way or so. Looks may be a part of how I choose what I use together, but so is the overall feeling when actually drinking the tea. I wouldn't normally use porcelain cups with a Bizen kyusu because to me it wouldn't feel like a natural combination.

As an example of non-matching Japanese teaware, I have a set of five tenmoku teacups by Koji Kamada. This was a very expensive set, and do you know what? None of the cups match. Each has a different Tenmoku glaze. Two are more modern, two are more traditional, and one is celadon which is quite different from all the others. I enjoy using these in various combinations and wouldn't want it any other way. The artist does make matched sets, but I preferred the variety. This can be an aquired taste.

Cool Japan, now a separate site from CD Japan, has quite a variety of kyusu and cups, including the very popular kyusus by Gyokko. The Gyokko range in size from three to ten ounces and are very reasonably priced. Most have the sasame clay filter, which I prefer. They have decent kyusu from many other artists as well, along with some mass-produced ones. I haven't yet received my first order from them, but I was impressed with their selection. You may want to check them out. There's seventeen pages of teaware; have fun!

http://cooljapannow.jp/list.html?c2_id=205005

[entropyembrace]

Japanese teaware problem solved!

I placed an order with O-cha for a chawan and kyusu...

https://www.o-cha.com/japanese-teapot.html

https://www.o-cha.com/shino-matcha-bowl.html

[debunix]

Pretty pretty pretty.

BTW, I have to note that my new TC TA SO teacup by shyrabbit is PERFECTLY matched to the size of my small gaiwans.

so very very nice to have that perfect mesh of sizes.