Can someone please help me with this kyusu?

[iovetea]

i like this teapot really much but can anyone tell me why this is so expensive? http://prostores4.megawebservers.com/ke ... Detail.bok

well this kyusu i saw similar once for half the price, only not that pretty. you think there is a reason why its so much more expensive??? were the other fake or is this one just overpriced???

well i had a good kyusu but i am now sick for 2 weeks and i thought well maybe its better to change it just in case.

ps yes of course it nots that pretty but i wanted to try unglazed and i somehow like it, for me its important that i don't hate the looks of my teapot you know...

[AdamMY]

It is a nice looking kyusu, though that site seems a bit lacking in detailed photos. $80 is not super high priced for a kyusu, but that site does not mention the things I would want to know before I spend that much on the kyusu, things such as: artist, and what type of strainer.

Fake likely is not an issue, unless of course they are advertising it as being by a certain artist, and it is not. I would say 99% of potters want their pieces to be used, and as such would not intentionally add anything harmful into their clay. Though the difference in price could have been the how well the potter is known.

I can not really be of more help than that. If you think your old Kyusu is suspect you could try submerging it in water and slowly bring it up to a boil, but do not let it knock around inside the pot, or else it might break.

[Chip]

+1

I purchased this exact pot from Keiko at the World Tea Expo a few years ago for 45 USD. It is quite nice, but I would not pay 79.50 USD for it, it is not artisan, just a nice mass produced kyusu. The clay is very nice. It is well made, nothing "cheap" about it, per se.

It has a stainless steel screen, BTW.

[iovetea]

thanks for the answers.

ps yes i know the pot is probably perfectly fine I'm just curious if i might have allergic reaction to anything in that kind of clay, from the taste its a really good pot.

[JRS22]

If you're concerned about an allergic reaction to the pot then consider a glass or porcelain or glazed pot that won't react with the tea. An inexpensive one like the $19 glazed pot from Dens tea is always good to have around even if you end up ruling out the pot as the culprit.

[iannon]

If you're concerned about an allergic reaction to the pot then consider a glass or porcelain or glazed pot that won't react with the tea. An inexpensive one like the $19 glazed pot from Dens tea is always good to have around even if you end up ruling out the pot as the culprit.

+1. And you can use it as your "cheap" travel Kyusu as well which is what I do

[Poohblah]

If you're concerned about an allergic reaction to the pot then consider a glass or porcelain or glazed pot that won't react with the tea. An inexpensive one like the $19 glazed pot from Dens tea is always good to have around even if you end up ruling out the pot as the culprit.

This one? http://www.denstea.com/teapots-cups-shi ... 5_327.html I like it; I might get it as a universal pot for everything from white to black to non-tea. Zencha has some glazed Hagi wares that look nice for this purpose as well.

[JRS22]

That's the pot I was thinking of. I 'graduated' to a smaller kyusu for sencha so now I use this pot for genmaicha and houjicha. One advantage of this pot is that if it sits in the back of the closet and only comes out for occasional use you haven't invested much money in it.