How to easily tell if a teapot is glazed ?

[kikula]

The only taiwan I use regularly is the tiny green one I purchased from Shawn at Greenwood pottery. It's not the tradition shape - it's wide relative to it's height, and relatively easy to hold in a stable fashion. But why did I say inexpensive when my tea cabinet is filled with artisan tea ware?

Unless Shawn was making gaiwans before I discovered him, that little green thing is a shiboridashi. Very much nicer to use than a gaiwan, IMHO, as it has a wee spout. I use my Greenwood shib a lot (I have one of the larger ones, red clay, really pretty, too).

Definitely a gaiwan. I bought 2 last winter but unfortunately broke the cup of the larger one while clearing the table.

Aha! I'm a Shawn newcomer and stand corrected. That's a really beautiful gaiwan style!

[JRS22]

Thank you all for your inputs so far.

I might wait to see if there's a sale on thanksgiving then , good to know.

The Shincha pot is regular price but the Sakura pot, which is glazed porcelain, is reduced to $22.75 for the weekend. A smaller thinner pot could be better for delicate green teas.

[Dwarefy]

Thank you all for your inputs so far.

I might wait to see if there's a sale on thanksgiving then , good to know.

The Shincha pot is regular price but the Sakura pot, which is glazed porcelain, is reduced to $22.75 for the weekend. A smaller thinner pot could be better for delicate green teas.

Yeah I just received the email about the sale !

Are those the only two you know that are glazed ? Any from those on sale ?
Banko Oribe looks glazed to me, maybe Banko Ouyu too ?

[Devoted135]

Are those the only two you know that are glazed ? Any from those on sale ?
Banko Oribe looks glazed to me, maybe Banko Ouyu too ?

The Banko Hiramatsu pot that I have from Den's is not glazed (inside or outside), so judging from that I doubt either of the pots you mention are glazed on the inside either. However, it might be worth an email to their customer service just to check.

[Dwarefy]

Are those the only two you know that are glazed ? Any from those on sale ?
Banko Oribe looks glazed to me, maybe Banko Ouyu too ?

The Banko Hiramatsu pot that I have from Den's is not glazed (inside or outside), so judging from that I doubt either of the pots you mention are glazed on the inside either. However, it might be worth an email to their customer service just to check.

Damn, it never occurred to me to do so , I just sent an email haha...

It would be the best way to know for sure.

[JRS22]

Thank you all for your inputs so far.

I might wait to see if there's a sale on thanksgiving then , good to know.

The Shincha pot is regular price but the Sakura pot, which is glazed porcelain, is reduced to $22.75 for the weekend. A smaller thinner pot could be better for delicate green teas.

Yeah I just received the email about the sale !

Are those the only two you know that are glazed ? Any from those on sale ?
Banko Oribe looks glazed to me, maybe Banko Ouyu too ?

The Sakura pot is glazed and is on sale.

[yalokinh]

ah gaiwans can be really tricky to use, but there are ways you can use to keep your fingers from burning. I recently got a gaiwan from Petr Novak that is absolutely fool proof. I'll put up pictures whenever I have time.

I found the magic trick to lie in the saucer of the gaiwan, people don't like to use it, and that's usually why they get burned.

another good idea is to always keep the gaiwan moving when pouring out boiling water to keep the steam from making too much contact on the palm of your hand. I find a moderate vertical up and down motion to keep the palm cool. Maybe I'll make a video if I can figure that out.

[Dwarefy]

From Den himself:

All of our Japanese Kyusu teapots are glazed, even though it looks matte
or unglazed on the website.

And now everyone knows.
Thought I'd share this if anyone ever look at this thread and wonder !

[Devoted135]

I'm very surprised to hear this, my kyusu certainly looks and feels unglazed on the inside.



With no leaves, and bone dry (unused for about one month).

[teaskeptic]

All my tea (now) comes from teatrekker.com which offers reasonable shipping to Canada (reasonable = 30$ and using USPS (UPS are ran by very greedy men)) and at the time was recommended for their freshness and quality.

Slightly off topic, but I wouldn't call $30 for shipping reasonable. I think almost any other vendor will have cheaper shipping than that, even to Canada.

[JRS22]

From Den himself:

All of our Japanese Kyusu teapots are glazed, even though it looks matte
or unglazed on the website.

And now everyone knows.
Thought I'd share this if anyone ever look at this thread and wonder !

Then apparently the answer to your original question is "ask the vendor" because looking at the photos isn't an accurate way to gather this information!

[Dwarefy]

Slightly off topic, but I wouldn't call $30 for shipping reasonable. I think almost any other vendor will have cheaper shipping than that, even to Canada.

By looking at USPS's website, an estimate for 5 pounds (my last package) shipped with priority is 35$ give or take. So it's at least on cost.

Sure I've seen better (Den's is 7 or 10$ or free if I spend enough (according to the site I have yet to order)) but unless teatrekker have some business deal with usps and willingly raise their shipping for profit I'm ok with it.

I ordered from enjoyingtea last week (tins) and it's pretty much the same, a few dollars less. They'll also ship first class instead of priority so you'll pay less under 4 pounds. I did a quick test and once I hit the 5 pounds mark it's 28$. Trekker only use Priority so minimum is 29$ from there it doesn't change much how many teas you purchase.

All of this to see it's what I'm used to and it's what I expect when ordering from the US.

Amazon.com wants 19$ + 17$ deposit (mostly taxes) to ship 4 dvds to me.
(I thought this could be seen as a good example considering how big they are)

If I'm lucky (often it seems) USPS won't charge me taxes. In this case Den's tea really looks like the exception rather than the norm, I'd love to be proven wrong however.

[Dwarefy]

I'm very surprised to hear this, my kyusu certainly looks and feels unglazed on the inside.

Or maybe they used to ? I don't recognize yours from those currently offered.

Reason for editing: messed up who posted what, thanks JRS22

[JRS22]

From Den himself:

All of our Japanese Kyusu teapots are glazed, even though it looks matte
or unglazed on the website.

And now everyone knows.
Thought I'd share this if anyone ever look at this thread and wonder !

Then apparently the answer to your original question is "ask the vendor" because looking at the photos isn't an accurate way to gather this information!

Or maybe they used to ? I don't recognize yours from those currently offered.

Devoted135 is the one who posted photos of a pot. I own the shiny glazed Shincha pot.

[chamekke]

Slightly off topic, but I wouldn't call $30 for shipping reasonable. I think almost any other vendor will have cheaper shipping than that, even to Canada.

By looking at USPS's website, an estimate for 5 pounds (my last package) shipped with priority is 35$ give or take. So it's at least on cost.

*nods* I can't speak to TeaTrekker's rates, but the USPS prices for shipping to Canada took a big jump last year when postage rates went up across the board. I order much less frequently from the United States these days because so many smaller items cost more to ship here than they do to purchase; it often makes sense only to order things in bulk. Also, many sellers are refusing to ship via any method other than International Priority - including Adagio Teas, for instance - because Priority is trackable and First Class International isn't.

Incidentally, UPS has a bad name with many Canadian customers because of its ridiculous cross-border brokerage fees, which again are often more expensive than the items being cleared. At least this isn't an issue when items are shipped via USPS/Canada Post.