brianlavelle wrote:The kyusu I'm favouring at the moment is probably around 250ml, but I normally fill to around the 180ml mark which gives a decent cup of green tea, or two smaller cups.
In fact, on checking the site where I bought it just now, it's reportedly 300ml but that can't be right. I suspect there's a bit of give-and-take in the descriptions!
With sencha I find that partially filling the kyusu seems to produce better tea but I don't know why. As far as leaf stuck to the filter, I only use sasame filters which are usually quite small and confined to the spout opening, where some metal screens cover almost the whole pot. With the sasame filters, I fill the kyusu so the water at least covers the filter. This eliminates the sticking problem but still leaves plenty of room between the water and the lid.
I've noticed that volume ratings of kyusu are often very different than what I measure:
1. The volume difference between multiples of the same kyusu can vary an ounce or more depending on the shrinkage of the clay. This depends on the processing of the clay, where the particular pot is placed in the kiln, and I'm sure there are other factors involved as well.
2. For some reason, I find that quite a few Japanese vendors seem to use a conversion from cc or ml that doesn't agree with mine.
3. Some Japanese vendors intentionally rate volume only to the top of the filter, making me believe they also feel that green tea is better brewed when there is empty space left in the kyusu.
