Ode to the Kyusu

[William]

Niiice pair!

[Alex]

Very nice shape on that pot. Looks super easy to handle. Enjoy it!

[z_lamp]

Not sure if this is the correct place to put this, but it is a question about kyusu. I have been using a small, modest tokoname pot I bought from Zenhodo with some gyokuro a while back. It wasn't the prettiest, but it was functional and not outright ugly in any way. This pot held about 140mL and can still be seen here (though not in stock): http://zenhodo.com/teaware/tokoname-kyusu-3-587
A few days ago I stupidly shattered the lid. I'm going to look into some food-grade silicone for repairs, but the lid is in enough pieces I think I might just have to buy another. I've been looking, but it seems very difficult to find something that will work for me. In order of importance, my requirements are:

-150mL or less. This is almost entirely nonnegotiable unless I find something very pretty that meets all the other criteria. I must be able to comfortably brew both gyokuro and sencha in this pot, as I did with the one from Zenhodo.

-No garish colors or designs. This means most of the nerikomi on AN is out, as is anything with painted flowers, bright colors, etc. I'd prefer gray, brown, black, or shudei. Things like mogake are perfectly okay too!

-Under $60 shipped. This is a soft limit, but I'm simply incapable of going much over 80 or 90.

-Fairly shapely. There's a small Gyokko kyusu that I saw mentioned a while back: http://www.sazentea.com/en/products/p65 ... kyusu.html
I think this pot is a bit ugly. It tapers off oddly on top; the knob on the lid is much too tall and thin. This is negotiable if I can't find anything else -- the Gyokko pot is probably my last resort.

Are there any kyusu out there like this? Another last resort would be the small version of the Maekawa Junzo kinsai pots people here have been buying lately. I don't want to go with this though, considering the expense and the volume.
Any help is greatly appreciated!

[pizzapotamus]

The "shape" bit is going to be highly subjective of course but on that site you had linked there are other small Gyokko pots that I at least find better looking(if not my favorite) such as http://www.sazentea.com/en/products/p64 ... kyusu.html and http://www.sazentea.com/en/products/p61 ... kyusu.html . I've not looked at what their shipping ends up being but the pots themselves are $40something.
Edit: There are also the small takasuke kiln pots over there, 130ml in black or ivory.

How about a Tachi Masaki pot? Either of the small ones at AN seems like a good fit http://www.artisticnippon.com/product/B ... index.html . Just the size you're looking for with normal shapes, and muted color. Unfortunately with shipping they're going to be about $90, the very top end of what you can spend but you'd end up with a very nice pot.

How much tea are you brewing? To me size seems like the easiest thing to compromise on and would expand your options greatly. In my experience the amount you can brew in a pot is quite flexible, I've no problem brewing 60ml or so of tea in a 240ml pot for example.

[z_lamp]

The "shape" bit is going to be highly subjective of course but on that site you had linked there are other small Gyokko pots that I at least find better looking(if not my favorite) such as http://www.sazentea.com/en/products/p64 ... kyusu.html and http://www.sazentea.com/en/products/p61 ... kyusu.html . I've not looked at what their shipping ends up being but the pots themselves are $40something.
Edit: There are also the small takasuke kiln pots over there, 130ml in black or ivory.

How about a Tachi Masaki pot? Either of the small ones at AN seems like a good fit http://www.artisticnippon.com/product/B ... index.html . Just the size you're looking for with normal shapes, and muted color. Unfortunately with shipping they're going to be about $90, the very top end of what you can spend but you'd end up with a very nice pot.

How much tea are you brewing? To me size seems like the easiest thing to compromise on and would expand your options greatly. In my experience the amount you can brew in a pot is quite flexible, I've no problem brewing 60ml or so of tea in a 240ml pot for example.

I'd be brewing 80mL for gyokuro, 112mL for sencha (I use a scale). I've tentatively gone with another gyokko pot on AN that is around 180mL. The extra space is probably going to be a little frustrating, but it looks reasonably okay and doesn't do anything else wrong. It's in this style: http://artisticnippon.com/product/tokon ... kanna.html
The bankoyaki pots look nice overall, but there's something about the tapered shape and the color I dislike (You're right, it is totally subjective).

[Alex]

Just bought this 240ml reduction nosaka. By Tozo.

tnr022OL 220ml.jpg (5.75 KiB) Viewed 1018 times

[William]

Looks nice! Congratulations my friend!

[debunix]

That will be lovely filled with green leaves....

[bryan_drinks_tea]

Ordered a new kyusu. Ushirode pot by Maekawa Junzo. From Artistic Nippon.

[hopeofdawn]

Very nice--I love the elegant curve to that pot.

[kyarazen]

Ordered a new kyusu. Ushirode pot by Maekawa Junzo. From Artistic Nippon.

excellent material! i got the gaiwan i would have grabbed this pot if it was smaller!

[bryan_drinks_tea]

Ordered a new kyusu. Ushirode pot by Maekawa Junzo. From Artistic Nippon.

excellent material! i got the gaiwan i would have grabbed this pot if it was smaller!

I'm really looking forward to this kyusu - I agree with you on the size, though, it's a bit big.

How does the clay perform for you?

[William]

Beautiful kyusu! Really elegant!

[Alex]

I got some more pics of that Kyusu. I'll see if I can dig them up. Really nice pot

Edit. Oh deleted them. I was close to buying it. Lovely pot enjoy!

[Alex]

Without going in to detail at this time it looks like the Shimizu Ken pots up on Hojo will be the last. Due to ill health. Thoughts and wishes to him and his family.