Would be nice to see some in their natural habitat.Great Idea Stentor!!! I know there are many photos in 'Show Off Your Pots', but all together in one spot just might work.Stentor wrote:Where's the "Ode to the Hohin" thread?
A houjin is a specialized kyusu, and a kyusu is simply a teapot. Although it is pretty common to simply refer to the side handle pot as kyusu since they are the most common.No problem. I use 7-8g of gyokuro and pour water to cover the leaves.Stentor wrote:With Gyokuro in tiny pots, isn't it a problem that the leaves expand after a few infusions considering the amount of leaf to be used with the traditional brewing method? I know it's supposed to be prepared in the smallest of tea pots but I was wondering about this.
I mean, isn't a 120 ml pot filled to the rim with wet expanded tea leaves after two steeps with 3 oz of water and about 6 g of tea (I've seen some vendors recommend 10 g of tea for 2 oz of water)?
You can easily find nice houhins on ebay (I bought seven of my houhins there, all of them with matching cups and yusamashi). Most of the time described as "sencha teasets" or "sencha tools"Stentor wrote: It seems a nice hohin is much harder to come by than a kyusu. I haven't really seen too many of them and I haven't found too many available for purchase online either.
I use a Hokujo shiboradashi for gyokuro that is 2.8 ounces. I use 1/2 tablespoon of leaf, which does expand significantly. However, the total volume of the two cups (combined) that came with the set is only 1.6 ounces. This is how much water I use, so there is always plenty of room in the shiboradashi for this volume of water even when the leaves have fully expanded.Stentor wrote:With Gyokuro in tiny pots, isn't it a problem that the leaves expand after a few infusions considering the amount of leaf to be used with the traditional brewing method? I know it's supposed to be prepared in the smallest of tea pots but I was wondering about this.
I mean, isn't a 120 ml pot filled to the rim with wet expanded tea leaves after two steeps with 3 oz of water and about 6 g of tea (I've seen some vendors recommend 10 g of tea for 2 oz of water)?
I was lucky enough to share some gyokuro with Toru at the AN shop and that was the same shiboridashi that he used.britt wrote: I use a Hokujo shiboradashi for gyokuro that is 2.8 ounces. I use 1/2 tablespoon of leaf, which does expand significantly. However, the total volume of the two cups (combined) that came with the set is only 1.6 ounces. This is how much water I use, so there is always plenty of room in the shiboradashi for this volume of water even when the leaves have fully expanded.
Toru of AN told me when I puchased this that it was built by Hokujo to the specifications supplied by a professional gyokuro buyer. I assume he accounted for the expansion when he submitted his design to Hokujo, based on the larger volume of the shiboradashi compared to the total volume of the two cups. Just a guess, but it does work well when used this way.
Great choice!exquisite wrote:The newest (and most beautiful) member of the family, the Teruyuki Isobe Gray Unryu, just arrived today from japanesehandcraft. (A piece that haunted my dreams for the last 2 weeks). Unglazed functional simplicity with a touch of zen design from an artist I deeply admire. 7.7 oz (230 ml) capacity so it will proudly brew only high-grade sencha. Sorry for the low-quality pics, hope I´ll have time for a detailed review very soon.
Or maybe people like us are too specific in what we need/like and consider functionality as a defining part of the aesthetics, and that´s a bit too minimalistic for others. I think the most impressive about this artists´ pots is the "perfect" balance between elegance, solidity and function. Its almost confusing to hold something in your hand that looks so fragile but feels so strong (well built).
