HAGI SO #3 Deishi Gyokuro Pieces

[woozl]

I feel chilly..

[Chip]

OMG, these are ummm, adorable pieces! The Houjin is my 2nd smallest, but still smaller than I expected. The Yuzamashi seemed right in line size wise. The cups, well, that is well documented. Overall, smaller than my other Hagi Gyokuro set.

I am quite smitten with the pieces. Decided to break it in right away after a brief soak in hot water, brewed up Gyokuro Sui Mei from Den's with DW. I am glad I got 5 cups. With fewer cups, you might have to use some kind of "fair cup" or maybe the Yuzamashi.

I would have to say this set would be used for very high quality gyokuro, and brewed STRONG and RICH!!!

If you "have to have more cups," let me know and I will see if they can be reordered ... again. Heh, the very original cup order was 10, then 30, then 40 ...

[woozl]

Chip,
How many .ml is the yuzamashi?

[Herb_Master]

Ok Chip - now that YOU have the cups what do you think

"Does it slow down your drinking speed, yet increase the enjoyment, by allowing one to concentrate more on the contents!" or was I imagining that?

[horsencl]

Mine haven't arrived yet but I was wondering if anyone could suggest a place for purchasing gyokuro. I don't need super high grade stuff just something decent and not too expensive.

[Chip]

Chip,
How many .ml is the yuzamashi?

Ok Chip - now that YOU have the cups what do you think. "Does it slow down your drinking speed, yet increase the enjoyment, by allowing one to concentrate more on the contents!" or was I imagining that?

I will try to answer this somewhat together. When I view this "set" I think of gyokuro the way many Japanese like to enjoy it, veryyy rich, strong, concentrated which can be done with a pretty high grade Gyokuro. I will be anxious to try the O-Cha Kame in this!!!

So thus, this is a small set. Crappy tea in these cups would be a waste of time, but most excellent tea would be most excellent. I would agree, Herb in that this does command attention.

TBH, I will cheat from time to time when using this set, I will use some small white Deishi Guinomi that tbh I orginally purchsed to use with a Deishi Houjin when I finally got one (8 months later, I finally have one. ). This will be more casual. But I will definitely use these cups when I am using this set to brew a super premo Gyokuro like Kame!

The Yuzamashi "practically holds" 80-90ish ml. Could hold more but it would get awkward and HOT. The Houjin holds 60-80 ml, practically speaking. I happened to use all 5 cups btw, and it worked perfectly filling the houjin, filling the cups, then pouring into the Yuzamashi. By this time, the water was almost cool enough.

[Chip]

Mine haven't arrived yet but I was wondering if anyone could suggest a place for purchasing gyokuro. I don't need super high grade stuff just something decent and not too expensive.

O-Cha has a bunch of price points, and they are all pretty good to excellent. Do yourself a favor, buy a 50 gram bag of the Kame for 27.95 (I think), you will be stunned by its richness. This one makes you sit down. (KBG ... knee buckling goood)

TBH, I have had some realllly bad inexpensive gyokuro that I had to designate for cold brewing and blending.

[Buzz Fledderjohn]

Mine haven't arrived yet but I was wondering if anyone could suggest a place for purchasing gyokuro. I don't need super high grade stuff just something decent and not too expensive.

Since you are right in Bayonne, you might want to try some gyokuro from Ito En. They're right in NY so shipping to NJ is super cheap. I have some of their Yame gyokuro and it's pretty damn good.

[Herb_Master]

I have used one of my thimbles - oops - cups, for drinking Dan Cong, about a dozen sessions now!

It has developed a goodly number of cracks.

Aesthetically speaking, should I rotate the cups that I use, so that all develop similar crazing?

I kind of like the idea of keeping 1 in pristine condition, for a while at least, to demonstrate the before and after.

Am I now best advised to dedicate the cups to Dan Cong.

Does the hotter temperature of an Oolong precipitate faster crackling of a hagi glaze? mmmn If it did presumably the water cooler would show more cracks than the other items

[Chip]

I have used one of my thimbles - oops - cups, for drinking Dan Cong, about a dozen sessions now!

It has developed a goodly number of cracks.

Aesthetically speaking, should I rotate the cups that I use, so that all develop similar crazing?

I kind of like the idea of keeping 1 in pristine condition, for a while at least, to demonstrate the before and after.

Am I now best advised to dedicate the cups to Dan Cong.

Does the hotter temperature of an Oolong precipitate faster crackling of a hagi glaze? mmmn If it did presumably the water cooler would show more cracks than the other items

Good report and questions. The darker the tea, the more the cracks will show and faster as well.

I have wondered about the hotter temp and crackling the glaze. I generally dip my Hagi in pretty hot water in order to slow the staining process prior to use and have wondered if this may be counterproductive as it may hasten the crackling.

I don't think there is a one rule suits all, depends on the glaze and possibly even the clay.

Regarding dedicating Hagi to a tea like Dan Cong. I would think that given the porous nature of Hagi, a case could be made for some sort of dedication to "types" of tea.

And certainly rotating cups would even the aging. If you have enough, you can save one in pristine condition.

These are all covered by the IMHO disclaimer.

[Tead Off]

I would also imagine that cleaning Hagi with soap and water would leave a residue. What is the preferred way of cleaning Hagi?

[Chip]

Just hot water and a soft towel for me ... and tea should not be left to stand in a Hagi for extended periods of time, like overnight.

I usually dip in hot water, rub the bottom with my thumb if I need to dislodge anything, rerinse and lightly dry.

It is important to leave a used Hagi out for up to a week before packing away in order to allow the inner clay to fully dry.

[Chip]

I have received several requests for more gyokuro cups. Please let me know if you are interested. I should have earnest interest in at least 10 cups.

Shipping could be combined with a future TC Hagi Special Offer(s), see new topic.

[Tead Off]

What would be the dimensions and capacity of the gyokuro cups?

[Chip]

What would be the dimensions and capacity of the gyokuro cups?

SMALL.
Deishi Gyokuro Cups.
Size: H 1.2-1.35" X W 1.6-2"
Capacity on a good day, 15 ml. +/-
Obviously size varies.

OH, if interested, minimum order of 2.