I'd eyed up this kyusu for some time but always knew that it wasn't going to be quite worth the price for what it was. However I really wanted this size and shape so I knew the time would come to order one....and it did
Ippodo are great so I won't review the transaction but just to say it was perfect.
First thing that struck me when opening the box was this lovely smell of aromatic burnt wood. I don't know if that's what it smells like in their shop, but if it does then I really want to go there.
Now on to the kyusu.
As soon as I lifted the lid off the kyusu it chimed in that fine way that high end porcelain does. Which for the price I expected. First thing I noticed which was nice was the direct filter, which looked like on 5 holes on their website but was actually 9 (see picture below)
The spout has a sharp finished edge and the pour is decent for this sort of spout shape. The finish is perfect with not a single blemish or scratch, and the base is perfectly flat with zero wobble. The knob on the lid is lovely to grip and the feel in the hand is excellent for a kyusu of this size, the handle for instance fits my hand far better then my 200ml hojo pot. For reference I measured to the rim and its just shy of 140ml so a 120ml serving size as listed on the site seems in keeping.
Regarding the price it would have seemed more reasonable to me for it to be 25% cheaper but I would re-buy in an instant as its just what me and the wife wanted to brew various teas in.
The filter performs great. There's a cup it poured of Asu sencha in the pictures below. That was poured in about 3 seconds or less. Tasted amazing but doesn't all tea brewed in lovely new teaware?
I hope this review was of interest to some. Here's the pics
