Ready to buy a kyusu and need help making a decision

[JRS22]

After reading all the posts about kyusus for sencha and gyokuro I tried an experiment. I usually brew the tea in a pot that I made that is probably too large and a bit leaky. It's fine for houjica, genmai cha, etc. but I suspect that it's lacking in the sencha/gyokuro department.

I have a 12 oz cup with a large strainer basket and a tight lid that I usually use for rooibos and chinese greens. I made a double cup of gyokuro in it and it was way better than the same tea made in the other pot (same ratio of leaf to water, same time, same water temp). The strainer basket doesn't reach low enough in the cup to brew a small cup of tea.

Now I'm thinking that I should buy a kyusu so I don't have to make double cups. I really like the $19 shincha from Den's - inexpensive and pretty - and I'm trying to figure out if spending more to get an unglazed pot is worth it. Some people seem to think that those pots reduce bitterness in a way that a glazed pot can't.

Advice please,
Janice

[Chip]

The Shincha Kyusu from Den's is a fully functional unit, priced entry level. If I compare it side by side to superior kyusu, the differences become obvious. But it brews very well and pours super fast with a 360 degree screen all around the inside.

It is heavy, the lid is not perfectly fitted to the pot opening (it jingles and does not form a vacuum when pouring like better units), it won't perform kyusu tricks like standing "one handed" on its handle only, but at the end of the day, it brews good tea. Just depends on what you want.

Unglazed verses glazed is not a completely black and white issue IMHO. I have both and see advantages to both and disadvantages as well.

[Pentox]

I've got the shincha kyusu as well, but if I were to buy another kyusu in that range I would have gone for the kokoro or the yutori instead. I'm not a big fan of the color of the shincha.

But yes, functionally quite a good pot for the price.

[Cinnamon Kitty]

I have Den's yutori. I absolutely love it. The lid seals very well and even passes the finger on the vent hole on the lid and nothing comes out the spout test. It was a great first kyusu for me. Currently, I've been using a smaller 5oz kyusu for sencha, but the yutori gets used for everything else except for flavored teas. I would say to start with one of the Den's kyusus and then if you find an unglazed kyusu later, you will still have a very sturdy, awesome pot for a very good price.

[Space Samurai]

If its ever in stock, I always reccomend this one: https://www.rishi-tea.com/store/fukugata.html But its never in stock.

[phantom9309]

After some extensive research and browsing I finally ordered my first tokoname teapot from this place. BTW it took a few days for me to get my first email answered but from then on, any reply was within one day.

http://www.tokoname.or.jp/teapot/gallery.htm

I got the black one on page 41. I went with a sasame(ceramic I think) filter because there were quite a few people who swear that they can taste the metal mesh filters. Also I figured that one day I'll probably get a pretty nice teapot and I've noticed just about all the higher end teapots have sasame filters. So I told myself that I might as well get use to them now. My plan is to use it for sencha and get smaller tokoname for gyokuro later.

[JRS22]

Somebody on Teachat loves their Den's Yutori enough to post videos on Youtube. I came home late yesterday, watched them and ordered the Yutori and enough tea to get the $3 shipping. Now I just have to wait - Den's packages crawl across the US from the west coast to the east coast.

Thanks for all the advice.

[Sydney]

Somebody on Teachat loves their Den's Yutori enough to post videos on Youtube. I came home late yesterday, watched them and ordered the Yutori and enough tea to get the $3 shipping. Now I just have to wait - Den's packages crawl across the US from the west coast to the east coast.

Thanks for all the advice.

That's me.

[Ed]

Somebody on Teachat loves their Den's Yutori enough to post videos on Youtube. I came home late yesterday, watched them and ordered the Yutori and enough tea to get the $3 shipping. Now I just have to wait - Den's packages crawl across the US from the west coast to the east coast.

That would be Padre.

[EDIT] Beaten by Padre

[JRS22]

I still know people who are shopping for their first computer - if you can believe that in 2008. I always tell them that they've got to get one powerful enough for Youtube - they may never have heard of it but it WILL become a favorite site.

Anyway - thanks to Padre. Now I'll just drink chinese greens until my Yutori arrives.

[Oni]

If one gets advanced enough for a real kyusu, buy one from a japanese site, and remember that Tokoname and Banko are the main kilns for good kyusu, and a great kyusu is lightweight and thin, look at artisticnippon.com, for an authentic kyusu, those shiny glazed kyusu from Denstea are not the best choice, I think a real japanese green tea fan could support me on this.

[Sydney]

If one gets advanced enough for a real kyusu, buy one from a japanese site, and remember that Tokoname and Banko are the main kilns for good kyusu, and a great kyusu is lightweight and thin, look at artisticnippon.com, for an authentic kyusu, those shiny glazed kyusu from Denstea are not the best choice, I think a real japanese green tea fan could support me on this.

Real Japanese green tea fans frequently enough speak up for the glazed kyuusu at places like Den's, because they get the job done quite well at a great price.

And one doesn't have to be even remotely advanced to use a kyusu. They don't even require much manual dexterity.

[Oni]

A good kyusu is not measured by ergonomics, ease of use, no, the only thing that matters is that it must brew good tea, the rest are details, the main pourpouse of tea making and tea ceremonys, and you must search for a kyusu that suits your tea, and as a coincident real tokoname and banko kyusu that are thin and made by master potter brew much better tea than others, they also are more expencieve, but they last a lifetime if you care for it. I have been brewing tea in all kinds of vessels but after a time you all will search for better quality tea, teaware, water.

[Sydney]

A good kyusu is not measured by ergonomics, ease of use, no....

For you, maybe.

But just as in astronomy we say that the best telescope is the one you will actually use (can afford, maintain, conveniently haul out and back in on a cold night, etc.), the best kyusu for making tea is quite often determined in large part by affordability, durability, ergonomics, and even color.

A $20 kyusu will make tea so similar to that made in a $200 kyusu that most first-time kyusu-buyers are better served spending the extra $180 on tea. Or paying the rent.

Besides, you don't really know which subtleties of kyusu design are absolutely suited to your tastes when you buy that first tea pot. Why blow a ton of money on the learning curve?

[scruffmcgruff]

A good kyusu is not measured by ergonomics, ease of use, no, the only thing that matters is that it must brew good tea, the rest are details, the main pourpouse of tea making and tea ceremonys, and you must search for a kyusu that suits your tea...

Why can't ergonomics, ease of use, and design matter? I mean hell, if you're going for pure functionality, just buy a really nice cup and brew in there. Is it convenient/easy? Of course not, but I guess that's what you're looking for, right?

I disagree with you here, but by your logic, wouldn't the glazed/unglazed issue be "just a detail" as a glazed teapot can brew good tea? Glazed vs. unglazed produces different results, for sure, but who is to say which is better?