houhin

[iannon]

so here I am finding myself wanting/searching for a little houhin for brewing my gyo's and Kabo's as opposed to using my somewhat larger kyusu. Of course I like some of the Hagi ones ive seen but outside of paying over 80 bucks i was looking at the banko ones at yuuki-cha . Thoughts anyone? suggestions?

http://www.yuuki-cha.com/Organic+Gyokur ... hin+Teapot

[Chip]

Interesting Banko for the price. Says it holds 190 ml, a bit large IMHO. There are smaller ones out there. Hard to beat that price for a Banko.

[olivierco]

ebay is the best source for not too expensive houhins.

If you want to brew gyokuro, this little tokoname kyuusu is also a good choice.

[Oni]

Houhins can be bought from artisticnippon, maiko, horaido, and rikyucha, generally they should be around 100 - 150 ml, and a yuzamashi is very usefull, specially wiht subsecvent infuions, plus a set contains 5 cups.

I chose a kyoyaki, handmade body, with sometsuke, the advantage is that these japanese high quality porcelain do not get stained by tea, they have inpenetrable glaze, so they are timeless, and the cups are so thin that they become transparent when held to light.

[Herb_Master]

When is it a houhin and when is it a gaiwan?

I bought a Porcelain Gaiwan set in Malaysia which has a Gaiwan that looks awfully like these Houhins!

It has a spout and 2 side handles but was called Gaiwan by the shopkeeper.

[Herb_Master]

I had begun by calling it a Gaibei, because on a previous thread a couple of posters had said a Gaiwan without handles was called a Gaibei

as in this offering from zen8tea

http://cgi.ebay.com/Chinese-Tea-Gaibei- ... m153.l1262

but she assured me that it was a Gaiwan and the difference between the 2 was size, and that a gaibei is larger!

I note the Gaibei above is only 120cc whereas I have bought larger Gaiwans - without lugs and spouts - so it seems there is confusion amongst retailers!

Is it a Houhin from a japanese oriented vendor

and Gaiwan or Gaibei from a Chinese oriented vendor of differing education

if so there are a host of Gaiwan / Gaibei opportunities for the OP

[olivierco]

For me the difference is the following (I am no expert on teaware taxonomy though):

Houhin:



Shiboridashi:



Gaiwan or gaibei:



It will be easier to brew sencha with a houhin than with a gaiwan or a shiboridashi.
For gyokuro, a gaiwan won't be the best brewing vessel as it isn't wide enough.

[wireless]

I have the circular version of that Houhin and really like it. I use it mainly for single cups (or perhaps two if i feel generous) of high grade sencha and i get really good results. Plus for the price its really good.

[Ritva]

Here are some from Tokoname Yuyaku Co catalog: http://www.tokoname.or.jp/teapot/yubiki/yubiki42.jpg This is 2008 catalog, I didn't see any houhins in 2009 catalog when quickly glancing through. Save the catalog image in your computer and then you can use zoom and have better resolution. They have more houhins than here so email them and ask.

[Chip]

Let's see, O-Cha has 2 as well and they are cheaper than most.