Fully handmade by Master Koji in Tokoname. This is a Kyusu which is an art piece for your very special tea sessions.
The unglazed clay has been fired to a burnished brown with a glowing red patch revealing the natural colour of the clay. The surface is smooth and polished and the balance when using is delightful.
The filter is made of clay as opposed to stainless steel which not only makes the appearance more attractive but means that your tea is brewed completely in clay.
The Tokoname clay is unglazed and rich in minerals. In our experience, Tokoname clay is less porous than Yixing and similar to high fired Chaozhou clay which means that it will season very slowly. Therefore it is not a big deal for you to mix different tea types in the Kyusu - it will season but it will be very subtle so it depends how purist you are! The mineral rich content does affect the body and taste of the tea, making it slightly smoother and rounder.
This kyusu is great with all kinds of tea. Of course the Japanese greens take center stage but you could brew almost any tea type. However, because it is a clay filter we would say that Fukamushi (deep steamed tea which breaks up into smaller particles) will need you to pour through another fine mesh filter when serving.
Seasoning and washing your Kyusu
It is generally not necessary to season Tokoname teaware in the same way as Yixing clay. You can follow the same instructions as Yixing but really all that you have to do is rinse this kyusu in boiling water a few times and then begin brewing. If you would like to speed up the very subtle seasoning of Tokoname clay then you can leave your chosen tea type to brew for 15 minutes in the kyusu every so often.
As always with clay teaware, do not use any detergents! To clean, all then you have to do is thoroughly rinse out the tea leaves and leave to dry with the lid off.
