The pattern on the cups are called crazing. The glaze reveals this unique pattern that occurred from how the clay and glaze shrunk throughout the making process. The dark color in the crazing is from the Sumi-ink, a charcoal based ink that was used.
The craze allows the color of the liquid that is held inside the cup seep through between its micro-fine lines, the craze will turn deeper in color as the cup is used overtime. You may notice a "pinging" sound until the initial crazing process settles down, but this is not a sign of defect or cracking.
Nankei Pottery specialize in Bankoyaki, a traditional Japanese pottery technique practised in Yokkaichi, Mie Prefecture. The company produces high quality, durable kyuusu and tableware that reflects on Japanese lifestyle. Quality comes first when manufacutering items, and from molding to quality check, the entire process of making a single Kyuusu involves 13 procedures.
By not applying glaze on the inside, the surface of the teapot is uneven, which moderates the astringency, making the tea tastes milder and more mellow.
As the teapot is used the surface of the teapot's color will slowly deepen overtime. The built in hand crafter strainers are at the base of the spout which works as a strainer. Fine tea leaves/powders can pass through, the adding traditionally textured mouthfeel to the cup. If you would like a clearer cup, pour the tea through another strainer before serving serve.
I bought these cups to go with my white-beige Kyusu and I am thrilled with them. They are beautiful and are the perfect size for serving sencha. The cups are delicate but also feel sturdy in the hand. They are beautiful to look at while enjoying a tea session and I happily serve them to guests in my home as they invite great conversation. Everyone has commented on how lovely the cups are and I continue to point others to buy things from Kurasu! Everything arrived quickly and was packaged pristinely.
Perfect size to slowly drink my matcha with
I use this cup to drink matcha/hojicha and sake lol
As I've used this cup I can see the craze slowly getting darker. There's just something interesting about having a cup that improves with time.
These cups are perfect for Sencha tea and are really easy to use to make this tea traditionally. They also look beautiful with their cracked glazing and off white colouring. I can’t recommend these enough for sencha tea!
Haven't had one from there but quite pleasantly surprised by the taste of it.
My personal recipe is a 10 gram recipe and after trying out so many filters, this has become my favorite as it had a slightly slower draw down. I always end up with a really clean cup. My daily driver is this, paired with the Tujiwa Kanaami hand woven mesh dripper which I also bought here at Kurasu.
This brewer is stunning and versatile, I can brew good tasting coffee using both flat and conical filter papers. I haven’t really used it that much but it’s good so far.
Overall a really refreshing and fruity coffee to have before bed/late at night without the caffeine buzz. The caramel aftertaste/mellow bitterness accompanies the white peach fruity notes to give something similar to a white peach tart/pie. It goes super well with caneles/basque cheesecake/or any dessert with a deep caramelized taste or simply just some cut up white peaches.
