For my first post, I’d like to sing the praises of perhaps the most under-rated teapot: the Japanese kyushu. Here’s a picture of the one I’ve been using almost daily since May. I found it in Shiga Prefecture, Japan at a small local store selling tea and ice cream – believe I paid something like $10 US for it. First I used it to only make Japanese teas – then I expanded into trying some of my favorite other styles of tea. Assam, pu-erh, oolongs – and they all turned out great.

In the eastern approach to making tea – there will always be multiple infusions of tea leaves – it’s implied in the very nature of preparing tea. The teaware is generally small in size (yixing, gaiwan, kyushu), allowing for easy multiple steepings.

Using a kyushu is simple. Preheat your teapot by rinsing it with hot water (optional). Add tea leaves. Add water. Steep. Pour out all tea, down to the last drop. Keep leaves for another infusion.

You’ll generally find two main styles of kyushu: delicate porcelain and rustic clay. Use the porcelain style for making teas that taste best with lower water temperatures (sencha, gyokuro). Use the rustic clay style for teas that require hotter temperatures (hojicha, black teas).

A word on re-steeping the same tea leaves: it should be done the same day. Throw out used tea leaves after 24 hours. If you want to keep re-steeping the same tea leaves longer – just be sure that you steep the tea once a day to keep it from molding.