Teaware
Teaware
Japanese teaware is the physical expression of a tea culture that has been developing continuously for over eight hundred years. The objects used to brew, serve and drink tea — from the kyusu teapot to the yunomi cup to the chasen whisk — are not merely functional containers; they carry the aesthetic values and craft traditions of the regions and periods in which they were made, and using them connects the drinker to that lineage in a small but real way. This is part of what makes Japanese teaware so appealing to people outside Japan who discover it: there is a weight of meaning behind even the most unassuming cup or pot that makes it feel different from generic drinkware.
The kyusu teapot is the centrepiece of most Japanese green tea brewing setups. The side-handle style — with the handle perpendicular to the spout rather than opposite it — is the most characteristically Japanese form, designed for easy one-handed pouring while the other hand lifts the lid to check the brew. The unglazed red clay of Tokoname kyusu is particularly valued for its iron content, which is said to round out the astringency of green tea and soften the overall flavour. Hario glass teapots allow the colour of the brewing tea to be seen, which is useful for visually monitoring the extraction. Cast iron tetsubin, heated on the stove and used to pour hot water rather than to brew in, are a different class of tool entirely — their function is to heat and serve water, not to brew.
The cups here include yunomi in various ceramic traditions, chawan matcha bowls and the smaller guinomi sake cups that cross over between teaware and drinkware. Tea canisters for proper airtight storage, bamboo chasen whisks, chashaku scoops and whisk stands complete the setup for both everyday green tea drinking and the more elaborate matcha ceremony.
Discover more in our subcategories:
Explore green tea to fill your teapot, or discover Tokoname pottery for exceptional kyusu teapots.
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