About Akitsu Mumyoi Reduction Firing

By combining the traditional craft techniques of the artist with HOJO's dedication to tea, we offer you a special teapot that cannot be obtained elsewhere.

How Water, Kettles and Teaware Change the Taste of Tea

Akitsu Mumyo Reduction Fired Series by Tozo Watanabe

If you look closely, the colors differ subtly, with some pieces in gunmetal tones and others in an azuki-bean red. These differences are not caused by the lighting during photography; they are real differences in color. They come from the temperature and gas concentration, which vary with each piece's position in the kiln during firing. These color differences cannot be created intentionally. Because the clay is very porous, holding it leaves fingerprints. However, as you keep using it, tea compounds soak into the clay and the color becomes even, and with long use it develops a luster like polished metal and matures into a beautiful color.

Because of the light reduction, it has a reddish color, but in terms of taste it shows the characteristics of reduction firing. The finish is very long and the body is neither too heavy nor too light. Please experience how the taste changes not only with tea but also with various drinks such as sake, shochu and juice.

Choosing the right type of kettle is as important as choosing a teapot. For more details, please see the link below.

How to choose a kettle for delicious tea

About Akitsu Mumyo

Traditionally, Mumyo-yaki is made using a blend of red clay called 'Mumyo,' which is low in plasticity and reddish in its raw state, found in the Aikawa Gold Mine and nearby mountains, and a very sticky, yellowish natural clay called 'Nosaka,' found in a nearby village.

This series, on the other hand, uses soil called 'Akitsu Mumyo,' a blend of clay from the Akitsu area and Nosaka yellow clay, hence the name Akitsu Mumyo.

Mumyo-yaki is made from a blend of two types of natural clays: the reddish soil from around Aikawa Gold Mine and the yellow Nosaka soil in its raw state.