Tea Ware
Teaware changes the taste of tea. Brew the same tea under the same conditions and a different clay in the pot will change the way the flavor comes out. HOJO carries teaware because that difference is large in practice.
Shudei teapots
Shudei is clay rich in ferric oxide that fires to a vermilion color. It has long been prized for teapots across Japan, although being shudei does not by itself mean the clay does the taste any good. Depending on which minerals it holds and in what quantity, some clays raise astringency or bitterness, and some flatten the finish.
Mumyoi from Sado Island
Most of what HOJO carries is Mumyoi from Sado Island. Sado was formed by submarine volcanic activity and produces iron, copper, manganese and other minerals. That geology is what gives the local clay its range of minerals.
We carry the Akitsu Mumyoi and Mumyoi Joaka series by the potter Tozo Watanabe, sorted by firing method: oxidation, reduction and carbonized reduction. The same clay affects the taste differently depending on how it is fired.
Pitchers and cups affect the taste too
The teapot is not the only piece that matters. A tea pitcher or a cup is a surface the tea touches, so the material has an effect there as well. HOJO offers pitchers, cups and hohin in the same clays as the teapots.
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Tea Ware
