Teaware

What makes Japanese teaware different?

Japanese teaware is made for the tea it's meant to brew and pour. A Japanese teapot (a kyusu) has a side handle and a fine clay mesh built into the spout. That keeps loose-leaf sencha or gyokuro clear, with no bitterness from over-steeping. Japanese teacups tend to run smaller than Western mugs. Fired in unglazed clay or smooth porcelain, they're sized for a few sips of hot tea, not a long drink that goes cold.

The clay itself is an important part. Tokoname's red, iron-rich clay rounds out the astringency of green tea. Bizen and Mino stoneware bring a stony, mineral undertone. Hand-thrown pieces from Furutani and Nagatani show finger marks, glaze drips and kiln scars that no mould can fake. Pick up a yunomi from our collection and you'll feel why a cup made for tea isn't the same as a cup made for coffee. The rim, the weight and the way it holds heat are all tuned for the leaf.

From kyusu teapots to matched tea sets

Browse the teapot collection, and you'll find side-handled kyusu in Tokoname red clay, and yokode pots for everyday sencha. Sizes start around 260ml, which is enough for one or two cups, and run up to 620ml for a longer brew.

The Japanese teacup and mug collection covers everything from squat yunomi for sipping hot sencha to taller mugs in carved porcelain and stoneware. Glazes vary widely, with sand fades, indigo drips, speckled white, and iron scatter. Each piece comes from a single kiln, so colour and surface change subtly between cups. Held in both hands, a yunomi stays warm without burning the fingers and holds enough about right for one good brew. A mug with a handle suits houjicha tea, genmaicha or even Western teas if you prefer the grip.

A Japanese tea set is the quickest way in. Our matcha sets pair a chawan tea bowl with a bamboo whisk and scoop. Other Wider Japanese tea sets bring teapot and cups together with matching glazes. Round things off with a tea burner; set above a candle, it gently roasts houjicha leaf at the table, filling the room with toasty caramel.