The Amber Cup — Shino Wood-Fired Chawan

The Amber Cup — Warm, Complex, and Endlessly Rewarding

Some cups announce themselves immediately. This one reveals itself slowly. At first glance it is warm and understated — honey-yellow, sandy beige, soft iron-rust. Look longer and the layers appear: a band of cool blue-grey reduction colour at the shoulder, iron spotting that varies in density across three distinct faces, hand-pinched ridges that catch the light differently as you turn the cup in your hands. It is a cup that changes as you look at it, and changes again as you use it.

Glaze & Surface: The glaze is a layered ash glaze in warm honey-yellow and sandy beige as its primary tones, interrupted throughout by iron-rust spotting of varying density. The front face carries a more pronounced crawled glaze pattern — large white and grey islands separated by iron channels — while the opposite face is smoother and warmer, dominated by the honey-yellow ash deposit with fine iron freckles. At the shoulder on both sides, soft blue-grey reduction zones appear — quiet and luminous against the warm ground, most visible in natural light. The interior rim carries a smooth accumulation of the same blue-grey glaze, visible from above as a gentle border between the outer world and the tea inside. The overall effect is of a cup that has been coloured not by a single glaze, but by the accumulated atmosphere of a long firing.

Form & Feel:

• Low, wide chawan form — full-bellied, slightly compressed in profile
• Hand-pinched faceted exterior — irregular ridges and indentations give the surface a sculptural quality
• 300g weight — solid and comfortable in both hands
• Three-sided character — each face of the cup has its own glaze personality; rotate as you drink
• Small dark foot ring — unglazed stoneware, compact and stable

For the Art of Tea: The wide, low form and generous opening make this an excellent everyday chawan — easy to whisk matcha, comfortable to drink from directly, and satisfying to hold for long sittings. The warm tones of the glaze make it particularly well suited to roasted teas — hojicha, aged oolong, or any tea with depth and sweetness. Warm the cup before pouring and watch the blue-grey shoulder glaze deepen in colour.

One of a kind. Wood-fired in a single kiln firing. Never to be repeated.

Care

Suitable for contact with tea. Hand wash gently and avoid abrasive cleaners. Variations and firing marks are part of this one-of-a-kind handmade piece.