Yuzamashi (a tea utensil used in Senchado [green tea ceremony]) (湯冷まし)
Yuzamashi is one of the tea utensils used in Senchado. It is a utensil with which to cool boiled water to brew tea.
It looks like a pitcher without a handle in shape. Its mouth is usually formed wider than its bottom in order to make the temperature of boiled water drop efficiently.
This utensil is a tool to steep Gyokuro (refined green tea leaves) which is unique to Japan. It is recommended that the suitable temperature of hot water be around 60 degree Celsius to steep Gyokuro. The water which has just been boiled in a bofura (ceramic kettle) or a kettle is too hot, so it is necessary to cool it once to reduce the temperature.
There are no utensils that parallel yuzamashi in the tea equipment of the other countries such as Western black tea and Chinese tea. However, in Chinese tea there is 'chakai' (a kind of a pitcher) with a shape similar to yuzamashi. This chakai is not a utensil in which to reduce the temperature, but into which to pour the tea temporarily which was brewed in appropriate concentration from a kyusu (small teapot called 'chatsubo').
In general, only yuzamashi is seldom sold separately, but is usually sold as a set with a kyusu or a hohin (a kind of small teapot) and several chawan (tea bowls) which are of the same design.