Cone Yunomi/Tea Cup (Matte Cream White)

Cream white, conical, warm in the hand — the kind of cup that makes afternoon tea feel intentional.

The Cone Yunomi from NANKEI POTTERY (南景製陶園) is a 170ml everyday tea cup shaped on a clean conical form, made in the Banko-yaki tradition of Yokkaichi, Mie Prefecture. It pairs directly with the Sencha Kyusu series and stacks compactly for storage. The interior is glazed with a soft grey-white finish that lets you follow the colour of the tea as it pours. Non-absorbent clay, no flavour transfer between sessions.

Matte Cream White is fired from a revival of hakudei — "white mud" — a Banko-yaki clay blend that was common in the Taisho and Showa eras and was reformulated by NANKEI. New, the surface is matte and slightly chalky; with regular use it slowly develops a warm, quiet gloss as the clay responds to your hands and your tea. This is a cup that improves with time.

Shipping

• Japan: ¥800 flat rate — free shipping on orders over ¥15,000.
• Asia: from ¥2,500 — free on orders over ¥25,000.
• EU, UK, Australia, New Zealand, Canada: from ¥3,500 — free on orders over ¥35,000.

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South of Nagoya, along the shore of Ise Bay, Yokkaichi in Mie Prefecture has been a centre for Banko-yaki since the eighteenth century. The city's iron-rich clay and long firing tradition gave rise to a distinct stoneware character — dense, unglazed surfaces that age quietly with use. 南景製陶園 (Nankei Pottery) has worked within this tradition for decades, using a proprietary clay formula that has remained unchanged for more than fifty years. High-temperature yakishime firing drives off virtually all porosity, leaving a body that is hard, smooth to the touch, and subtly warm in colour.

The forms Nankei designs are spare and considered — nothing added that does not serve the tea. A kyusu pours cleanly; a yunomi sits without fuss in the hand. That restraint comes not from minimal effort but from sustained attention to proportion and weight. If you want to learn more about the people behind the work, our Behind the Sip article on Nankei Pottery goes further: Nankei Pottery — Banko-yaki in Yokkaichi.