Restore calm with the Hasami Porcelain Mug, a Review

I recently treated myself to a Hasami Porcelain‘s mug. I initially saw the mug at a Goodhood shop in London and it was love at first sight, but I still did plenty online research and visited several other stores in London and looked at many different mugs before taking the plunge.

In this blog, I will be talking about reasons why I chose and am enjoying the Hasami porcelain mug, and some info and advice that may be useful if you are thinking about purchasing one.

Hasami Porcelain

is made in the town of Hasami in Nagasaki prefecture of Japan. Whilst the shapes are uniform and they are stackable, due to the organic nature of its production, Hasami porcelain pieces vary in colour and texture. I am really enjoying this natural one-of-a-kind character that a Hasami porcelain mug has. Hasami porcelain was designed by the LA based Japanese designer Takuhiro Shinomoto whose vision was to integrate modern design with traditional and organic Japanese manufacturing techniques. The design, its simplicity, is the big reason why I fell in love with this mug immediately when I first saw it. I saw many other porcelain mugs that I liked that spoke creativity, aesthetics or uniqueness, but Hasami porcelain was the one that spoke deep calmness to me, a sense that one can experience (hopefully) from removing non-essentials in order to focus on what is essential.

£30 for a mug

… is it too expensive? This seems to be a common topic in many Hasami Porcelain mug reviews that I have read. My short and personal answer is – no. Many people easily spend £30 for a piece of clothing, or hair cut, or dinning out. £30 for a beautiful handcrafted mug that you would use every day several times a day, hopefully for many years I think, is reasonable.

Every day and all the time

Whilst on the subject of using every day. Before the Hasami mug, I was using a typical large ceramic mug with a character print (‘mit der Maus’, if you must know). It was a well designed, good functional mug and I have used it for years. But one day, I looked at my Maus mug and thought: ‘how many hours each day do I spend looking at/holding this mug…?’

Then something hit me.

I realised that I wanted a mug that possesses a sense of tranquility, a bit like a Japanese Zen garden, a mug that helps me to restore calm and balance in my life.

Glaze or not to glaze

Currently there are 3 types of Hasami porcelain mugs available: natural (no glaze), black (mat glaze) or gloss grey (glossy glaze). Each type has its own unique charm and it was very hard for me to decide. However, after some consideration, I decided to go for the natural.

Meanwhile, C has also decided that he would like a Hasami porcelain mug. I secretly hoped he would choose either the black or the gloss grey, but his mind was set for the natural right from the start.

We both thought Hasami porcelain mug to be our new THE mug, the one that we were going to build and nurture a friendship with, that is going to be the extension of our hands and soul… In other words, even we were going to get two of the same, we had no intention of treating them as random ‘communal’, ‘household’ mugs. And I am glad to say, the mugs we received are actually distinguishable. It may be hard to tell from the photos, but C’s is lighter and looks like it has a tinge of grey whereas mine is a little darker and looks more brown.

Size

Hasami porcelain mugs come in 3 different sizes (325ml, 385ml, 445ml) and this was another big plus for me as I was after a mug with a bigger capacity. I bought a 445ml one and just for your information, it is 445ml full to the top, so during normal use the mug will be holding roughly 400ml of liquid.

It is comfortably light. My Hasami mug is 300g whereas the predecessor weighs 325g (holds more less the same capacity).

The 445ml one has a nice big handle. C can put his 3 fingers in. Perhaps a bit too big for my small hand as my 4 fingers are almost swimming in this big space (roughly 6cm x 2.7cm).

The other two sizes seem to have smaller handles and that’s something you might want to consider when you are choosing your mug.

Sandy texture

My mug is non-glazed, so it’s rough to the touch all around. Even the glazed version’s edge is intentionally unfinished so you can expect some sandy texture on the lip. It is a completely different texture to smooth glazed lip of other mugs. If you have any particular preference or sensitivity to this, this is a factor you might want to take into consideration.

Personally, I really like the slight sandy texture when I hold my mug. I enjoy the feel and it is calming to me. The texture on the lip however, required some getting used to, although I never disliked it. I now find the natural feel comforting when I drink from it. The mug gets quite hot when hot liquid is in and I absolutely love holding my mug particularly on a colder day. The combination of the sandy roughness and the warmth is somewhat soothing on my hands. Don’t worry, the handle does not get hot and it is designed in such a way that it protects the fingers from touching the the hot surface of the mug.

Wash and care

Apparently, they are dishwasher safe and microwave safe. However, I hand wash my mug gently with soapy warm water for two reasons: 1, it’s too precious and 2, we don’t own a dishwasher. We do however own a microwave, but we never put our mugs in a microwave as… well, they are too precious.

Where to buy

You can find a shop list on Hasami Porcelain’s website. I would make sure to purchase from those authorised retailers. I bought mine from an online shop called La Gent and used the singing up 10% discount.

I have been throughly enjoying my Hasami mug and it’s been worthwhile. C and I are already looking forward to expanding our collection and with our fingers crossed, we are waiting for a bowl or/and a plate to go on sale – hopefully soon. I am also very curious about their glazed range. At home, my mug is always on my desk and Hasami Porcelain mug’s tranquil simplicity and minimalistic aesthetic really helps me to restore calm in my daily life.