It is said that water stored in Bizen clay jars never goes bad. Unfortunately for most of us on this Earth, large ceramic jars to store water aren’t something we have room for. The next best thing is to leave your water in contact with Bizen pottery. These Bizendama are little balls of fired Bizen Clay that are meant to sit submerged in the bottom of pitchers to lend their minerality to the water.

In 2019 when I was traveling in Bizen I saw these little balls (and sometimes clay bars) at the checkout counter of every shop. At the time I was rather skeptical about them — being next to the checkout counter is a gimmicky place to see something. It’s like chocolate bars, packs of gum, or tic-tacs — impulse buys that the stores put there to make some extra money.  I asked Toshi about them as my haul of pottery was being packaged up. He said what was mentioned at the beginning of this little write up.

Still skeptical, I bought a few bars anyway. They’re cheap, whats the harm? I thought. There’s quite a pronounced effect on the water after all and I can almost definitively say that isn’t placebo because I’ve done many side by side tests with people about the flavor of the water with and without the clay bars to confirm my suspicions.

In the grand spectrum of tea making, there are only so many parameters you can take advantage of to make a better cup. The difference between a great cup and excellent cup is in the details. These bizendama will give your water a boost in quality, and if nothing else; are an interesting talking point. Please note that the price is for 1 ball, and that 3 balls are suggested for every 1L (33oz) of water.

From Toshi’s words himself, he writes (translated to English)

Bizendama
It’s been said from long ago that Bizen pottery prevents water from going stale, makes sake taste better, and Bizen bowls give the user a long life if used everyday. You can enjoy those effects by using Bizendama. It’s expected that the clay with high iron content gives the same effects as far-infrared, therefore if you use it for cooking rice it will make it extra tasty. If you put it in a flower vase, the flowers will last longer! If you put it in water or sake and leave it overnight, it will give a mellowing effect. If you use the water for coffee or tea, it will taste special. When Cooking rice you will need 1 bizendama for every 2 cups of rice. When boiling water in a kettle, 2-3 Bizendama for every 1L. 2-3 Bizendama for a flower vase.