Mino in Gifu has been making pottery for over a thousand years, and today the area still produces a large share of everything Japan eats and drinks from. That scale is the point: Mino never became a place for collector's pieces, it became a place that makes tableware people actually use.

ZERO JAPAN has worked in Mino since 1992. Their pieces are stoneware, glazed and fired to hold heat well, and made to go in the dishwasher without ceremony. That is a different intention than a Tokoname teapot, and it is why both have a place here.

Mino stoneware is fired at a high temperature, which makes it dense and less porous than earthenware. That is why it holds temperature, does not take on the scent of what you brewed last, and survives daily use.