“After their meat, they use a certain drinke, which is a pot with hote water, which they drinke as hote as ever they may indure, whether it be Winter or Summer ... and the gentlemen make it themselves; and when they will entertaine any of their friends, they give him some of that warme water to drinke: for the pots wherein they seeth it, and wherein the herb is kept, with the earthen cups which they drinke it in, they esteeme as much of them as we doe of diamonds, rubies, and other precious stones, and they are not esteemed for their newnes, but for their oldnes, and for that they were made by a good workman: and to know and keepe such by themselves, they take great and special care, as also of such as are the valuers of them, and are skilful in them.... So if their pots and cups be of an old and excellent workman’s making, they are worth four or five thousand ducats or more the peece. The King of Bungo did give for such a pot, having three feet, fourteen thousand ducats, and a Japan, being a Christian in the town of Sacay, gave for such a pot fourteen hundred ducats, and yet it had three pieces upon it.” As late as 1639, Mendelslo thought it worth while describing again. He says in his _Voyages_: “The Japanese bray the tea as fine as powder, and taking a little on the point of a knife put it in a porcelain or earthenware cup filled with boiling water.... They have no more luxurious articles of furniture than belong to this service: teapots have been seen that cost twenty-eight thousand crowns.”