I've used Hindu lotas that look like a vase from an ancient temple in India; however, most of the lotas I've used don't resemble any thing an average person has in his possession. Well Morrissey Magic has finally come up with a Canadian Maple Syrup bucket that looks like a kid's beach pail. It's finished in dull aluminum with a heavy gauge wire handle. It could be painted to look like a kid's beach pail etc. It holds about six good pours. I was lucky enough to buy the first one off the line. I'm going to tape a plastic spigot to a kid's back and have him hold the pail behind his back. He'll be my little maple tree or should I just call him a little sap! (Peter Marucci would like that pun!")
Darryl the Wizard(www.Morrisseymagic.com)

Darryl,
Hey! Hoo you callin' a "little sap"?

Oh! Oh! I get it; it's a pun!

Seriously (or not), you're right, Darryl. That's very funny.
cheers,
Peter Marucci
showtimecol@aol.com

Check out C&M Productions' Coffe carafe. It looks exactly like the same item used in many restaurants ('cuz it IS), and you can control the amount of the pour each time, unlike most Lotas. I own it, I use it, I love it, and I recommend it.

For a couple of years, I've been making lotas out of milk cartons. I buy two one-quart cartons, and cut one in half to make the lota chamber, then glue it inside the other using aquarium sealant. Makes a very natural looking and inexpensive lota.

Jim Steinmeyer also printed a method for making a lota out of a soup can in his "Conjuring" column in the Nov '96 issue of MAGIC.