Raku ware museum

The ancient tea master, Rikyu, designed utensils to achieve his ideal tea.  An example of this is the Ruku tea bowl.  Rikyu asked a craftsman, Chojiro to make his original bowl.  It is hand molded instead of using the turning wheel.   It is thick but feels lighter than it looks.  It is very earthy and I assume it goes really well with Rikyu-designed tea room that is simple and rustic.  Please imagine that you are in a dark tiny tatami room with clay walls.  The earthy bowl will be perfect in there.  A sophisticated white shiny porcelain bowl would look out of place.   When you hold the Ruku tea bowl, it fits in your hands naturally and you can comfortably feel the warmth of the tea through the thick soft clay.  Some people describe it as you almost feel like drinking tea from your own bare hands.

Konnichiwa, it’s Kohei ヽ(^。^)ノ　　I also visited the Raku ware museum on the Kyoto trip.  After Chojiro, The Raku family continued making Raku bowls.   Now 15th generation of Rakus is making them.  At the museum, I saw the successive potter’s pieces.  What I was most fascinated with was that I had an opportunity to hold the bowls.  I held them for viewing and not to drink tea from them.  We were lead to a tatami room.  As we view a tea bowl in a tea ceremony, we were able to appreciate three Ruku bowls.   Each piece is individually unique.  One has a rough and rustic texture.  Another one is glazed and smooth.  As I held the bowls, I tried to imagine how it’s like drinking tea out of them.  It was totally a different experience from just looking at the pieces in a case.  Jah!

Raku museum >>> http://www.raku-yaki.or.jp/e/index.html

Google image search result for Raku tea bowl (楽茶碗) >>>

http://www.google.co.jp/search?hl=ja&sugexp=gsis,i18n%3Dtrue&gs_is=1&cp=0&gs_id=69&xhr=t&q=%E6%A5%BD%E8%8C%B6%E7%A2%97&pq=%E3%82%8F%E3%81%B3%E8%8C%B6&rlz=1W1GZEZ_jaJP284&gs_sm=&gs_upl=&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.&biw=1440&bih=778&bs=1&wrapid=tljp1316144727408055&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbm=isch&source=og&sa=N&tab=wi

Tai-an, tea room designed by Rikyu

Have you heard the name, Sen no Rikyu?   He is the most significant tea master in the history who has perfected The Way of Tea.  He also designed tea rooms with his distinctive aesthetic sense.

Konnichiwa, it’s Kohei.  On our Kyoto trip, we visited Myokian temple.  It has Tai-an that is the only existing tearoom confirmed as Rikyu’s design.  Tai-an is one of the three tea rooms designated as national treasure of Japan. 

You cannot get inside the room but you can view it from outside and see the inside from the windows and entrance.  My impression of Tai-an is indeed very rustic.  The inside which is surrounded with soil wall was dark and extremely small.  It is only two tatami-mat room.  The common size room at that time was 4.5 tatami mats.  I wonder why he wanted to make the room so small? 

Maybe, the limited space and light make people concentrate on the tea itself, or stimulate more mutual bonding among the attendances.  I’m not sure, but I really want to experience a tea ceremony in this kind of space.

The monk at this temple told us that we can find Rikyu’s designs on ceilings, windows and Tokonoma- alcove.  Some of them are elaborately presented to make the room look larger.  Some people say that it seems vast like the outer space.  But the monk said that it’s not that large.  Two tatami mats are two tatami mats and nothing more.  Ha,ha,ha (^^;;   Jah!

The Kaboku Tearoom 2

In Japan, tonight is the night that you can see the most beautiful full-moon of the year.  People view and appreciate it.  I guess we are very romantic.  Do you guys have a similar day to appreciate the moon?

Konnichiwa, it’s Kohei.  At The Kaboku Tearoom, other people in my party ordered matcha, genmaicha and hojicha.  I took a sip of all of them.  I thought my choice was the best.  Other teas were also good but my sencha was the most distinctive and different from ordinary tea.  It was worth to try it.

While we were enjoying our tea, a lady came in the cafe and sat at the table behind us.  She seemed to be a foreign tourist who doesn’t speak Japanese.   She was asking if she can get some assists to prepare her tea.  One of the staff helped her at the table by giving instructions in English.  I also noticed that their menu was written both in Japanese and English.  I thought they are friendly to beginners and foreigners.  If you want to enjoy Japanese tea in Kyoto, The Kaboku Tearoom is a good place to visit.  

Try to view the moon tonight.  I guess we are watching the same moon, so it must be beautiful from your place as well.  Jah!

The Kaboku Tearoom

I had tea in a cafe called Kaboku at Ippodo Tea. 

I had their best grade sencha.  At the cafe, you brew your own tea.  The staff gave me instructions for brewing tea at our table.  There were plenty of leaves in the pot.

 She told me to pour hot water into a cup and leave it for a moment.  Then I needed to pour the water into another cup which is used as a watercooler.

 

While pouring the water, I spilled some and it almost scalded my fingers (^^;;  The staff told me to hold the cup like in the picture below.  Yes of course, I knew it.  I was Stupid.  Ordinary Japanese cups have a base, called hama in Japanese.  So, the bottom doesn’t get so hot usually. 

Look at another picture below.  See, I’m holding the cup the wrong way, again, hahaha…  I’m one of those typical people who often forget what was properly taught.

Anyway, the staff told me to be certain about the brewing time.  The correct time for this tea was 50 sec.  You can start timing from the moment you pour the water into the teapot.  I thought it was pretty strict.  I guess it’s because this brewing method uses about twice the amount of leaves to extract generous tea.  As a result, a slight time difference will affect the taste.
The staff also advised not to shake the teapot; slowly tilt it until all the tea is out when you pour the tea into a cup.

The tea color was nice clear yellow and I found an elegant sweetness in its aroma.  I sipped it.  I was shocked with its flavor.  The most distinctive taste was mouth-filling umami..  Umami is never that rich in ordinary sencha.   At the same time, this sencha was very crisp so I could find and enjoy various flavors in it.  At The Kaboku Tearoom, I learned to be more careful about the time and not to scald my fingers, haha..  Jah!

Ippodo Tea

I went to Kyoto and visited Susumushi-dera.

And, the temple of bamboo, Jizouin.　 

Konnichiwa, it’s Kohei who loves visiting rustic temples and shrines.  

I always look forward to visit tea shops or cafe on my Kyoto’s trips as well.  This time, we stopped at Ippodo tea shop.  They have a long 300-year history.  Now, they have branches all over Japan.  I visited their main store in Kyoto.  They have different kinds of tea in various grades.  Samples are available on the counter.  What I got was sencha (its grade name is Hosen).  It costs 1500yen/100g.   In their main store, they have a cafe named The Kaboku Tearoom, where I had tea as well ^^.  Jah!

Ippodo webpage >>>

http://www.ippodo-tea.co.jp/en/index.html

Coffee in a teapot

Last weekend, I went to a café run by a middle age couple.  It was a good representation of Japanese architecture located in countryside.  Once I got in the cafe, I smelled the air filled with rich coffee aroma.  Nice jazz has been played.  I instantly loved that place. 

Konnichiwa, it’s Kohei who is praying for the coming typhoon to go away for his Kyoto trip this weekend.  In the cafe, you can view the rice fields through the window behind the counter.  You can also see the bamboo tees that are slowly swinging once in a while.   At the cafe, the barista grinds the beans for individual orders. This makes it especially made for each customer.  The time passed by so slowly there.  I waited for my coffee while listening to jazz.   The coffee was excellent.  It was pretty different from what I usually have.  The fresh ground coffee had a very rounded taste which you won't be able to notice any bitterness or its acidity at all but all you can taste is the fullness of the flavor of the beans.  I loved it. 

I also had some sweets.  It came with a little teapot.  Espresso, which is inside the teapot, was served as the sauce for the sweets.  I poured the sauce over.  They absolutely taste good.  I carefully looked at the teapot at my perspective as a teapot enthusiast.  I checked the bottom and tried to look for the tea strainer.  The barista said that is a Chinese teapot.  I thought that time that it’s also nice to use a teapot other than for brewing tea.  Don’t you think it’s a good idea?  I enjoyed Japanese sweets with Western coffee and Chinese teapot. Jah!

Kagiya cofee (Japanese) >>>

http://sobanoyokozuki.com/topics1/kagiya.html

http://blog.livedoor.jp/zacozaco/archives/51699315.html

Tokoname-ware Festival

Where do you think it is?

It is a motorboat race track!

This is just an aside.  The races of the four; motorboat, hose, bicycle and motorcycle are only the races that you can legally gamble in Japan.

Konnichiwa, it’s Kohei who would have a bad luck on boat-race gamble and even he has never tried it (^^;; Chikin!  Well, there was a Tokoname-ware Festival held at Tokoname boat race track on Aug 20 &21.  I visited there to see a teapot artist who I’m asking to make original teapots for our shop.  I had a meeting with him and talked about the design for our teapots.  After the meeting I enjoyed the festival.  There were many craftsmen gathered with their works, and I could see a lot of unique teapots and could actually talk to the artists.  Each artist has their own thought on tea brewing and their teapots.  I was so excited about it.  I also enjoyed festival food and fireworks.  My favorite is chocolate coated banana on stick.

I’d like to come back next year again, or maybe to get-rich-quick^^  Jah!

Namacha Sparkling

Bottled tea manufacturers try to release new products on each season.   There is one product that has caught my eyes this summer.

  

Konnnichiwa, it’s Kohei, who is looking forward to optical fiber networks for his homeヽ(^。^)ノ  Namacha is a popular bottled green tea produced by Kirin.  This summer I found Namacha The Sparkling!  Tea and sparkling??  I thought it was very weird combination.  It says it has a yuzu (Japanese lemon) aroma.  Alright, I’ll see.  I opened the bottle.  I smelled it.  I didn’t find green tea aroma there but the citrus.  I took a sip of it.  It was very refreshing.  You will find modest sweetness and citrus flavor.  It gives a mild flavor.  It is more like a plane soda so you can drink a lot of it like water.  It’s going to be great for a hot summer day. 

But well, where is green tea?  I didn’t realize the flavor of green tea.  So, I took some more sips and carefully tasted it.  Hum…, you could notice the flavor of bubs and fresh leaves of green tea.  But, it is slightly different from the common flavor of green tea.     It is very modest so I would not have noticed it if I was not told it is a green tea sparkling.

  

I think it is very interesting drink but it would not be my favorite drink.  I appreciate and enjoy that tea manufacturers try to produce new products!  As I’m watching the photo, I think I need to get my hair cut (^^;;  Jah!

Looking at the hue and shape to tell good leaves

Can you tell good tea and bad tea just by their appearance?  The other day, I attended another tea workshop and practiced three different tea tastings for sencha.  

 

Konnichiwa, it’s meヽ(^。^)ノ     Today, I will introduce one of them.  It is telling the quality by their appearance.  The five different dry-leaf samples are placed on black square trays.  You can have a look at them, grab for the weight, feel its texture and smell them.  So you use all senses except the taste and tell rate their quality.

Do you know any index to tell good leaves?  Which do you think is better, heavy or light?  How about the shape?  Do you have any idea if thin or thick leaves are good?  Please look at the photo below.  They are placed in order from 1 to 5, 1 is good and 5 is bad.

Probably, the photo may not be so clear, but now, can you tell some differences?   I’ll give you the answer and these answers are as follows:

	GOOD	BAD
Hue	Profound brilliant green	Reddish, blackish or whitish green
Shape	Thin	Thick
Pieces	Even Less broken pieces and twigs	Coarse and uneven Many broken pieces and twigs
Surface	shiny and Smooth	rough and chalky surface
Weight	Heavy	Light
Smell	Green and sweet aroma	weak

Why are thin leaves good?  Young and soft leaves are better for Japanese tea.  They are easily and tightly curled than old stiff leaves.  So, good leaves are usually thinner.

I think the easiest indexes for you will be the “hue” and “shape”.  Bad leaves are reddish or blackish.  They are coarse and thick and include many broken pieces and twigs.  On the other hand, good leaves have profound color.  The pieces are thin and even.  Now look at the photo again.  Can you tell the differences?

When you have a chance to compare dry leaves, please look at their “hue” and “shape”.  They will be a guide to tell its quality.  Jah!

Color of Cups

Which tea you think looking delicious?

 

Konnichiwa, it’s meヽ(^。^)ノ　　As you look at the picture above, they are all of the same tea but placed in different cups.   So, they all have the same taste.  But you might get a different impression by seeing them in different cups.  I think the color of the cups affects your total impression of the tea.

It is said that red stimulates your appetite, or warm color makes food look delicious.  It is also said that opposite colors accentuates the others.  However, the reason why a bunch of spinach is tied with a blue tape is to make the green color of spinach to be a lot more attractive.  So the idea seems not to be that consistent.  I have heard about many theories about color.  Now I wonder its effect to green tea.  So, I prepared green tea in different cups and took a picture.

I personally find the white cup "E" looking best.  White cups help show the natural color and adds to the impression that it looks delicious.  I wanted to find which is better for green tea, warm or cold colored cup.  Since the cups are in different shapes, I cannot fully determine how it truly affects them.  What I can only say is that I prefer a brighter colored cup.  Which one looks delicious to you?

The color of the cup is very important but don’t be so particular of the color too much.  It is just one of many elements for a good cup.  Design, shape, weight, texture, heat transfer, durableness, and usability are also important.  Jah!