Journal
What to wear to a Japanese tea ceremony
You do not need a kimono. What matters is what you take off, what you bring, and whether you can kneel and bow in it. A practitioner's checklist.
What to wear to a Japanese tea ceremony
You do not need a kimono. What matters is what you take off, what you bring, and whether you can kneel and bow in it. A practitioner's checklist.
What does matcha taste like? Grass, seaweed, an...
Good matcha is sweet, savory and green at once. What grassy, seaweed and bitter actually mean in the bowl, and which of them is a warning.
What does matcha taste like? Grass, seaweed, an...
Good matcha is sweet, savory and green at once. What grassy, seaweed and bitter actually mean in the bowl, and which of them is a warning.
Can you use metal with matcha? The myth, and wh...
The tea room boils its water in iron and sells its tea in tins. Where the metal myth came from, and the one reaction worth avoiding.
Can you use metal with matcha? The myth, and wh...
The tea room boils its water in iron and sells its tea in tins. Where the metal myth came from, and the one reaction worth avoiding.
When is the Japanese tea ceremony held? Morning...
The seven traditional gatherings are named for the hour guests are invited, from 4 a.m. in winter to 6 a.m. in summer. What that means for a visitor.
When is the Japanese tea ceremony held? Morning...
The seven traditional gatherings are named for the hour guests are invited, from 4 a.m. in winter to 6 a.m. in summer. What that means for a visitor.
How to clean an incense holder and look after i...
Loose ash wipes away; the sticky ring around the hole is resin and needs something else. What Japanese incense makers recommend.
How to clean an incense holder and look after i...
Loose ash wipes away; the sticky ring around the hole is resin and needs something else. What Japanese incense makers recommend.
Is matcha supposed to be hot or cold?
The tea room serves matcha hot even in August, and cools the summer with wide bowls instead. How to drink it either way.
Is matcha supposed to be hot or cold?
The tea room serves matcha hot even in August, and cools the summer with wide bowls instead. How to drink it either way.
Tomari (とまり) is an old word for a mooring — the place a boat ties up for the night. A bowl of tea is meant to be the same: a few minutes to put the day down. You do not need to know the rules to begin.
Who chose this
I choose everything here by hand, in Japan. I practice tea rather than simply selling the tools for it — I am not a tea master and I do not claim to be. I am a practitioner, which mostly means I have ruined enough bad whisks to know what a good one feels like in the first second of holding it.
Nothing is drop-shipped and nothing passes through a third warehouse. I pack each order in Tokyo and post it from Japan, ceramics double-boxed by hand. If something arrives broken, write within 7 days with photographs of the piece and the box, and I send a replacement or a refund; there is nothing to post back unless I ask. Who writes and chooses all this, and the longer version of why this shop exists.