Tokyo: day Nine

One of the pourings

Dry Tea Leaves

Tea
Having bought my Yukata, I wore it, and we went to a tea cafe in Harajuku called Chachanoma. It's a small cafe down one of the back streets. It has a modern and light feel. The cafe is run by a tea sommelier. He is assisted by a woman training to be a sommelier. There are also staff in the kitchen to cook. There are 30 some different types of green tea. First, they bring the tea leaves to you to try. Supposedly, you can tell the quality of tea by tasting it. Then, they took the tea away and poured cold water through it. I think they heated the tea and this was the first pouring. They served it in little white handleless teacups set on wooden coasters. Even though the tea sommelier said that the type of tea we had chosen was popular with foreigners because it was sweeter, the tea was still bitter. Next, they poured hot water through the leaves. Third, they poured ice water through the leaves. After that, I think they poured hot water again. This was the fourth pouring. These four pourings were served in small quantities. The fifth pouring, both hot and cold., was presented in little pitchers. We also had some snacks. I had a Sunday. It was made of Green Tea ice cream, mochi, some gooey substance, anko, and some type corn flake like crackers. It was an experience in taste and texture. I didn't really enjoy the tea. My palate isn't well-enough adjusted to be able to tell the difference bewteen the taste of the different pourings, and I'm used to very sweet fruit teas. But, it was a great experience. More than that, I enjoyed having tea in a fancy setting in my yukata. I would recommend both the tea and the yukata experience. (Note, the cafe we went to was not a teahouse. I don't know if it would be appropriate to wear a yukata to a teahouse. There is actually a certain type of kimono that one wears to tea ceremonies, or did in the past. I might wear my yukata anyway.) There are places which will help you put on a yukata or kimono. I just searched online and watched Youtube videos. (Note, for women if you want to put on a yukata yourself, you need two koshihimo to secure the yukata.)

My treat

My friend's treat