Drop in to Pantechnicon's first floor shop Studio anytime from 11:00-15:00 on Thursday 7 October for a complimentary matcha tea and wasanbon sweet to celebrate the launch of a stunning collection of Echizen lacquer teaware, exclusively available in Europe at Pantechnicon.

From soup bowls used daily to stacking storage boxes for special occasions, lacquerware is a traditional craft and has been a part of Japanese life since ancient times. Echizen is one of the most highly revered types of lacquerware in Japan. Primarily made in the Kawada district of Sabae City, Fukui Prefecture, it is characterized by its glossy yet deep coating, lightness, and durability.

The Echizen collection at Pantechnicon will include tea cups, tea cannisters, iron tea pots and ippuku boxes, a lacquered box containing all you need to enjoy a tea ceremony at home – a bamboo tea whisk and measuring spoon, a cannister for storing matcha green tea powder, and a ceramic tea bowl.

Sairi Aikawa from Sayuri Teas will be on hand to demonstrate how to prepare matcha in the traditional way using green tea powder, a tea bowl and a bamboo whisk. Sairi will be using the highest quality ceremonial Wabi Sabi organic matcha powder, sourced from Ujitawara, an area in the mountains of Kyoto that has been producing tea since the Kamakura period (1185-1333).

The matcha will be served with a free wasanbon sugar sweet designed to balance the flavours of the tea. Created by Japanese confectionary expert Chieko Smith specially for Pantechnicon using Japanese wooden moulds, the sweets are made from wasanbon, a high grade fine-grained sugar made from the distinctive chikuto sugarcane plant that’s only produced on the Japanese island of Shikoku. Chieko is a collector of Japanese wooden moulds, and as part of London Craft Week, her wooden moulds will be on display with the Echizen teaware and a selection of autumnal sweets made by Chieko.

This is a drop-in event which is free to attend.
For more information, visit: https://www.pantechnicon.com/explore/p/matcha-tea-tasting-demonstration