Modern Tea Tools
Image from Matchasource.com
Tea ceremony tools, specifically their call-and-response relationships with nature, have always influenced my designs. I love that they’re built with binaries; a permanent iron kettle used with a bamboo whisk that lasts for only a month of normal use; one scoops aggressively green powdered matcha tea with a matte, earth-toned and humble spoon. Reflecting nature with conspicuously human-made objects is a nice contrast itself, and the one I tried to emphasize even further with these designs:
The matcha spoon is traditionally a piece of steam-bent bamboo with a flattened end for scooping. I love the simplicity of the shape, but wanted to see the green matcha powder splayed on a different surface, so chose unglazed porcelain. I made the screw that holds the two materials together stand out, preventing the spoon from seeming too sleek or luxurious.
I built this bowl from two off-center circles. As the bowl’s lip goes higher, the thickness of the wall gets thinner, creating a subtle pouring edge that will make drinking directly from the bowl easier. The variable wall thickness will also make the bowl warmer at different points.
A Corian and stainless steel whisk for preparing matcha in the traditional way:
4 Comments
November 2nd, 2007 at 12:02 am
[...] Joey’s got some cool matcha tools! Filed under: favorites, lists, tea | [...]
November 11th, 2007 at 8:16 pm
i really like the attention to the thickness of the tea bowl’s contours, and the effect it will have on warming. i would love to drink out of this bowl in a ceremony! the whisk was a bit surprising to me, definately in contrast to the original bamboo. and i would love to see how that protruding screw on the spoon works. it looks like the subtlties of action and flow would find new ways around these new expressions of traditional tools. have you ever done a ceremony using your new designs? if you plan on doing so in the bay area let me know!
March 5th, 2008 at 2:57 am
Is the thin part of the lip of the bowl on the raised end? You’ll conceal your entire face with the bowl when you take a sip. Was this something you were going for?
August 9th, 2009 at 10:16 pm
I’m helping the folks at Matcha Source Green Tea (www.matchasource.com) introduce their products to bloggers. I really enjoyed your post, which is why I contacted you. If you send us an email at lewis@matchasource.com or info@matchasource.com, we can consider sending some complimentary products. A blog post about us would really be much appreciated. Thanks again for all your help
–Lewis