Chabako, California-Style

Last winter, Harvey-Sensei taught us Unohana Chabako or "picnic tea," as it is sometimes called. It is a temai meant to be enjoyed outdoors. We were able to enjoy chabako on several occasions this year. In the spring we enjoyed chabako at a Tango-no-sekku (Boy's Day) garden party. In July, Harvey presented chabako to his friends at their annual group camp-out:

Photo by Lauraven Dodd

In August, we took our friends Midori-sensei and Noriko-san to Redwood National Park and enjoyed tea in the redwood forest:

Preparing for chabako

Harvey-san makes tea, Noriko-san takes video

The view from our picnic area. What finer kakemono is there?

Poetry reading and booksigning

If you missed the Senryu poetry reading and workshop earlier this month, you have another opportunity to listen to readings from Sanae, Senryu Poet, Her Life in 5-7-5, the poetry of Shizue Harada. And, of course, purchase a copy and have it signed!

Friday, Aug. 27, 7:00 p.m.
Northtown Books
957 H St., Arcata
822-2834

Chanoyu demonstration success

Horai Center friends welcomed five very nice people to our first Chanoyu demonstration on Aug. 15 at the Ink People Center for the Arts. We are already planning our next presentation.

Harvey demonstrated Ryuakubondate temai* without narration (above), then narrated and answered questions as Laura and Kristin demonstrated the temai again. It was wonderful to be able to share usucha* with interesting people.

Bonus: We got to practice putting on kimono! We need a lot more practice.


* Links to a brief yet expanding glossary of terms used on this site.

Chanoyu Demonstration

Horai Center will be providing a demonstration and discussion of Chanoyu (Japanese Tea ceremony) at the Ink People Center for the Arts, 517 3rd St., Eureka, Calif. We recommend guests wear comfortable clothing, be fragrance-free and wear minimal jewelry. Everyone is welcome, but this demonstration is not recommended for small children.

When/where:

Dates	Sunday Aug. 15
Time	noon-2 p.m.
Venue	Ink People Center for the Arts
Cost	Free-will donation
E-mail

Senryu Poetry Reading and Workshop

Shizue Harada’s poignant poems, (pen name Sanae) along with artwork created by her granddaughter Amy Uyeki, are the subject of a poetry reading of Sanae, Senryu Poet: Her Life in 5-7-5, read by Amy and editor Aiko Uyeki, Sanae’s daughter.

Kumi Watanabe Schock will serve as translator.

Following the poetry reading, the Uyekis will conduct a workshop exploring the poetry medium of senryu and introducing the ancient art of haiga, which combines poetry with artwork.

The Nikkei (descendants of Japan) community are encouraged to participate. Both events are open to the public and free of charge. Another reading/workshop is being planned for this fall at the HSU Multicultural Center, Arcata.

Humboldt Unitarian Universalist Fellowship
24 Fellowship Way, Bayside
Tuesday, Aug. 3, 6:30 p.m.
707-826-0163

Event listing from the North Coast Journal website

Books are available at Northtown Books in Arcata or online at www.amyuyeki.com

So where do you get your Matcha? Part II

We first posted this question nearly a year ago ("So where do you get your Matcha?", Aug. 22, 2009, and "Matcha source update," Oct. 5, 2009). Recently, we purchased Matcha from, of all places, Amazon.com and we were pleasantly surprised.

We conducted a taste test of these teas:

DoMatcha Green Tea, Organic Matcha
1.06-oz. (approx. 30 g) $25.97
Cost per gram: 87¢
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0019FOZC4/ref=oss_product

The Tao of Tea, Liquid Jade Powdered Matcha Green Tea
Loose Leaf,* 3-oz. (approx 90 g) $18.46
Cost per gram: 21¢
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000TVQVNA/ref=oss_product
(*The product description states "loose leaf" but it was indeed powdered matcha)

Tea's Tea Matcha Ceremonial Green Tea
20 g Units (Pack of 2, 40 g total) $24.00
Cost per gram: 60¢
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0037ASIJA/ref=oss_product

There were five tasters whose experience with Matcha ranged from expert to novice. Our yardstick was Ippodo Aoyama-no-shiro Matcha which we purchased for everyday practice while in Japan. It is a mid-grade tea, but still was of a higher quality than the teas under examination. (In Japan, this tea cost about $5.00 for 40 grams, 13¢ per gram. We haven't been able to find it in the U.S. Yet.)

We rated these teas using a rubric based on dry and wet color, aroma, flavor and "whiskability" (how well the dry powdered tea could be whisked to a drinkable consistency in a chawan). DoMatcha barely sneaked into first place with Tea's Tea close behind. Both teas were very drinkable and had fine color and aroma but were not what we consider of the highest quality. The flavor was one-dimensional and didn't develop the desirable aftertaste we like in a ceremonial-grade tea. We found the Tea's Tea to be the best value for everyday practice. (Interesting side note: The dry Tea's Tea dry Matcha had an interesting alkaliney-chocolatey aroma, but it was absent when the tea was whisked in hot water.)

On the other hand, the Tao of Tea was entirely unacceptable -- old, stale, bitter. It was straw-colored (not the vibrant emerald-green we associate with Matcha) and it is no exaggeration to describe the aroma and flavor as "foul," "nasty" and "gaggy." (I shudder to think that an unsuspecting tea novice would drink this evil brew and forever be repelled by the mere thought of Matcha.) Amazon.com customer product reviews were not glowing, but they didn't come close to describing this unbelievably awful tea. We were given a full refund, no questions asked.




:: :: ::

Apologies to Canadian tea brethren: Amazon.com does not offer grocery products in Canada (this was brought to my attention by a reader's comment on a previous post -- thank you Hitsch). I'm sure there are more Canadian tea associations than this, but perhaps this is a place to begin:

Montreal Association of Chado Urasenke Tanokai, Inc.
(514) 393-134.

 Suggestions and comments welcome.

Thinking inside the box

Strawberry blossom

Eaten by an oppossum
Tea is awesome!

-- Kristin, Pia and John's haiku written during chaji, June 6, 2010

We held a Chaji this June to celebrate Pia's 33rd and Kristin's 33-1/3 birthdays. John joined them as a guest. Even though the weather was gray, muggy and drizzly, the mood was lighthearted and playful.

Annie made the omogashi and was teishu (host). Shana was our kimono dresser. Laura was hanto (assistant) and helped me in the kitchen along with Dan and Dhar. We served tenshin (a light lunch) before koicha. Photos are forthcoming. Some recipes are below.

June Tenshin Menu

In the shokado box:

Rice
Vegetable "Sashimi" of carrots and daikon
Zucchini Dengaku
Homemade takuan (bran-pickled daikon) and chard pickled in miso

Miso soup with cucumber, garnished with a sprig of cilantro and a dab of mustard

Sake -- Momokawa Organic Junmai Ginjo, Kurasawa Junmai Dai Ginjo

Hashiarai of pine nuts

Hassun -- Artichoke heart boats with fresh-grated daikon; seasoned water chestnuts wrapped with nori

Omogashi -- "Ie Ichigo" ("One Meeting Strawberry"), mochi-wrapped strawberry with an.

Koicha -- We used a very good quality usucha from Wada-en for koicha. Unorthodox, but delicious.

Higashi -- an-filled cakes bought by Kristin at Ginkaku-ji in Kyoto

Usucha -- Ippodo "Ao Arashi"

:: :: ::

Vegetable Sashimi

This dish was inspired by a recipe for "Tomato 'Sashimi'" from The World in a Bowl of Tea by Bettina Vitelli.

For the "sashimi," slice several young carrots and a 2" length of daikon into 2" x 3/8" pieces -- about 1 to 1-1/2 cups. Microwave (or steam) briefly until just barely tender -- for a minute or less. Allow to cool to room temperature.

For the dressing, combine

juice of one lime
1/4 tsp each of salt and sugar
1 Tbsp rice vinegar

Toss dressing with cooled vegetables. Arrange and serve like classic sashimi, with ken, tsuma and karami. Ken is fine strips, or chiffonade, of daikon, cucumber or seaweed which is placed under the sashimi. Tsuma is an aromatic garnish such as shiso or perilla. Karami is a pungent garnish, such as wasabi, mustard or ginger.

Our presentation was arranged on a chiffonade of young chard leaves with a dollop of wasabi. We added a sprinkle of chopped mint leaves and finished with a drizzle of dressing.

:: :: ::

Zucchini Dengaku

Dengaku is a favorite grilled dish, made by grilling skewered vegetables or tofu. Sauces vary with the season. This recipe is modified from from "Nasu no Oden" from The Heart of Zen Cuisine by Soei Yoneda.

Select several young zucchini squash and slice in half lengthwise. Brush with oil and grill until tender, basting with yakitori sauce while grilling. Slice diagonally into bite-size pieces. Spread miso topping on each piece and serve while still warm.

Miso topping

4 level Tbsp sweet white miso
1-1/2 Tbsp sake
1 tsp sugar

:: :: ::

Vegetables Pickled in Miso

Any vegetable can be used, but I chose the still-tender flower spikes and stalks from our bolting chard.

Mix together

1 scant cup miso, any kind
1 Tbsp sake

Cover vegetables with miso paste. Vegetables such as carrot, radish, broccoli stems or cucumbers should pickle 1-5 days. Chard blossoms were ready overnight.

:: :: ::

Pine Nut Hashiarai

1 c hot water
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground toasted pine nuts

Steep and strain. Garnish with 3 or 5 whole toasted pine nuts.