Special tea

By Maks Fus Mickiewicz 03 : 02 : 2017 Tokyo Saryo : Matcha : Lucy Alter Design

Tokyo – Tokyo Saryo is the world’s first hand-drip green tea store, offering a variety of single origin teas from across Japan.

Tokyo Saryo is the first store from Green Brewing, a Japanese green tea brand established in 2016
The founders aim to position home-grown green tea as an alternative to coffee, which is increasingly popular in Japan

Tokyo Saryo uses a bespoke brewing device developed by Lucy Alter Design that ensures the tea leaves are brewed for the optimum length of time.

Visitors browse a menu of teas that are categorised according to the temperature of the water used for each blend and the amount of time the tea is steeped for. The broad selection enables would-be connoisseurs to sample a range of flavours such as genmaicha – green tea combined with roasted brown rice.

The studio’s minimal design for the store interior brings the traditional Japanese tea ceremony into the 21st century and enables visitors to focus on the flavour and character of each tea. ‘We were wary of using myopic Japanese motifs,’ explains Mikito Tanimoto, creative director of Lucy Alter Design. ‘People can feel the Japanese essence spiritually rather than concretely.’

The Big Picture

Consumers are increasingly interested in lesser-known varieties of tea and specialist tea houses are emerging to cater for the demand. To find out more, read our Whole New Blend microtrend.