Special tea

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.’