Japanese Tea Ceremony with a Twist: Sake and Matcha Set
Japan has had a remarkable impact on the global culinary culture with its distinct cultural identity and aesthetics—be it the universal favourite Sushi or the chewy sweet treat Mochi, which has now spawned a staggering number of riffs in the form of mochi ice cream and the Hawaiian staple Butter Mochi, to name a few.
Researchers claim that ceremonial tea drinking became a significant part of Japanese culture during the Nara period when it was introduced into the country through China’s Song Dynasty. The samurai warriors seized control from Japanese nobility and then emerged as the primary advocates of this new way of drinking tea.
However, its popularity did not sustain until tea drinking made a comeback into Japanese culture around the late mediaeval period. This change was a result of many tectonic shifts taking place in terms of social and religious orders.
Sen no Rikyu is an important name in the annals of the Japanese tea ceremony. He lived in the 1500s and was referred to as the great master of Cha-no-yu (ceremonial tea serving in English). Japan at the time was undergoing heavy political turmoil as warlords continued to conflict with one another.
But this didn’t have much impact on the port city of Sakai, which continued its burgeoning trade with China, Spain and Portugal. Sakai also quickly became the hub for merchants and samurai warriors to socialise. And tea was their preferred choice of beverage. This drink was made by whisking matcha powder—young tea leaves steamed, dried and ground—with hot water.
The Traditional Japanese Tea Ceremony
Chanoyu is a practice of preparing, serving and drinking matcha tea. The process begins with the host cleaning all the tea utensils to be used in front of the guests. Then, a thick matcha tea is prepared by mixing the matcha powder with hot water and a traditional bamboo fine whisk, also called chasen.
Then, the tea is served in an ornate wooden bowl for everyone to appreciate before taking their first sip.
Sake in Matcha?
Sake or Japanese rice wine occupies a large part of Japanese culture, thus incorporating Sake into Japanese tea seems like the logical course of action for any cocktail enthusiast.
A Sake and Matcha set combines the two iconic beverages from the country to give your ceremonial tea a slight boozy hit.
A matcha and sake set will typically contain a matcha bowl, a bamboo whisk, a scoop for the tea powder, a sake cup or Ochoko, and a small carafe known as tokkuri.
If you are hosting a matcha-sake evening, you will begin by making the tea first in the bowl, and mixing the powder into the water until the concoction is thick and frothy.
You’ll then pour sake into a sake cup and offer it to your guests as a palate cleanser in between your earthy and bitter matcha drink.
The guests will be sipping on matcha and sake alternately because the sweetness of the sake will balance out the pungent flavour of matcha.
Pro-Tip For Your Matcha-Sake Night
To appreciate the Matcha and Sake set to its optimum, you may also want to consider doing up your home decor by incorporating traditional Japanese aesthetics.
The decor should be monochrome, and simple with soft lighting and music to create a holistically immersive and calming experience.
