[Tokyo 東京] Sakurai Tea 櫻井焙茶研究所

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Sakurai Tea 櫻井焙茶研究所

Add: 5F Spiral Building, 5-6-23 Minami Aoyama, Tokyo
Tel: +81-3-6451-1539
Hours: 11am-11pm
Website: sakurai-tea.jp
Price: [tea] 1,600 yen [tea set] 4,500 yen+
Visited: Oct 2016

For those interested in Japanese tea, Sakurai could be a worthwhile place to visit while Tokyo. Located on the 5th floor of Spiral Building in the ultra stylish Minami Aoyama area, Sakurai is a modern Japanese tea house founded by Mr. Shinya Sakurai, an ex-Yakumo Saryo and Higashiya who expands his craft to not just tea, but also pairing with food and alcohol.

喜歡日本茶的人,可以來試試櫻井焙茶研究所。這家位于スパイラルビル五樓的茶館,是曾經在八雲茶寮Higashiya 擔任經理的櫻井真也于 2014 年獨立出來開的店,專注于茶和食物、以及茶和酒的結合。

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The shop, also designed by Simplicity Studio, fuses traditional Japanese design with modern metallic vibes. The counter displays a range of beautiful teaware, and beyond the counter is a tea roasting area.

店裏融合了傳統日式風格與現代金屬的摩登感,看得出來也是 Simplicity 設計的。入口處的櫃台上漂亮的茶具一字排開,透過玻璃可以看到烘培茶葉的區域。

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On the other side of the counter is the tea room. Tea and tea desserts are available a la carte as well as in sets (gyokuro, blended tea, hojicha, bancha, matcha, etc., 4,500~6,900 yen/set) and alchoholic versions like encha gin, hojicha rum, matcha beer (1,200~1,600 yen), which all sound quite interesting.

櫃台的後方是茶房,除了可以單點茶和甜品之外,也可以選擇包含玉露、混合茶、焙茶、抹茶、等4~6種茶以及和菓子的茶套餐(4,500~6,900日幣),另外還有以茶入酒的各種選擇,比如煎茶琴酒、焙茶朗姆酒、抹茶啤酒等(1,200~1,600日幣),聽起來挺有趣的。

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The tea room is small, with only 8 seats around the bar. I arrived during the late afternoon, so I can only imagine how beautiful the space must be during the day with natural light spilling in from the large windows. Upon being seated, I was handed presented a selection of tea leaves to choose from, accompanied by clear explanations about their origin, aroma, and flavor.

茶房空間不大,只有圍繞著吧台的八個座位。我到的時候已經晚上了,不過白天時應該可以享受透過大片玻璃窗進來的陽光。入座後店員遞上茶單,如果選擇的是焙茶的話,店員會再取出一排茶葉供參考。從選茶到泡茶,包括産地、味道、香味,店員都解釋的頗爲詳細。

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[Tokyo 東京] Yakumo Saryo 八雲茶寮

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Yakumo Saryo 八雲茶寮

Add: 3-4-7 Yakumo, Meguro Ku, Tokyo / 東京都目黒区八雲 3-4-7
Tel: +81-3-5731-1620
Hours: 9am-9pm
Website: yakumosaryo.jp
Price: tea 1,090~2,300 yen
Visited: Oct 2016

It took us a little while to find Yakumo Saryo. This restaurant, hidden inside a quiet residential neighborhood in Meguro, was about a 15-minute walk from the closest station Toritsu Daigaku. After some exploration and retracing of steps (even with Google Map), we arrived at the restaurant, which looked more like a private mansion with a large yard, all ensconced in shades of green. The calming ambience is immediately soothing, and all of our worldly worries seem to be left at the door.

這次在東京探訪的第一家茶館隱身於目黑區安靜的住宅區內,門口看上去像是個有大庭院的私宅,低調的寫著 “八雲茶寮”。要不是事先打聽好,路過就算注意到,也不敢貿然入內吧?穿過庭院來到入口處,靜谧的氣氛讓人心自然沈澱,所有令人煩惱的思緒,都遺留在布簾之外。

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The founder of Yakumo Saryo is designer Shinichiro Ogata, whose design studio Simplicity has put together well-known interior design works throughout Japan, such as Aesop Shinsaibashi and Andaz Tokyo. His style inherits, preserves, and adapts traditional Japanese culture to contemporary designs, often merging the old and new to reveal a refreshing outlook on the traditions.

八雲茶寮的負責人緒方慎一郎本身是位室內設計師,他的設計事務所 Simplicity 出品了非常多知名的店鋪,比如京都和東京的 Aesop 門店(很美,沒看過的速速去網上搜圖),以及之後要介紹的 Higashiya 和櫻井焙茶研究所。他的風格是簡約設計的美學概念裏融合日本文化的細節,讓人能感受到傳統的新觀感。

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At Yakumo Saryo, breakfast and lunch are by reservations, dinner is by invitation (from an existing member), while afternoon tea is open to walk-ins. The number of guests accepted is limited as they wish guests to enjoy the time with as few disturbances as possible; on the afternoon of our visit, there were only 2 or 3 other guests in the tea room.

八雲茶寮有早茶、午飯、下午茶、以及晚飯,午晚飯是必須事先預訂的,招待方式大多是由熟客介紹。這次我們前來用下午茶,被服務人員領到了茶室裏;由于希望客人不受太多打擾,茶室接受的人數不多,除了我和朋友外也就兩三個客人。

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