A good cup of tea is something I really enjoy. Green tea, black tea, herbal teas, barley tea. There are so many varieties of teas. Growing up we always had mugicha (barley tea) and green tea so my love for tea started long ago. On my last visit to Tsuwano I created my own tea blend at Komien Kamiryo Tea.
Komien Kamiryo Tea is owned and operated by Rumi and Adrien Ricotta. It was just Rumi-san when I went and she was so welcoming. I wasn’t sure what to expect for this personal tea blend experience, but she made it so interesting and fun.
Rumi-san explained some of the different teas and what they are good for. I have been a tea lover for many years. However, I never really knew what teas can do for you. Some teas help with sleep. Others assist with digestion. There are also those that are good for relaxing. I could go on, but I prefer that everyone learn these things from Rumi-san. Hearing about some of the benefits of drinking certain teas made me even more excited to create my own blend.
It wasn’t just tea leaves that we learned about either. Rumi-san also showed us some other ingredients that can be added to the tea leaves. Dried ginger and dried yuzu for example. Fresh ginger is my fridge pretty much all winter. Grated ginger and a little bit honey mixed with hot water is so good . While I knew that ginger can warm your body, I didn’t know that it also contained antibacterial qualities. As I listened to the information about the different teas and add-ins, I tried to decide what I wanted my tea to do for me.
We were encouraged to pick up the different tea leaves and other ingredients, and smell them. Rumi-san also prepared a tea blend for us to try. As I tried the tea I thought about the blend I wanted to create for myself.
Once I chose my tea leaves and add-ins I handed my paper to Rumi-san. She asked me a couple of questions about my choices to help me decide how much I wanted of each ingredient I chose. After everything was decided, she took my paper and went off to create my own special blend for me.
The presentation of my tea blend was so nice! Rumi-san hadn’t mixed it up yet so I was able to see my. Once I finished taking about twenty photos she took it back to package it up for me.
What a wonderful experience! I will definitely be going back.
Komien Kamiryo Tea is also a cafe. They offer drinks and snacks that customers can enjoy while taking a break. The coffee here is really good and so is the cheesecake. Cheesecake is one of my favorite desserts so my next visit will definitely involve a slice of cheesecake.
The tea shop itself is really lovely on the inside too. Old tea canisters line their shelves and wooden tea boxes can be seen stacked in the store. Komien Kamiryo Tea is almost 100 years old and it was started by Rumi-san’s grandparents. They are very particular about the teas they use and sell and they travel around Japan to try teas. Only the teas they consider to be the best are selected for their tea shop. It’s very clear that Rumi-san has a great passion for tea. It’s also easy to see that she loves Tsuwano. She knows a lot about the town and gave us some good information.
When planning a visit to Tsuwano, I recommend adding the tea blend experience to your itinerary. If you’re not a fan of tea, stop by for a great cup of coffee and some cheese cake.
If you are interested in creating your own tea blend, please make a reservation in advance. They do offer the tea blend experience in English too, which is wonderful. You can find them on Instagram.
https://www.instagram.com/tsuwano.zaracha?igsh=MXYxYTAzZzR5eHBq
Leave a Reply