Tyst Te
I took my first sip of Japanese green sencha tea in Paris many years ago and it was the beginning of a lifelong love affair. Traveling to Japan some years later I learned about the rituals and traditions of the Japanese tea ceremony and experienced how these can be adapted to everyday life. I learned how to enjoy tea on a daily basis. The Japanese attention to aesthetics and nature is also affirming to the way I have always lived my life. Simplicity, clarity, materiality and nature’s essence bring pleasure, insight and calm.
With Tyst Te I want to share my love for Japanese tea and the quiet space one can create around a simple tea ritual. In his essay, The Book of Tea, Japanese scholar Okakura Kakuzō describes the Sukiya or tearoom as an ephemeral structure built to house a poetic impulse. Tyst Te is founded upon this idea, a personal teahouse for a meaningful break from daily life and thoughts.
It starts with the tea. In the shop I present high-quality organic Japanese teas, carefully selected for their terroir and regional styles, they come from small tea farmers with sustainable small-scale production in two of Japan’s largest tea growing regions: Kagoshima and Uji. The ritual involves both the making and drinking of tea. In the shop you will find a selection of new and vintage ceramics, made by Japanese and European potters building on ancient Japanese traditions and chosen for their tactility and raw beauty. To complete the ritual are accessories by local Japanese artisans and craftspeople with skills perfected through generations.
I hope you will enjoy your tea,
Louise Walter
Tea Regions
Kagoshima
In the southern tip of Kyushu island, Kagoshima is famous for its sencha production and the deepest green teas. Most of Japan’s organic tea farmers are situated here. Generally, the teas are deep steamed and are both sweet and fresh in taste. In the northern Kirishima district, there are lighter steamed single cultivar sencha teas with slightly more bitterness.
Uji
A small city situated between Kyoto and Nara, Uji is renowned for fresh light steamed Asamushi senchas that brew slightly lighter colored and are often a more yellowish green. Uji sencha presents the true flavor of fresh, just picked leaves, maintaining the qualities of the tea plant on the palate. They also generally possess an intoxicating almost floral note referred to as “Uji Ka” - the aroma of Uji.
