It's Saturday afternoon. I watched a movie in Nihonbashi and now I'm planning to have dinner in Kanda, but I decided to explore the Mitsukoshi department store basement in the meantime. I'm looking for a gift for my mother-in-law who lives alone in Hakodate. My sister-in-law lives nearby, so it's reassuring, but it's difficult to meet during this pandemic, so this might be a belated Mother's Day gift. I chose green tea from Ippodo, a Kyoto company with a history of over 300 years. They just released a new tea, and I remember my late wife used to give it to my family in Hiroshima a few times. I consulted with the knowledgeable lady at the shop and ended up choosing a can of "Kagi." It's quite expensive. I don't know the market price for tea, but it's like the top-grade tuna or Hida beef. Well, it's fine. It's my twice-yearly act of filial piety. But I don't know what it tastes like, so I also bought a small packet to try at home. I learned how to brew green tea on their website and followed the instructions. Hmm, green tea might actually be delicious. I had no interest when I was younger, but maybe as I get older, my tastes are changing. I hope my mother-in-law will be pleased. And that was a delicious meal.

I recently tried some non-alcoholic pairings at a few shops and discovered the charm of roasted hojicha. I hadn't really thought much about the goodness of tea before. According to a confidential source, this shop sells delicious roasted hojicha. Now that I know about it, I can't not buy it. So I visited the shop, and the staff recommended various high-quality teas. When I asked if they had a strong-smelling roasted hojicha that people in Kyoto normally drink, they brought out this product for me. They said, "This tea can be divisive." Excited, I purchased it. Kyoto Ippodo Roasted Hojicha 150g for 450 yen. When I opened the bag at home, I was convinced. This is it!! An amazing smoky aroma. The dark brown tea leaves are open. When I poured hot water and tasted it, the smoky flavor was even stronger than I imagined, and it was wonderful♪ It's so delicious that I got completely hooked. It's too strong to drink every day, so I think it's best to enjoy a little bit every 2-3 days. Whether you like it or not, it's up to you. I highly recommend trying it at least once.

I bought the "Hatsumukashi" matcha from Ippodo Tea Co. for the first time. Ippodo has stores in various places like department stores, making it easy to find. The "Hatsumukashi" matcha is mainly sold for thin tea, priced at 600 yen excluding tax for 40g, making it the second cheapest matcha from Ippodo. Unlike other matcha from Ippodo, the thin tea matcha is not in a tin can but in a paper box with a direct vinyl bag inside. As for the taste, it has umami and a hint of bitterness, but it is light and mild in flavor. Personally, I prefer matcha with more bitterness, so I find it a bit lacking, but it could be good for drinking after dinner.

Due to a lack of preparation, I missed the deadline for my first post of the new year, so this is my second post with a belated New Year's theme. It seems that the tradition of drinking "Oobukucha" on New Year's Day to ward off evil spirits and celebrate the new year has its origins in the Heian period. In fact, in my friend's family, who has roots in Kyoto, they drink tea with pickled plums and kelp while chanting "Oobukucha" on New Year's Day. Although there is no particular significance to the tradition, I happened to buy special New Year's matcha "Inumukashi" 20g for 1944 yen and "Oobukucha" medium can 120g for 864 yen at Mitsukoshi Main Store in Nihonbashi while shopping at the end of the year, so I tried the Oobukucha on New Year's morning. The contents of Oobukucha vary depending on the tea shop, but this one apparently uses even higher quality tea leaves than their premium genmaicha. Following the recipe, I poured hot water over the tea leaves in a teapot and waited for 30 seconds before pouring it into a tea bowl. When I took a sip, it indeed had a luxurious taste. In fact, when it comes to genmaicha, I usually have the impression of a more casual drink, but this genmaicha tasted surprisingly refined. The roasted rice aroma was subtle, almost resembling regular green tea. Well, it's delicious, so that's good. My friend added pickled plums later and drank it, but as someone with no connection to Kyoto, I enjoyed it without adding anything until the end. Personally, I think it's fine to add pickled plums only to shochu with hot water.

When I went to Kaneki in Nishi-Azabu, the tea in the pot was a little different, and the staff told me it was "Kyoichidou's roasted green tea." When I was in Kyoto, I often bought hojicha from Ippodo to get the packaging paper, but I didn't notice this fact. According to their website, the packaging paper is said to be the "first tea specialist book in the world, 'Chakei' (written by Lu Yu in the Tang Dynasty)." I used to stick it on a cardboard box and throw it away, but it has a nice charm to it. I couldn't find it at the Mitsukoshi main store's basement or in the shop front. A young lady asked me, "Are you looking for something?" Of course. I asked if they had "roasted green tea," and she opened the door behind her and brought it out from what seemed like a warehouse. It was in a brown bag, and the bag was big. She said it was 150g for 420 yen. They don't stock the 400g size because it's too big. Even the 150g size is 30x10x5cm, so if they stocked the larger size, it might take up too much space in the narrow shop front. It seems like good advertising, but they still manage to sell it without displaying it. I forgot to ask if they do sell well. I'll ask next time I buy it. The lady said, "It's smoky, isn't it?" As expected, young people say good things. I thought it smelled like smoke or something pungent, but she let me smell it from the bag. It was clear. It might interfere with other products if they displayed it. Since she took the trouble to bring it out and let me smell it, I'll buy a bag. I'm worried about what my wife will say, though. They wrapped it in a plastic bag and then put it in another plastic bag. Even so, the smell is still there inside the bag. It's not a bad smell, so I don't mind too much. I immediately read the brewing instructions written on the back of the bag, which said to steep it in a kettle or teapot for over 10 minutes, use 10g per serving, etc. It's normal to brew it in a kettle, but my wife won't let me use it because she says it will smell. I reluctantly brewed it in a different teapot than usual. The tea leaves are brown and have a distinctly smoked color, and the leaves are spread out rather than curled, giving them a withered appearance. Since it's a normal-sized teapot, I didn't use 10g, but I put in quite a bit. It cooled down quite a bit, but it's no problem for someone with a tolerance for hot food. The smoky, pungent aroma is indescribable. It's cheap and it's nice to try something different once in a while. My wife also drank it without complaint.