Eric K. Carr
@arszoetica.bsky.social
Intersex poet, writer, tea practitioner, and secular liturgist in Tucson, AZ. @erickcarr on Substack.
That’s so great! Happy anniversary!
August 3, 2025 at 6:45 PM
That’s so great! Happy anniversary!
Thanks! This is an unusual but classic shape called tokin-gata. In English it’s usually called a “hood shaped” chashaku. It was favored by one of the Urasenke iemoto, but I don’t remember which one. 😊
August 3, 2025 at 12:39 AM
Thanks! This is an unusual but classic shape called tokin-gata. In English it’s usually called a “hood shaped” chashaku. It was favored by one of the Urasenke iemoto, but I don’t remember which one. 😊
Also, “According to data from the Trade Statistics of Japan Ministry of Finance, 78% of all powdered green tea exported from Japan -- which includes matcha powder -- went to the U.S. in 2024.” (ABC News)
August 2, 2025 at 11:47 PM
Also, “According to data from the Trade Statistics of Japan Ministry of Finance, 78% of all powdered green tea exported from Japan -- which includes matcha powder -- went to the U.S. in 2024.” (ABC News)
Here in Tucson, there’s a teahouse chain using Ippodo Sayaka no Mukashi for “ceremony grade lattes!” It’s koicha, and they’re just using it like it’s nothing! Meanwhile my friends in Japan were only allowed to buy a single can each time they went to the store. It’s very frustrating.
August 2, 2025 at 11:43 PM
Here in Tucson, there’s a teahouse chain using Ippodo Sayaka no Mukashi for “ceremony grade lattes!” It’s koicha, and they’re just using it like it’s nothing! Meanwhile my friends in Japan were only allowed to buy a single can each time they went to the store. It’s very frustrating.
It’s a problem for us here in the USA. Ippodo, Koyamaen, Maruyasu…all of the tea companies that we used to get our matcha from for Chanoyu have been sold out since fall and have said their prices will more than double once matcha is available again, and it will be limited to one can per order
August 2, 2025 at 11:40 PM
It’s a problem for us here in the USA. Ippodo, Koyamaen, Maruyasu…all of the tea companies that we used to get our matcha from for Chanoyu have been sold out since fall and have said their prices will more than double once matcha is available again, and it will be limited to one can per order
How can there be “ceremony grade” houjicha? Houjicha wasn’t invented until the 1920s and wasn’t powdered for commercial purposes until recently. The only houjicha ceremony is to offer it to dead ancestors — certainly not to put it in lattes. So am I missing something?
July 29, 2025 at 6:36 PM
How can there be “ceremony grade” houjicha? Houjicha wasn’t invented until the 1920s and wasn’t powdered for commercial purposes until recently. The only houjicha ceremony is to offer it to dead ancestors — certainly not to put it in lattes. So am I missing something?
That okashi is beautiful, and I’ve never seen the print of the watermelon boats! Amazing. Thank you for sharing this!
July 29, 2025 at 6:30 PM
That okashi is beautiful, and I’ve never seen the print of the watermelon boats! Amazing. Thank you for sharing this!
Wow! That’s absolutely incredible. What a wonderful space!
July 25, 2025 at 7:10 PM
Wow! That’s absolutely incredible. What a wonderful space!
Oh, I hope you get resolution quickly! I’m so sorry. I ended up getting a misonodana in order to do tea for several of my friends who need the extra accessibility. It’s been such a joy to be able to do tea for people who previously couldn’t be guests.
July 25, 2025 at 6:19 AM
Oh, I hope you get resolution quickly! I’m so sorry. I ended up getting a misonodana in order to do tea for several of my friends who need the extra accessibility. It’s been such a joy to be able to do tea for people who previously couldn’t be guests.
That’s exactly what happened to me with the bowl I used in my tea last weekend! I wanted it so badly, and when I went back to look at it I saw that it had been sold. Sure enough, it ended up being my birthday gift. I hope he got it for you — it’s spectacular!
July 25, 2025 at 6:16 AM
That’s exactly what happened to me with the bowl I used in my tea last weekend! I wanted it so badly, and when I went back to look at it I saw that it had been sold. Sure enough, it ended up being my birthday gift. I hope he got it for you — it’s spectacular!
How sweet! It looks like a tiny quill in an even tinier inkwell. 😊
July 25, 2025 at 5:26 AM
How sweet! It looks like a tiny quill in an even tinier inkwell. 😊
Paku Paku An is an incredible gallery. The glass artist behind Cool is Tea is absolutely phenomenal. Do you think you’re going to get the one you’re crazy for?
July 25, 2025 at 5:24 AM
Paku Paku An is an incredible gallery. The glass artist behind Cool is Tea is absolutely phenomenal. Do you think you’re going to get the one you’re crazy for?
Wow, that is just lovely. It looks like a pleasure to hold as well. There’s a big wood-firing community here in Tucson, and I’ve seen hundreds of their pieces, but I’ve never seen one with a glaze that lustrous. Amazing!
July 23, 2025 at 6:30 AM
Wow, that is just lovely. It looks like a pleasure to hold as well. There’s a big wood-firing community here in Tucson, and I’ve seen hundreds of their pieces, but I’ve never seen one with a glaze that lustrous. Amazing!
What a wonderful space! During the pandemic I joined one of the Portland study groups along with my tea friend, Arlene Watkins, who moved here from there. It was wonderful to share tea over Zoom for that strange, strange period of time. I wonder if we were ever on the same calls.
July 23, 2025 at 6:25 AM
What a wonderful space! During the pandemic I joined one of the Portland study groups along with my tea friend, Arlene Watkins, who moved here from there. It was wonderful to share tea over Zoom for that strange, strange period of time. I wonder if we were ever on the same calls.