Globus Chashitsu

In the world of tea, the year begins not in January but in November. The new leaves picked in spring have rested all summer in a sealed jar, and now, before the guests, the host cuts the seal and opens the jar for the first time. This is kuchikiri (口切), the New Year of tea.

Each November we gather at Globus Chashitsu for the ritual of kuchikiri. The host unties the jar’s dressing, cuts the paper seal with a small knife, and takes out the tea that has waited since spring. The guests look at the jar up close, and later, while they enjoy their zenzai, the new leaves are ground into matcha in a stone mill before their eyes.

November is also when the tea room changes for winter. The sunken hearth, the ro (炉), is opened and lit for the first time, and the room is dressed in a bright, festive mood, as for a new year. This year the gathering falls on the Day of the Boar (亥の日), the day on which tea masters have long lit the hearth. The boar belongs to water in the old calendar, and so is said to keep the house safe from fire.

It also comes five days before Thanksgiving. Over a warm bowl of zenzai and the season’s first bowls of tea, come mark the turning of the tea year with us, and give thanks for the season and for one another.

• What you will experience+
  • Kuchikiri: the tea jar’s seal cut before your eyes
  • Sumi-demae: the charcoal laid in the newly opened hearth
  • Zenzai, the warm red bean soup with mochi served at kuchikiri
  • Koicha, thick tea, and usucha, thin tea, made with the new season’s matcha
  • Morning and afternoon sittings, ten guests each
• The day+
  1. 1

     The ritual of kuchikiri

     • The tea jar, passed around for a closer look
     • Cutting the seal and taking out the new tea
  2. 2

     Sumi-demae

     • The host lays the charcoal in the newly opened hearth
  3. 3

     A short break

     • The room is made ready while guests step out
  4. 4

     Zenzai and the stone mill

     • Zenzai (善哉), sweet red bean soup with mochi, the customary sweet of kuchikiri
     • While you eat, the new tea is ground into matcha in a stone mill (ishiusu) in front of the guests
  5. 5

     Koicha and usucha

     • Koicha (濃茶), thick tea, with guidance on how to receive and drink it
     • Usucha (薄茶), thin tea, a bowl for each guest
     • The history of the season and the utensils, explained along the way

Photographs are from previous Kuchikiri gatherings and do not represent the exact menu or presentation of this event.