Follow me on Facebook, Instagram, Weibo, and Wechat (id: sugarednspiced)!
Sakurai Tea 櫻井焙茶研究所
Add: 5F Spiral Building, 5-6-23 Minami Aoyama, Tokyo
Tel: +81-3-6451-1539
Hours: 11am-11pm
Website: sakurai-tea.jp
Price: [tea] 1,600 yen [tea set] 4,500 yen+
Visited: Oct 2016
For those interested in Japanese tea, Sakurai could be a worthwhile place to visit while Tokyo. Located on the 5th floor of Spiral Building in the ultra stylish Minami Aoyama area, Sakurai is a modern Japanese tea house founded by Mr. Shinya Sakurai, an ex-Yakumo Saryo and Higashiya who expands his craft to not just tea, but also pairing with food and alcohol.
喜歡日本茶的人，可以來試試櫻井焙茶研究所。這家位于スパイラルビル五樓的茶館，是曾經在八雲茶寮和 Higashiya 擔任經理的櫻井真也于 2014 年獨立出來開的店，專注于茶和食物、以及茶和酒的結合。
The shop, also designed by Simplicity Studio, fuses traditional Japanese design with modern metallic vibes. The counter displays a range of beautiful teaware, and beyond the counter is a tea roasting area.
店裏融合了傳統日式風格與現代金屬的摩登感，看得出來也是 Simplicity 設計的。入口處的櫃台上漂亮的茶具一字排開，透過玻璃可以看到烘培茶葉的區域。
On the other side of the counter is the tea room. Tea and tea desserts are available a la carte as well as in sets (gyokuro, blended tea, hojicha, bancha, matcha, etc., 4,500~6,900 yen/set) and alchoholic versions like encha gin, hojicha rum, matcha beer (1,200~1,600 yen), which all sound quite interesting.
櫃台的後方是茶房，除了可以單點茶和甜品之外，也可以選擇包含玉露、混合茶、焙茶、抹茶、等4~6種茶以及和菓子的茶套餐（4,500~6,900日幣），另外還有以茶入酒的各種選擇，比如煎茶琴酒、焙茶朗姆酒、抹茶啤酒等（1,200~1,600日幣），聽起來挺有趣的。
The tea room is small, with only 8 seats around the bar. I arrived during the late afternoon, so I can only imagine how beautiful the space must be during the day with natural light spilling in from the large windows. Upon being seated, I was handed presented a selection of tea leaves to choose from, accompanied by clear explanations about their origin, aroma, and flavor.
茶房空間不大，只有圍繞著吧台的八個座位。我到的時候已經晚上了，不過白天時應該可以享受透過大片玻璃窗進來的陽光。入座後店員遞上茶單，如果選擇的是焙茶的話，店員會再取出一排茶葉供參考。從選茶到泡茶，包括産地、味道、香味，店員都解釋的頗爲詳細。
The chosen tea leaf is first presented as it is, then placed in the pot to be roasted.
選擇好茶葉後，店員將茶葉裝到壺裏，先讓客人聞聞本身的香味後在現場進行烘烤，讓客人比較先後的不同。
As the lab coat-clad staff brews the tea for us, I couldn’t help but notice how calculated each gesture was. I’m not sure how closely this adheres to the traditional Japanese tea ceremony, but it all looks very ceremonial.
店員正在幫我們泡茶，舉手投足都看得出是經過訓練的，連擺放茶杯和勺子的角度都有一套，儀式感十足。
My friend’s hojicha, with yokan (1,700 yen).
朋友點的焙茶，以及搭配的羊羹（1,700日幣）。
My choice of matcha, first presented the non-powdered form.
我選擇了抹茶，店員先將未磨成粉的狀態先讓我看了一眼（第一次見到不是粉狀的抹茶呢）。
Matcha, with awamochi (1,700 yen).
抹茶，以及搭配的あわもち粟餅（1,700日幣）。
Sakurai is a nice place for those who want to experience Japanese tea in a modern setting. Seats are limited, do make a reservation.
雖然不是傳統的日式茶館，不過茶是好喝的，和菓子也是好吃的，喜歡新鮮時髦感的人不妨來試試。記得先預約，否則很可能沒有位子。
櫻井焙茶研究所
地址：南青山 5-6-23 スパイラルビル 5F
電話：+81-3-6451-1539
營業時間：11am-11pm
網站：sakurai-tea.jp
價位：茶1,600日幣，茶套餐4,500日幣＋
造訪日期：2016年10月
Follow me on Facebook, Instagram, Weibo, and Wechat (id: sugarednspiced)!