Tokyo Saryo: A Tearoom Revolutionising the Tea Ceremony

It is in this small, unpretentious tea bar that the first-hand dripped tea was served. The owners of the café have developed a method much like that used to make drip filter coffee whereby hot water is poured over tea leaves and water is passed through a ceramic filter.

This technique, a million miles from the traditional codes of Japanese tea ceremonies, is adapted to a range of different tea leaves, especially those with a complex aroma. The way that the tea is dripped allows the leaves to retain and balance out the flavours. In order to find this perfect balance, the temperature of the water is selected according to the tea in question. This made-to-mesure method will set you back around a tenner for two cuppas.

Inside Tokyo Saryo, you’ll find wooden counters with clean, rectangular lines resting on a cement base surrounded by nine wooden stalls with six more along the edges of the bar and three in front. Perfect for admiring the space and all its angles.