As you know, a chawan is a ceramic piece used to prepare matcha. Its name literally means “bowl or tea bowl” and they began to be made with this aesthetic in Korea by order of the master Sen No Rikyu in the 16th century when he modified the Cha No Yu ceremony adapting it to Zen philosophy.
Later, these pieces began to be produced in Japan as well, and since then there are places and families of ceramists who specialize in producing these works of art. To anyone's eye, it may look like any other bowl of soup or broth, but in reality it is very different from them.
Although there are many types of chawan, they all serve the purpose of being able to whisk the matcha with the chasen without any problem, sitting firmly on the table and being able to be held in one hand without any problem of slipping.
In the East I have seen true works of art of this simple but indispensable utensil for the preparation and enjoyment of matcha, such as in the tea museum in Shizuoka or the Flagstaff Teaware Museum in Hong Kong, as well as in multiple shops and galleries in Kyoto and Tokyo.
But in Mexico it is not produced for obvious reasons, so what a surprise it was to see at the matcha festival some beautiful chawanes made in my country! The creator of them is Luis Batres, a Spaniard living in Querétaro whose career began 27 years ago when he studied applied arts and artistic trades in his hometown of Jaén, Andalusia.
Luis also studied artistic ceramics in Talavera La Reina, located in Toledo, and graphic design in Ciudad Real.
In 2000 he traveled to Yokohama, Japan, where he worked at the Minnamira gallery and learned to mold the beautiful chawan.
Luis creates unique and unrepeatable chawans under the wabi-sabi philosophy, this philosophy is based on the beauty of imperfection, transience and non-permanence.
As Dan Marte wrote:
At Euro te we are pleased to present you unique and unrepeatable chawanes made by this Andalusian artist that we know you will enjoy from the moment you take it in your hands, when you prepare your Euro te matcha and of course when you put your lips to it and drink the beautiful emerald liquid that will “transport you to the realm of the gods” as recited by Lu Yu, a Chinese poet from the Tang dynasty.
Olivia Medina
Tea Master, EURO TEA
