Mutsuko Tokunaga

Not really a book on tea ceremony, but as this discusses all the types of Japanese green tea, it can hardly help but illuminate that subject in passing. Includes recipes for matcha (powdered tea) and the various leaf teas such as gyokuro, sencha and so on. Excellent!

My only quibble is that the author never explains the yusamashi (sometimes also transliterated as yuzamashi - see here for a photo). This is a a small pitcher-like vessel (frequently without a handle, and always without a lid) that is used to cool the hot water for sencha or green tea. It appears in a couple of illustrations, but what a pity that Ms. Tokunaga didn't think to include instructions on how to use it. The yusamashi is an essential element of green-tea preparation that is functional, beautiful, and uniquely Japanese!… (mais)