Staying in Brno, Czech republic for a while now again, I met with some friends and visited yet another of the city's amazing teahouses - one called Sklenena Louka ("Glass Meadow"), or, in shortened and simplified version, just Sklenenka.
sorry for the blurry photos - taken by phone camera
This teahouse sources its teas from two of my most favorite Czech vendors, LongFeng and Teamountain. This time, I was especially aimed for a group of particular teas, recently imported by Martin Spimr's Teamountain - fresh Korean teas made by two famous teamasters, Kim Jong Yeol and Kim Shin Ho.
I ordered Kim Shin Ho's Saejak Samtae, tea which exceeded the high expectations I had for it. Sweet, smooth, fresh and almost impossible to over-brew, this green tea had an amazing effect on body, harmonizing it in a way that left my mind calm, clear and yet sharp.
Originally, I was planning to buy two different Korean teas made by Kim Jong Yeol for my home consumption as well; this idea was, however, quickly dismissed when I saw brand new pieces of Petr Novak's pottery unladen on a nearby table. Among these pots was a little Black Magda-glazed kyusu, completely fitting the idea of my dream-teapot for Korean teas... and I suddenly knew one of the teas will have to wait.
In the end, I was leaving this magical place with new teapot, a pack of fresh Balhyocha and the aftertaste of Kim Shin Ho's Saejak still present in my throat. All this together with the opportunity to chat with some long-unseen dear friends over a cup of great tea - beautiful day.
The tea and the tea house look very beautiful. I feel like I can taste and smell the green just by looking at the leaves. Thanks for posting~!
ReplyDeleteAh.. the teapot addiction :-D Which tea could use a new teapot? I hate when I have to chose between tea and teaware :-(
ReplyDeleteMichal, could you post a photo of this new Black Magda kyusu ?
ReplyDeleteThank you...always such a pleasure to admire Petr's work...
You can always get the tea but you cannot always get the teapot. :) Wise choice!
ReplyDeleteBrett,
ReplyDeleteyes, beautiful place with beautiful tea, what else to wish for :-) Thank you!
Brano,
indeed, but in the end, I decided to go for teaware - while I can buy these teas on various occasions in the future, I can't buy this exact same teapot anywhere else. And I'm happy with my choice now :-)
lionel,
I took quite a lot of photos after arriving home and using the teapot for the first time - will share these in a separate picture-post later today, so stay tuned!
Ho Go,
I was thinking in a similar manner back there and right now, using the teapot for the very first time, I'm very happy with my final decision. Thank you!