A sunny but chilly autumn day on Blågårdsgade in Copenhagen. Inside io tehus, a particular kamairicha is being brewed, a Japanese green tea whose leaves are heated in a pan rather than steamed. A warming tea with a character all its own.
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A cup of tea at io tehus
Behind io are Yukiko Nakayama and Simon Roy Christensen, who together have created a place to explore Japanese tea culture. Here, there is a carefully selected range of teas from small-scale growers in Japan, with an emphasis on cultivation methods, craftsmanship and the people behind each harvest. The knowledge runs deep, but the approach is open and curious. Tea is something to discover, taste and become familiar with, without having to follow a prescribed ceremony.
Io is difficult to describe in a single word. It is a place to buy tea, sit down and enjoy a cup, or discover ceramics and craft objects from different parts of the world. The objects are selected with as much care as the teas, and behind them are personal relationships with makers whose work finds a place both on the shelves and in the daily serving of tea. The result is a world of its own, shaped by Yukiko and Simon's curiosity, knowledge and personal taste.
One of these makers is Yuichi Romita, whose work has much in common with io's approach. There is an appreciation here for the particular qualities of materials, for the variations that arise through the work of the hand and for objects that become part of everyday rituals. At io, Yuichi's ceramics meet what they were created for: tea, people and the moments surrounding them.
Among teapots, cups and objects of widely differing origins, there is a shared idea: craftsmanship is not only something to look at, but something to live with. And a cup of tea can be a way of getting to know a material, a place and the person behind it.
