Back in Flow: Welcoming September With Matcha & Wagashi

Happy September, friends.

I’ve been a little MIA.

Life has been full, and sometimes even the things we’re most passionate about need a little room to breathe.

But I’m finding my rhythm again.

And naturally, that means sitting down with a bowl of tea.

For this little September session, I prepared Jyoraku Matcha alongside another beautiful creation gifted to me by my favorite confectionery artist, Tokaragashi.

This one immediately made me smile.

A tiny momo (桃), or peach. 🍑^.^🩷

Beautifully shaped on the outside—and hiding a little surprise within: a piece of locally grown Washington cherry. 🍒

Delicious.

But also such a lovely expression of what continues to fascinate me about wagashi.

A confection can be tiny, yet carry so much!

Season

Place.

Craftsmanship.

Color.

Texture.

Surprise.

And then, beautifully, it’s gone in a few bites.

Follow it with a sip of straight Jyoraku Matcha and the sweetness gives way to the tea’s rich umami and pleasant bitterness.

Sweet.

Bitter.

Another bite.

Another sip.

No rush.

Just tea.

Finding the Flow Again

Maybe that’s also a fitting metaphor for where I am right now.

Rebuilding Flowering Waters has been anything but a straight line.

There have been incredibly exciting moments, difficult ones, periods of momentum, and periods when I’ve needed to get quiet and figure out what comes next.

But through all of it, the passion hasn’t gone anywhere.

I still get ridiculously excited about an exceptional bowl of Japanese tea.

I still want to know who grew it.

I still want to understand the craft behind it.

And I still want to put a bowl in someone’s hands and say:

“Try this.”

That’s the heart of Flowering Waters.

So if you’ve been following this little journey—whether you’ve purchased tea, visited a pop-up, shared a post, asked me a tea question, or quietly watched from somewhere across the world—

ありがとうございます☺️

Thank you.

Truly.

Here’s to September.

Here’s to rebuilding things we believe in.

Here’s to losing the rhythm sometimes—and trusting ourselves enough to find it again.

And here’s to keeping the chill flow going, one beautiful bowl at a time.

╰(´︶`)╯♡ 🍵

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