[Limited] HANA KIKOH - Pair (Peony / Grape) Reviews

Out of Stock

Author	Sarah Longo (United States)
Review	I had my eyes on this beautifully cute pair since the first Time I saw them here. I really liked the fact that although they are a "set" or "pair," you actually get Two different yunomi if you purchase the set all at once. This made me excited to hurry and try my best to place my order before the value priced pair was gone. The yunomi that are sold individually are more expensive per cup than if you were to buy both at once, and I had already done that and learned my lesson with my purchase of Mr. Tanni's Sekichuka multi-cup. I realized that having only the one Sekichuka makes it that much more precious, personally valuable to me, and even more delightful and special to use. BUT also it creates worry that it will somehow break and be TOTALLY IRREPLACEABLE!! THAT would be awful since it was my very first cup chosen from Hibiki-an so it holds a very special place in my Heart due to it's beauty and the fact that I have used it nearly every morning for a personal cup of Matcha or at another Time of day to achieve a sense of calm. With all of that being said, I am also a big fan of Shunzan Mori's art and Tea Ware (I absolutely love his "Kogiku" Matcha Bowl, the one adorned with Chrysthanthamum Autumn flower.) so I knew these would be very beautiful along with functional, plus they are a bit larger than other yunomi/cups and could be used for more of a variety of things. I was not let down! The Peony cup is very pretty and evokes cooler Spring days and mornings with it's pale, pastel pink and white colored flower petals that are accented by glints of gold and delicate green leaves. I had been using this Peony cup to enjoy the Season as I had Matcha and paired it with the Shincha Matcha (which was incredibly delicious and fresh, PLEASE offer it again next Season!) and although I was drinking the Matcha hot, the other day I decided to enjoy the very last bit of my Shincha Matcha cold and in this appropriately matching cup's atmosphere. It was a wonderful treat and I regret not having tried cold Matcha, definitely had it been Shincha Matcha sooner. I did not drink it iced, I used cold, refrigerated water that I poured directly into the Shincha Matcha Canister (I wanted every last powder particle!!) and shook the canister very hard several Times, than I left the canister unopened inside the refrigerator to "cold brew" for awhile and then it was finally ready so I emptied the refreshing cold Shincha Matcha into the beautiful Peony cup's statement of fresh Spring and had an incredible Green Moment! Inspired by that experience, this morning I decided to do something different when I had my Super Premium Matcha and once again wanted to use the Peony cup. The painted Peony evokes a sense of cool and refreshing atmosphere for me, which is needed due to such hot and humid weather where I live. I used the multi-cup to enjoy a cold fruit and Matcha smoothie. I substituted any juice, ice, water, etc. with some cold brewed Gyokuro Karigane that also had a bit of Matcha added to it to enrich the Tea's body, and blended that with my usual amount of Super Premium Matcha Powder and the frozen fruit and yogurt cubes that come prepackaged in the frozen section of your grocery store. This drink was AMAZING, and I HIGHLY recommend it to EVERYONE! It's a great way to enjoy cold, refreshing Matcha in a smoothie but with way less sugar since you are substituting the juice with a cold Tea! Not to mention it tastes even better! At least I think it does. I hope this recipe variation pleases others because I really felt compelled to share it since it was a very nice Green Moment for me. The painted Grape design on the second cup is quite intricate with its colorful bunches of grapes and green grapevine leaves which are also accented with warm gold and a cute little bee in action. This cup, for me, gives off more of a warm/hot sense/atmosphere and I found it to be most enjoyable to use at night or in the evening. The artist has really managed to conjure up the feelings and sensations of two distinct Seasons on these two cups with his mindful use of colors and details carefully painted on each individual cup, one of Spring, and one of Summer. The larger size makes them versatile and after recieving them I feel they look even better in person and are a wonderful addition to anyone's Green Moment, especially people who like to enjoy the specialness of all Four Seasons. Thanks, Hibiki-an! since it was myFirst Hibiki-an Yunomi :) At first, the paler, pastel pink of the Peony painted cup
Rating	Very bad... Bad... Very bad... Ordinary... Good... 5 of 5 Stars!
Date	July 27, 2012

Verified Purchase

Reviews Posted by this Author: 132