A Wintery Erabo Style Tea Bowl By Sel Young Jin

Fall has passed. Winter is here.

A few weeks ago one awoke at the break of morning to little wet snowflakes that coated everything as they rode the light mountain winds to the ground. It was marvelous to embrace the red hot embers of the brazier so early this frigid morning and share tea with the first snowflakes of the year. They barely clung to their majestic, ice-crystallized form, dancing outside one's large windows before melting into the ground, quenching the dry winter's thirst.

As the seasons slowly change to winter, one usually migrates from loose leaf green tea and spring oolongs to yellow and black teas, as well as puerh. But the one thing that stays pretty much consistent, is one's consumption of matcha.

Drinking matcha from Sel Young Jin's erabo style bowls are like drinking matcha from the snowy winter mountain. This bowl is heavily glazed, like the slick snow that is beaten by the winds and molded by the blinding winter's sun upon the eves of a mountain temple. It gleams like it too was born of the elements.

It's form only further validates this imagery of cold winter. It's rim is most impressive as it maintains this feeling of snow bulging over the eves, a haphazard drift of snow whipped about by cold winds now leans above one's head.

It's foot is littered with dark black cracks which seem to jump out in the backdrop of white. These could as well be the cracking ice that covers the winter pond. The other small markings left by the ash in the kiln are amplified in these whiteout conditions.

The three spur marks left on the rim of the foot almost resemble foot prints in the snow.

Sipping tea, one marvels at the beauty of this tea bowl, the beauty of this season.

Peace