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From KOIN: Umami Café’s Japanese teas, desserts

Posted by Portland Japanese Garden on

The inviting Umami Café is an idyllic setting to set aside the busy patter of the day-to-day and take a moment to reflect and relax with a cup of warm tea and delicious hand-crafted treat from one of Portland Japanese Garden’s cultural culinary partners. KOIN featured the Umami Café in a recent edition of “Foodie Friday.”

Special to the menu through the end of February are hanabira mochi. Handcrafted by Portland resident and wagashi expert Gena Renaud, these Japanese sweets are traditionally served at Hatsugama, or the first kettle, the initial tea ceremony of the new year. To enjoy these edible delights and our world-class green teas, make a reservation by clicking here.

Hanabira mochi, the traditional wagashi served during the Japanese New Year with “the first kettle” of the year, one of the most important in tea ceremony tradition. Hanabira means “flower petal,” representing perserverance, purity, and renewal–attributes to pursue in 2022.