Kyōgashi Tsukasa Suetomi

 ＞Japanese

Suetomi is a confectionery provider that has long been adorned and earned the trust of tea masters. With the concept of “a world of dreams and fun”, it continues to preserve its original flavors.

Suetomi is known as a leading figure in the world of Kyoto confectionery serving not only for the masters of tea ceremony but also for the heads of major temples. Since its founding in 1948, it has only used exclusively selected ingredients to hand craft its solid taste. A belief that’s been passed down the generations in Suetomi is to imitate things from real life. Taking inspirations from the changing seasons of Kyoto, Suetomi brings ingenuity to express the delicate and beautiful “world of dreams and fun”. The current successor in the fourth generation, Mr. Shoji Yamaguchi, is working tirelessly to meet the demands of changing times so as to bring the joy of five senses in Kyoto confectionery to more people. Even with the full trust of making the main sweets in a tea ceremony, Mr. Yamaguchi humbly says “making sweets samples in accordance to the theme of a tea ceremony remains an irreplaceable study.” From his perspective, tea sweets exists purely for the purpose of drinking tea, so it is taboo to have tea as an ingredient in the sweets. His honesty can be said as a charm that’s special to Suetomi.

Suetomi’s original store sits in the business district of Kyoto. Behind the lattice doors is a sales corner where guests can choose the sweets from the showcase shelves, and further beyond that are the artisans visibly hard at work.

Essentially, sweets used in tea ceremony are intended to express the fresh sense of a current season in Kyoto without any pretense. The cardinal rule at Suetomi is simply to perfect the form of grace and beauty.
The sweet in March, “Grass flowers”, containing Ogura red bean paste wrapped in a layer of gyuhi (a softer variety of mochi) infused with Japanese mugwort depicts a lovely atmosphere of flowers in the wild.
The sweet in April, “Sakura”, is grated yam in the form of a cutout and branded cherry blossom with the filling of smooth red bean paste. A specialty of Suetomi is bringing out the umami of grated yam in its sweets.

Find out more at→ http://www.kyoto-suetomi.com/seasonal/

sweets of May
“Kakitsubata” (The Rabbit-Ear Iris) that appeared in a poem from The Tales of Ise is directly transformed into a sweet for May.
“Yamabuki” (Japanese yellow rose) delicately made with kinton (smashed sweetened beans) captures the overflowing flower’s expression in the mountains.

Classic sweet of June
“Ajisai” (Hydrangea) is depicted in the cool colored kinton (smashed sweetened beans) with small bits of agar to show the glistening rain droplets.

“Yasai Senbei” (Vegetable rice crackers) are egg-based rice crackers that the predecessor had devotedly crafted to withstand the refined taste buds of adults.
It is a classic calming taste that can be used regardless of season and occasion.

“Ryouban” originated from the meaning of ‘two pieces of ooban (oval gold coins used in the Edo period)’. Phonetically the name can also be interpreted as ‘a good evening’, which makes this fuyaki senbei (wheat gluten cracker) fitting for birthday celebration gifts.

“Kyofuusen” (Kyoto balloons) are small wheat gluten crackers that look like balloons in various colors reminiscent to that of the layered colored garments in the Heian period. It’s a visually fun item limited to Kyoto.

“Sakesou Senbei” is another kyofusen made with sake lees from the famous sake, “Jushidai” (14^th generation), kneaded into its dough. It is a limited collaboration item with Takagi Sake Brewery in Yamagata.

This is an impressionistic blue wrapping paper from Suetomi. Shortly after the end of the war, the second-generation owner Takejiro Yamaguchi commissioned the Japanese painting master with whom he had a close relationship to create it. It embodies the Suetomi brand that continues to be loved despite the passing times.

Kyōgashi Tsukasa Suetomi

http://www.kyoto-suetomi.com/