not including the various mochi, kanten, and sugar candies my mom used to make for us, i remember my first real encounter with wagashi. i told my cousin that i was interested in attending her tea ceremony class since that’s one thing that i never got around to doing. as i sat myself down in proper form, hands folded on my lap, back straight, the sensei brought out a pretty plate with one of the most beautiful confections i’d ever seen in my life. it was purple sprinkled with sugar and koshian in the middle. i thought i had died and gone to heaven. i swallowed that thing in one bite without even had the chance to drink it with my ocha.
while i remembered the beautiful tea ceremony the one thing that sticks out in my mind the most is that little bit of heaven. it’s been many years since that day and i’m finally getting around to trying my hand at the artistic little bites.
