Exploration
I knew I wanted the brand to be built on the traditions of Matcha tea making, so I went down the research rabbit hole. Creating a company that was not part of my own culture meant that I had to research carefully and respectfully in order to do this development right.
The website: https://minirism.org/en/what-is-chashitsu/ helped me truly understand what "Chashitsu" meant and all of its aspects. From the locations, the methods, all the way down to the tools that were used and the stone paths, "Tobiishi" they walked on to get to the tea houses.
When looking at competing matcha companies, I had found that the tool commonly visualized through branding was the whisk, a "Chasen." So instead, I wanted to use an aspect that was not as commonly seen, and could even cause people to ask questions on what it was. So I used a "Chawan Heiwa" to be the foundation of the logo! Essentially, this "bowl with a spout" was also the physical foundation of creating matcha: where the powder would be held and mixed with hot water.
