Maboroshi, the Fragrance of Tea

As is often the case, when it comes to scents, the creative impulse begins in childhood. Hirotoshi Maruwaka, founder of Maboroshi, looked back into his memories to end up in a tea salon.

‘I have a childhood memory of a tea salon where I would often go, and I really liked the smell of their grilled tea that I could smell all around the space. As a an adult, I thought about how it could be possible to experience that same sensation in everyday life’, he explains in interview with Pen. He turned to diffusers, but found no object that he deemed worthy in terms of design and functionality. 

Porcelain and ceramics for optimal diffusion

He had the idea to reach out to designer Osamu Saruyama to co-create a tea burner. Thus, Kouro was born, with the lower part made from porcelain, and the upper part, where the tea leaves are placed, made from ceramic. ‘Manufactured by Maruhiro, a ceramicist from the Saga region in southern Japan, this combination of the two materials is the best for optimal diffusion’, Hirotoshi Maruwaka explains. 

Making it work couldn’t be simpler: just place a small candle in the receptacle and a handful of tea leaves on the plate, then leave it to heat gently until the scent diffuses around the room. Maboroshi use fragrances of green tea, black tea, oolong tea and igusa (herbaceous plants used to make tatami), all kinds of different teas can be used with the burner.

While the products are already sold in Japan, Kouro will be launched in France in spring 2022. 

More informations about Maboroshi can be found on the brand’s website.