G-31 ・ Perception ・ 1 min

Mawashi-tsugi — Pour every cup the same strength

A browser game based on mawashi-tsugi, the Japanese way of pouring tea into several cups in turn. The tea coming out of the pot changes strength as it is poured, in one of four patterns: steady rise, strong at the end, strong start with a thin middle, or one step up midway. The pattern and the pot size (240–360 ml) are set by the date in Japan time, so everyone pours the same pot that day. Hold a cup to pour at 25 ml per second; let go to stop. Each cup's strength is the average of the tea it received, shown in five shades of green. A cup holds 110% of a fair share, and anything that spills is added to the amount gap. Each day has three rounds (2, 3 and 4 cups). After each round you see the strength gap (max − min ÷ average) and the amount gap, next to what pouring one cup at a time or an equal round trip would give with the same pot. Your daily best and the last seven days stay on this device. Strength is simplified for play; tea leaves, water temperature and steeping time are not modelled.

How to play

For the first three seconds the game shows what happens if you pour one cup at a time. Even with equal amounts the cups end up different colours, and the strip at the bottom shows the strength gap
Hold a cup and the pot tilts and pours into it at 25 ml per second. Let go to stop. Pour into any cup as often as you like
The band at the top shows how today's pot changes strength, from the first pour on the left to the last on the right. ▲ marks where you are, and the strip below shows which cup got each part
Each cup is drawn in cross-section, so the tea level is proportional to the amount. The rim is full and the short marks on the walls show an equal share. Spilled tea is added to the amount gap. When the pot is empty the round ends with a golden last drop
The five squares under each cup are the strength steps, with the current one outlined. The strip at the bottom shows the strength gap between the cups you have poured so far, next to the one-by-one gap
After each round you see your strength and amount gaps next to “one by one” and “equal round trip”. After three rounds you get your change from last time and a next goal

Keyboard: Hold 1–4 to pour into that cup / ←→ choose a cup / Enter or Space start or stop pouring (←→ moves the pour while it runs) / R play again

Mawashi-tsugi in real life

The tea brewing manual published by Japan's Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries says that when you share tea between cups, each cup should get the same strength and the same amount, so you pour a little at a time in several passes. This is called mawashi-tsugi: with three cups you pour 1, 2, 3, then come back 3, 2, 1, and repeat until the pot is empty, squeezing out the last drop so no water is left steeping in the pot. Saitama Prefecture's tea brewing page gives the same advice for sencha. This game simplifies how the pot's strength changes into four patterns and does not model tea leaves, water temperature or steeping time.

One by one vs. in turns (demo numbers)

The demo (?demo=1) uses a 300 ml “strong at the end” pot. Pouring 150 ml into each of two cups one at a time gives a strength gap of about 56%; pouring the same 150 ml each in six alternating passes (1→2→1→2…) gives about 1.6%. Both are values from this game's model, not measurements of real tea.

Sources

Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, “茶の淹れ方マニュアル” (PDF, Japanese) https://www.maff.go.jp/j/seisan/tokusan/cha/attach/pdf/tea_export-4.pdf / Saitama Prefecture, Agricultural Production Promotion Division, “お茶のおいしいいれ方” (posted 15 Sep 2026, Japanese) https://www.pref.saitama.lg.jp/a0904/irekata.html . Both checked on 3 Nov 2026.

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