Is daily life a grind? How about filling it with the aroma of toasted sesame, fresh basil or warming ginger!

This traditional style of Japanese pestle and mortar is known as a 'suribachi'. This mini version fits right in your palm but still has the typical features of larger versions.

The Japanese Seto-ware bowl has a dark brown glazed exterior with the unglazed ceramic grinding surface on the inside. The wooden pestle is made from Japanese Cyprus, rather than stone, so that the bowl's textured surface doesn't get worn when grinding.

You can use it to bruise, mash and grind smaller amounts of seasoning, spices and herbs and have more control over how smooth or coarse you make your paste. Many people in Japan prefer this traditional method over electric grinders or blenders so that you can better experience the aroma of the ingredients and get an improved flavour.

In particular, it is often used for turning toasted sesame seeds into a paste, for griding garlic, fresh basil leaves, nuts, peppercorns and daikon radish.

The bowl is 8.5cm (3⅛") in diameter and the pestle is 10cm (4") in length.

Made in Japan.