The Cold Towel Welcome, for Summer Service

A hot towel says welcome in winter; in summer, a cold one does the same job better. The Taiji CC-8 Cool Cabi is the chilled-towel counterpart to Taiji's Hot Cabi warmers, a 6-litre cooler that holds 25 to 33 rolled towels cold and ready for guests. It is built to stack with the HC-8 warmer, so a kitchen can switch between hot and cold oshibori with the seasons from one footprint. Taiji has made hospitality kit in Japan since 1964.

The other half of oshibori

Oshibori (おしぼり), the towel offered to a guest on arrival, is a cornerstone of Japanese omotenashi, or hospitality, and it changes with the season: warm in the cold months, chilled when it is hot. Taiji built the first electric towel warmer in 1964 and made hot-towel service universal; the Cool Cabi answers the summer side of the same custom. A chilled towel on a hot day is a small, precise piece of hospitality, and a dedicated cooler keeps a full stock ready rather than relying on a fridge drawer.

Should I run a towel cooler as well as a warmer?

If you serve through the summer, yes. Hot towels can feel wrong in a heatwave, where a cold oshibori lands as a genuine refreshment. The neat solution is to run the CC-8 alongside an HC-8 Hot Cabi, stacked with a joining plate, so you have both to hand and simply lead with whichever the weather calls for. The cooler holds 25 to 33 towels, enough for steady service without constant refilling.

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