Tea Ceremony
Tokyo Grand Tea Ceremony
In 2008, on one of my frequent trips to Japan, I had the fortunate opportunity to attend the Tokyo Grand Tea Ceremony, an event that takes place once each year. (Read more about the annual Tokyo Grand Tea Ceremony).Leading-edge technology, fashion, and consumerism are...
The Basics of Hosting a Japanese Tea Ceremony – Chado
Chado; The Japanese Tea Ceremony The Japanese tea ceremony is a get-together that can bring harmony to all tea drinkers. This ritual is called Chado, meaning the way of the tea. Japanese people do tea ceremonies to bond together in a calm, harmonious, and peaceful...
Tea and Self-Care; Ritual Bathing
Tea and Self-Care One trending phrase in health and wellness is “self care”. I realized that having a meaningful relationship with tea - a tea practice - is a powerful form of self-care and has been for hundreds of years. (More about that in my ‘conclusion’ below.)...
Omotenashi in the Japanese Tea Ceremony
When you enter any place as a customer or guest in Japan, you’ll quickly notice that everyone seems to be at your service. It almost makes you feel that you have done them a favor just by visiting!
An Introduction to the Chinese Tea Ceremony – Gongfu Cha
A recent discussion on T Ching has inspired me to explain the basic concepts of the Chinese tea ceremony – “gongfu cha.”
What is the Fukusa?
The host will wrap the fabric and begin making tea. This cloth is called the Fukusa.
Comparing Chinese Tea Art Ceremony, Korean Tea Ceremony, and Japanese Chado Tea Ceremony
When most practitioners think about tea culture, they think about the word “Cha Dao (茶道).” More specifically, when they think about tea culture pertaining to particular countries, they think of Chinese “tea art,” the…
What is a Natsume Tea Container
The tea caddy used for storing matcha or green tea leaves for Japanese tea ceremonies is called a Natsume.
Is the Tea Ceremony Romantic?
One member of my Tea Dharma Club asked me: “Is the tea ceremony romantic?” I was surprised by this question, so I checked an English dictionary to find what the word “romantic” means.
Sacred Teaometry; A Tea Lover’s Thoughts on Tea Ceremony
Tied to the study of nature and the mathematical principles found therein,
Wu-Wo Tea Ceremony; Share the Humanity of Tea
Wu-Wo is a tea ceremony based on traditional Chinese Gong-Fu small pot brewing dating back to the Ming Dynasty more than 300 years ago.
Modernizing Tradition: A Guide To Hosting A Modern Japanese Tea Ceremony
The Japanese tea ceremony, also known as the Sado, is one of the most ancient and elegant traditions that comes from the Land of the Rising Sun. Some people who are interested in tea culture travel all the way to Japan to take classes from a master; and once they are...
Tea Poetry: Rohini Exotic Emperor White
Captured quarters, remnants of tulips, the butchering of spring merging to monsoons, imperfect buds, fractured leaves, wrinkled potential. We collected dampened hay as stubborn bouquets, astringent potential, unassuming innocence - another year ear-marked in a...
Essential Low-Ranking Chadogu for Ceremony of Tea – Part 2
Continued from Essential Low-Ranking Chadogu for Ceremony of Tea – Part 1 Kōgō (香合) – The Incense Container The Kōgō(香合) is the Chanoyu incense box. It consists of a lidded container and is typically made of either ceramic, wood, or lacquered wood depending on the...
Essential Low-Ranking Chadogu for Ceremony of Tea – Part 1
This post is a follow-up to Chanoyu, Temae, and Chadogu Hai (灰) -The Ash The Hai (灰) is ceremonial ash. This tea dogu refers to the ash placed into a brazier or fire hearth that is used to heat the ceremonial tea water. Ash is considered the foundation of the...
A Glimpse Into the Tea Ceremony: Chaji – Part 2
Continued From A Glimpse Into the Tea Ceremony: Chaji - Part 1 The Teahouse When you arrive, a “dewy path” leads to the teahouse or home, even if it looks like water splashed on the pavement: Which it is. This wet path is often a sign of welcome in Japan but it has...
A Glimpse Into the Tea Ceremony: Chaji – Part 1
To conclude this tea ceremony series (see A Glimpse Into the Tea Ceremony and A Glimpse Into the Tea Ceremony: Chakai Versus Chaji - Part 1), we will look at the formal setting and the sitting. Most of what is written about the tea ceremony is done in a serious tone....
A Glimpse Into the Tea Ceremony: Chakai Versus Chaji – Part 2
Continued from A Glimpse Into the Tea Ceremony: Chakai Versus Chaji - Part 1 After watching your graceful host perform one of the most impressive rituals done with precision accuracy, you will be offered tea in a breathtaking bowl called a chawan, from which you will...
A Glimpse Into the Tea Ceremony: Chakai Versus Chaji – Part 1
Following my last post on the Japanese tea ceremony, let’s delve a little deeper to explore one of the two kinds of tea ceremonies. What most foreigners experience is a short tea “session” or tea time (chakai). You might hear it called cha-no-yu. The matcha tea is...
A Glimpse Into the Tea Ceremony
Sadou, chadou or even cha-no-yu--as it is often called--is the beautiful, meditative, and serene Japanese ritual of ceremonial tea. It’s also a life’s work for those attempting to master it. But one can never master sadou because it is an on-going meditative practice...
Zen and the Japanese tea ceremony – continued
Starting from being welcomed by merchants, that fact that Wabi tea was accepted by samurai seemed to have played a more important role for the development of the Japanese Chanoyu.
Zen and the Japanese tea ceremony
My last post asked the question: what do you think about the critiques which assert that the relationship between Zen and Japanese culture – introduced by D.T Suzuki in his classic work of Zen and The Art of Tea – is largely a product of the invention of tradition?
Chinese tea ceremony for non-tea drinkers
Mention the words “Chinese Tea Ceremony,” and many people start thinking of Gongfu tea. This is an association I dislike, since it insinuates that gongfu tea is a ceremonial, ritualistic event.
The gift of tea ceremony at Burning Man
Burning Man is an art-and-music festival celebrating radical self-expression and self-reliance in the setting of a temporary city just north of Reno, Nevada. At approximately 60,000 citizens, it is Nevada’s third-largest city for one…
The Wu-Wo tea ceremony
Recently, our San Diego Tea Meetup group featured Steven R. Jones, a Wu-Wo tea ceremony master, who introduced us to the Wu-Wo tea ceremony. If you are looking to create a special tea event…
Tea art, tea ceremony, and chado: Part 4
In my opinion, tea culture is composed of three parts: material culture, rules and rites, and spiritual culture. Tea art is tea culture at the material level because it focuses on the tea, the water, the vessels, the color, smell, and taste of the tea…
Tea art, tea ceremony, and chado: Part 3
The Japanese word Chado is similar to the Chinese word Cha Dao. In fact, given their history and contemporary meaning, the two words are essentially the same…
Tea art, tea ceremony, and chado: Part 2
Korean Chadao usually refers to the Korean tea ceremony. The Korean tea ceremony has two parts – the rite ceremony (仪式茶礼) and the life ceremony (生活茶礼). The rite ceremony is the tea ceremony for a rite of passage…
Anna the Duchess of Bedford and the Japanese tea ceremony (Part 1 of 4)
"There are few hours in life more agreeable than the hour dedicated to the ceremony known as afternoon tea," said Henry James in the shortest sentence he wrote in The Portrait of A Lady. He was speaking, of course, of English teatime, which Johnson had defined in his...