It's All About Tea — japanese tea ceremony

We all know of Chado (the way of tea) or Chanoyu, which refers to the traditional Japanese matcha tea ceremony. But how many of us know that Senchado (the way of sencha) was a thing as much as Chado at a time? Although now sencha is drunk in much more casual settings, most commonly in the comforts of one’s home or perhaps at a sushi restaurant, it started off as a more or less a ceremony quite similar to gong fu cha. (Read more)

When sipping koicha, it will slowly but surely proceed to greet you. Meeting you with a brief moment of intense umami and a long-lingering sweetness. Similarly to gongfucha when we intake a concentrate of all the tea’s best qualities all through one tiny cup of brew. (Read more)

Overall there are two main types of tea ceremonies in Japan: an informal tea gathering chakai, and a formal tea gathering chaji. Chakai is a more simple tea gathering which will include some sweets and thin tea (usucha). While chaji is much more formal, usually including a full-course kaiseki meal followed by sweets, thick tea (koicha), and thin tea. A chaji is often times around four hours long, with guests taking small breaks to walk around in the garden by the tea hut.

Aside from the two main types of tea ceremonies there are also many other kinds of tea ceremonies which are held in Japan depending on the occasion, season, and time of day. (Read more)

The Japanese tea ceremony follows two main concepts — wabi sabi and ichigo ichie. Wabi-sabi, although hard to define literally, is a concept centered around the appreciation of imperfection. While ichigo ichie is an idiom meaning “one time, one meeting” and emphasizes the fact that each and every meeting is special in that it can only happen once. (Read more)

Here's some information on the most overlooked and disregarded stem in the process of tea making: the cup. Pottery is a patient, start-to-finish alchemy that places importance on the tiniest details for the perfect outcome; just like tea cultivation. Every clay has a different chemistry, and every cup has a different taste. (Read more)