It's All About Tea — tea ceremony

The Different Types of Japanese Tea Ceremony

Posted by Path of Cha on May 21, 2018

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)

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Tags: chanoyu, Japan, japanese tea ceremony, matcha, tea ceremony

The Green Tea Journey

Posted by Path of Cha on Apr 16, 2018

The use of tea leaves first started in southwest China more than 3,000 years ago and was originally used by people for chewing or eating. Over time, the use of tea leaves expanded as people began to use them in cooking and to flavor their water. (Read more)

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Tags: camellia sinensis, china, chinese tea, genmaicha, gong fu cha, Green tea, gyokuro, Japan, japanese green tea, japanese green tea powder, japanese tea, legend, loose leaf tea, matcha powder, sencha, tea, tea ceremony, tea legend

What Exactly Is a Tea Pet and How do We Take Care of Them?

Posted by Path of Cha on Mar 28, 2018

If you’ve ever participated in a traditional Chinese tea ceremony (gong fu cha), you might’ve noticed a small ceramic creature sitting somewhere atop of the tea tray, slowly slurping up tea alongside the tea master. (Read more)

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Tags: ceramics, cha, chinese tea, clay, gong fu, gong fu cha, gong fu tea, red clay, tea ceremony, tea pet, teapot, teaware, water temperature, yixing, zisha

The Pairing of Tea with Food

Posted by Path of Cha on Mar 26, 2018

As the times roll, more and more are becoming curious around how to assimilate tea into food culture; and it is indeed slowly turning into a regularized practice. Not only are teas fairly cheap and versatile, they can be served at different temperatures and intensities. That being said, here we'll have a broad look at how to think about pairing the 5 major tea groups with food, and the reasons behind it. (Read more)

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Tags: black tea, chinese tea, food, gong fu, gong fu cha, gong fu tea, gongfu, Green tea, health, healthy, japanese tea, loose leaf tea, medicine, oolong tea, pu-erh, raw pu-erh, red tea, ripe pu-erh, taiwanese tea, tea, tea ceremony, tea pairing, umami, white tea

Tea Vs Coffee: Caffeine

Posted by Path of Cha on Mar 21, 2018

In 1827, tea was discovered to have a caffeine of its own called "theine". It was soon realised that this caffeine and the caffeine found in coffee were identical. Yet, drinkers of tea and coffee experience stark differences in their effects on the body and mind, and questions have surrounded the topic ever since. So, what really influences the disparities between tea and coffee? (Read more)

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Tags: amino acids, caffeine, cha, coffee, gong fu cha, gongfu, Green tea, herbal, herbal tea, pathofcha, tea, tea ceremony, theine, tisane, white tea