It's All About Tea — tea ceremony

In this blog post, we're touching on an important part of the whole tea experience: Cha Xi, or Tea Space. Setting up a harmonious space is a vital element in the experience of tea. It also helps us reach a calm, meditative state, where we can appreciate the moment and enjoy living in the present. 

We'll talk about the history of the Tea Space ("Tea Mat") and the pursuit of the beauty hidden in detail. We'll then review its essential elements and how to use them to arrange our tea space. So, grab a cup, and let's take our tea experience to the next level! (Read More)

Tea is the beverage we choose when we want to unwind and feel rejuvenated. Coffee may be the energy drink that gets us going in the morning and powers us when working through the night. Tea is more than just a calming brew, whether black, green, white, herbal, hot, or icy cold. It could be a ritual, a social or cultural event, or even a spiritual practice.

Tea customs across different countries give us a unique insight into the cultural landscape of their peoples. They highlight the dominating social values and their evolution over time. Let’s embark on a colorful journey across the continents, discovering the tea ritual and sharing a cup of tea with the world! (Read more)

Have you ever heard about Chabana before? It’s similar to Ikebana — Japanese flower arrangement. However, Chabana (茶花) is a flower arrangement explicitly done for tea ceremonies. Cha meaning tea, and bana meaning flower in Japanese. (Read more)

Gong Fu tea is the Chinese tea ceremony, the Chinese way of drinking tea. Literally, Gong Fu Cha means "tea made with effort", referring to the skill, time, and attention involved in brewing tea well. Gong Fu cha is quite different from the western way of preparing tea. To make tea the Gong Fu way, we need a proper tea set. These are generally small tea utensils, like a teapot or gaiwan, small tea cups, and more.

Furthermore, we brew big amounts of tea leaves in the small teapots. Oftentimes, the teapot will be practically filled to the brim with tea leaves, although this will depend on the type of tea we're brewing. We also must pay attention to the proper water temperature and tea brewing times. (Read more)

When you want to make your matcha in the traditional Japanese style, it's essential to invest in a proper Japanese tea set. A basic tea set will include a chawan (matcha bowl), chasen (matcha whisk), and chashaku (matcha scoop). If you want a complete Japanese tea set, however, you should also get a furui (tea sift), and a kusenaoshi (chasen holder). By the way, this is only if you want to enjoy matcha at home, casually. If you're going to make matcha as per the ways of Chado, you need much more equipment. So, if you want to make a proper bowl of frothy green matcha, if nothing else, you should always have quality matcha tea powder and a chasen. So how do we take care of the matcha whisk to ensure its longevity for years of umami-rich tea bowls to come? (Read more)