Tea ceremony two weekends ago at Hakone Gardens in Saratoga – one of the reasons for me being late to my Sunday class….(but I brought the authentic ZEN spirit along:)
Okashi-sweets served at a tea ceremony at Hakone Gardens
The tea ceremony is very ritualized with the use of all instruments in a very methodical measured motions. It gets mesmerizing if you follow the ceremonial preparation and serving of that bowl of special tea brewed for each guest…
Whipped with bamboo wisk … while it looks creamy, it’s just matcha/green tea powder and hot water… that’s it… but so sublime:)
At a ceremony, usually the bowl of tea is served with a dainty cake that depicts the beauty of nature, cherry blossom motif if spring, chestnuts or maple tree leaves if autumn…these cakes are hard to come by in America because it takes a lot of skill to make them and … they do not ship well as usually it must be eaten within that day…
This is what it looked like – Nooo, just kidding you. (I could not take a photo in such solemn serene space with this dainty and very polite teacher staring at you.) This is latte; not matcha tea prepared before you with utmost care and grace by the teacher. But similar in that it’s a bit frothy, whipped up with a bamboo wisk rather than espresso machine coffee, it’s green tea … served in a beautiful tea bowl. Love the manners we must follow. Manners and protocol … that’s Japanese… some may say restrictive but…it’s very orderly and MEDITATIVE and thus, comforting. (BUT sitting zen style for 30 minutes can cut off all circulations as I crawled out of the tatami mat tea house… my legs were numb… masters sits for hours and hours …including my grandparents – my grandfather would be singing Shigin and my grandmother would be just fine sitting sipping tea … sitting ‘zen’ she weaved into the everyday – nothing special.)
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Tea Ceremony
