Tea Grotto Blog

Tea is naught but this:
First you heat the water,
Then you make the tea.
Then you drink it properly
That is all you need to know.

Rikyu

Having recently returned from Kyoto, Japan home of the Japanese Tea Ceremony, Chanoyu, the living presence of “hot water for tea” is alive within me. The wabi/sabi aesthetic of the many tea rooms we visited, especially those handcrafted gems of antiquity whose earthy simplicity and rusticness blend the art of both man and nature, captures the zen of tea.

Matcha the green tea powder derived from Japanese tea called Gyokuro is composed of shade grown leaves minus the stems and then steamed and ground. It is a smooth, grassy, umami flavor unique in both it’s texture and taste. Whipped either to a frothy foam in Usucha, thin tea or kneaded in to a thicker tea drink called Koicha it is always the right amount (about one-third of a cup) of hot, good quality water that makes the tea superior or inferior.

Being present to watch the tea being made and all the preparation involved in making a simple bowl of tea is what makes the experience so profound. In our book Tea Here Now Chapter 5 The Japanese Tea Ceremony we say:

”...Chanoyu teaches us to move slowly treating every utensil as a prized possession, and helps the body to absorb these movements through artful, focused repetition. When the whisk for whipping the tea into a frothy foam is set down on the mat, it is placed just so, as we move from our center with our hands, arms, and even each finger in a certain manner. We breathe keeping our head straight, allowing our shoulders to be relaxed, and not forgetting that the tea is being made for a special guest.”