Japanese Tea Ceremony
In the middle of the 16th century the first Westerners, the Jesuits, arrived in Japan, and at that same time a Japanese man named Rikyu was developing a new approach to the ancient practice of serving tea with some food.
That it is a social event is obvious. Guests gather at an appointed time to be served food and drink. This can be an informal tea which consists of serving a sweet and some tea, or even a small meal with the sweet and tea. This is called a chakai and can take anywhere from 20 minutes to an hour or so. The number of guests for this sort of tea can be as small as one, and the highest number of guests is determined only by the limitations of the host's facilities.
Guests also can be invited to a much more formal gathering called a chaji which involves highly structured gathering rituals, the serving of a meal in multiple courses, an intermission in a garden, and then a solemn thick tea ceremony followed by the less solemn thin Japanese tea ceremony.
A chaji will last from 3 to 5 hours and only 5 guests at most will be present. Both the chakai and the chaji have the same purpose which is to serve food and drink to guests.
The steps to the ceremony are quite simple: clean the serving bowls, boil a pot of water, serve a sweet treat to guests before the tea, mix powdered bitter green tea (Matcha) and water to make a frothy tea, serve the tea to guests. [ The flavors of the sweets and bitter tea compliment each other. This is a sign of harmony. ]- Bow when you receive the cup of tea which is called a chawan.
- Take the chawan with your right hand and place it in the palm of your left hand.
- Turn the chawan clockwise three times before you take a drink.
- When the tea is gone, make a loud slurp to tell the host that the tea was truly enjoyed.
- Wipe the part of the chawan your lips touched with your right hand.
- Turn the chawan counterclockwise and return to the host.
