I went to the Japanese Gardens and participated in an authentic Tea Ceremony demonstration. I had known that on the third saturday of summer months, the Japanese Garden held a tea ceremony. I came to the garden an hour-and-a-half early and walked around and the sun started to come out. All the trees were changing color and the garden was highlighted with the reds and yellows of fall. Then when the ceremony started at 2 pm, I volunteered to participate in the tea ceremony. I was one of two people picked! It was awesome. You had to pick the bowl up a certain way and bow a certain way and drink a certain way: I LOVE all that stuff. I wish Americans cared more for ritual and ceremony. Normally a tea ceremony would last four-and-a-half hours but ours took 45 minutes. We ate sweets prior to drinking the matcha tea. It was wisked until foamy and I really enjoyed the whole experience.
I am going to take this further then this post today. I invite you to do the same if the Japanese tea ceremony is something that interests you. http://www.issoantea.com/ I have a neat children's book that tells how to do it at home. But the tea ceremony (or the Chanoyu) isn't ONLY about the tea itself but rather the art of kimono, the art of flower arranging, the art of Japanese cuisine (sweets are served prior to tea), the art of calligraphy, Japanese gardens and architecture, and tea etiquette. The woman who served me the tea had been studying this for 27 years! That's so amazing.
1 comment:
Our botanical garden has a Japanese garden with a lake and a tea house on an island in the middle. However, they only let people on the island once a year, during the Japanese Festival. The crowds are always horrendous! Sounds like you had a great time.
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