August 27, 2008

Importance of Matcha

The Japanese tea ceremony is called Chanoyu in Japanese. Chanoyu literally mean "hot water for tea". Can we draw the conclusion from this that the tea (green tea/ Matcha) is the most important part of the tea ceremony? Let's imagine that we have a room with guests waiting for a bowl of tea after eating their sweets. The Teishu (tea ceremony host) realizes that there is no Matcha. What can be done? at least he can serve hot water to his guests... This might not satisfy an experienced tea ceremony visitor, but something is better that nothing, right? If there is no Chawan or water, nothing can be presented to the guests...

Please leave a comment whether you agree or disagree.

Chawan

The Chawan is the most important tool for the Japanese tea ceremony. Isn't it? If we have Matcha and hot water but not a bowl to serve it in, what good are these ingredients? Our guests will be staring at the powdered Matcha while hearing the water boiling in the Kama. They've already had their sweets and are waiting to balance out the sweetness with a bitter drink.

When I asked several experienced tea teachers, they quickly replied that the Chawan is the most important. After answering the question they started thinking about it more and more which made them confused.

please leave a comment and your opinion whether you agree or disagree!!