The Japanese herbal tea ceremony is a point of undeniable intrigue, appeal, and high historic awesomeness. It is triply so when done and enjoyed within the circumstance where it developed: in some beautiful wabisabi spot in Japan, essentially at a zen holy place, which is where the entire thing actually began.
It was a remarkably easy affair initially: a homely little hut, created expressly for making and appreciating tea. Nothing fancy, no excess anything, merely 4 and a fifty percent tatami mats, a little charcoal brazier to boil water, a kettle, some matcha, a couple of basic tools. That’s it. You consume the tea and it was about being in the moment, that minute, and seeing points. Discovering the environments, seeing your breath and palate, noticing the appeal and simplicity of the matcha and whatever else was in sight, including the great fortune of living at that moment.
Over the centuries, the entire point became a lot more complicated. Proscribed kinds (temae) arose on ways to move, just how to sit, the best ways to reach for tools, ways to froth, just how to offer, the best ways to clean up. Doing these forms appropriately implied that you had put in the significant effort and time —– years —– to master these things. You can demonstrate that you were a person of society and class by examining the ceremony. It became a kind of complex choreography.
But it’ s possible to return to matcha’s original simplicity.
The most effective way to do that is dedicate merely a couple of mins to making a cup. There’s nothing complicated regarding it, truly. You boil water, pick a mug, and look your matcha as the water cools a little bit. You then add some water, froth it up —– either with a conventional bamboo whisk / chasen or, my inclination, with a hand-held milk frother —– rest, appreciate its striking charm and scents, and consume it. Essentially you drink it while refraining various other points like reviewing email. Just provide it a few mins of exclusive focus.
And afterwards you’re done.
Just what a tone it establishes.