It's All About Tea — tea ceremony

When thinking of Japanese culture, many of us have come across the term wabi-sabi. Although hard to define literally, wabi-sabi is a concept centered around the appreciation of imperfection. It is carried throughout many aspects of Japanese culture. From art to architecture, literature, poetry, nature, design, and one of the places it’s seen the most… tea ceremony. (Read more)

The use of tea leaves first started in southwest China more than 3,000 years ago and was originally used by people for chewing or eating.  Over time, the use of tea leaves  expanded as people began to use them in cooking and to flavor their water. (Read more)

If you’ve ever participated in a traditional Chinese tea ceremony (Gong Fu Cha), you might’ve noticed a small ceramic creature sitting somewhere atop of the tea tray, slowly slurping up tea alongside the tea master. (Read more)

As the times roll, more and more are becoming curious around how to assimilate tea into food culture; and it is indeed slowly turning into a regularized practice. Not only are teas fairly cheap and versatile, they can be served at different temperatures and intensities. That being said, here we'll have a broad look at how to think about pairing the 5 major tea groups with food, and the reasons behind it. (Read more)

"Ichi-go, Ichi-e". This Zen phrase meaning 'once in a lifetime' or literally "one time, one meeting"epitomizes the simplest reminder for the necessary state of mind when conducting any tea ceremony. It stamps out the meditative quality inseparable from the roots of true tea ceremony: Remaining present in the beauty of the infinite moment, with all its transparency and impermanence. This essence holds true today just as much as it did when these words were first spoken. (Read more).