Tea briefing #1 What is this Tea ceremony thing ?

If one had to define what is the tea ceremony, how s/he should proceed ?

"Tea is nought but this:
first you heat the water,
then you make the tea.
Then you drink it properly.
That is all you need to know."

— Sen no Rikyu 
(also the author of hundreds of other maxims on Tea that render this one much more esoteric)



(c) N. Cohen
Enter a world of simplicity...


The Japanese name of the tea ceremony is Sado (茶道). Sado should be translated as the Way of Tea. And " Way " must be understood here in its Asian meaning as a path that shapes one’s life, the occasion to meditate at all time on how to behave.
But the tea ceremony is also sometimes called chanoyu (茶の湯) which means " hot water of tea ". Their are many explanations to this name and I will just mention one of them : it is supposed to remind hosts and guests that tea is simply the act of serving tea. 


One could already feel the paradox that runs through Tea. The Way of Tea preaches the love of the here and now. Hence, the great masters of the late 16th century all said that Tea never looks for excessive refinement (even if, de facto, it was high refinement that was usually considered a feat worthy to be remembered)…but that it takes years to reach that point. Tea must stay a simple moment of quietness, out of the world troubles and of the quest for fame they said. That is the sanest advice to give to your warlord master who craves for power…

A more complete presentation of the Tea Ceremony can be found here.

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