Quarantea 2 Tea in the snug, again. Today I used the old wooden tool box (my granfather’s) as a tokonoma of sorts; convenient for placing five smooth basalt stones from the UP near the magnolia cuttings which are budding out quickly, and room for incense, too. Tea – Matcha Harmony Sweet – toasted rice(?) tea […]
Quarantea 1: Tea in the snug. (aka 9 of 52) Ok, I have done tea ceremony in this space before. So, not new. I have been thinking about how to continue with my new year resolution of a tea ceremony a week in a new place, with new people. Integrity is important to me. Even […]
Eighth tea ceremony of 2020. Before heading to Florida for vacation, I anticipated a week of daily tea on the beach, all sunshine and zen, an occasional seagull sound and gentle waves. There was plenty of sun and zen, but also powerful wind, blowing sand, huge waves, and hunting seabirds. We did find an Asian […]
Seventh tea ceremony of 2020. While setting up for tea ceremony today, Susan shared with me her early education in manners. “Knowing good manners, such as choosing the correct spoon at a formal place setting, is not to show off, but rather to make those around you feel at ease.” Good manners are about appropriate […]
Sixth tea ceremony of 2020. I see IG posts of tea prepared outside, not matcha, but other steeped teas. The photos make it look so inviting. I was curious about how that feels, making tea outside, in the cold. Could it even work with a Japanese tea ceremony? Would the water stay hot enough? Could […]
If you’re here for the first time and you’d like to read about my year of tea ceremonies from the beginning, I recommend you start with Tea Is For Everyone!
Fifth tea ceremony of 2020: Today’s Japanese tea ceremony was held in the shrine room at the Yellow House, home of the Omena Karma Kagyu Buddhist Study Group. The shrine room is exactly what it sounds like, a room with an altar for many statues of Buddhas and deities and Tibetan holy things. My specific […]
Fourth tea ceremony of 2020: Today’s temae, chabako kasumi datte, tea box “mist” presentation was at Sunrise Landing Motel, owned and operated by a fabulous couple I have know since they were children. They are the kindest, most thoughtful and gentle people, who now have a home and young family of their own filled with […]
Third tea ceremony of 2020: The answer is 42. I had planned to do this week’s tea ceremony at an event hosted by a local resort. The event was cancelled, leaving me without a weekly tea ceremony location. I was a little panicked, since this is only the third week and already I could potentially […]
Second tea ceremony of 2020: This afternoon I had the pleasure of hosting a Japanese Tea Ceremony at the home of a lovely couple celebrating their 10th wedding anniversary. We shared a simple obon temae (tray service) called shin, which means truth. The chawan (bowls) were two from my personal collection. They are vintage bowls. […]