Tea Customs
Every country serves tea in a manner that expresses its own culture.
In China, a cup of tea is a customary way to welcome a guest. In Morocco, shopkeepers still greet prospective customers with a glass of sweet, mint-flavored green tea. In the United Kingdom and Ireland, tea is a welcome pick-me-up at eleven in the morning and four in the afternoon.
In Russia, tea was served with a slice of lemon, a dollop of raspberry jam, or a lump of sugar to be held between the teeth, as a comforting supplement to the one large, daily meal served in traditional Russian households. To make certain that there was a constant supply of freshly brewed tea available, the Russians developed their own way of brewing, using a samovar. The large boiler, or giant kettle, kept water hot all day long. A small teapot filled with tea concentrate rested on its crown, so that a cup of hot tea was available anytime by mixing a small amount of concentrate with hot water.
It was the British or, to be more precise, Anna, the seventh duchess of Bedford, who introduced the delectable custom of afternoon tea to the Western world. The nineteenth-century practice of eating an early breakfast and a late dinner made afternoons long and lean, and Anna solved this dilemma by serving tea with a tantalizing tray of gourmet goodies. Today, this tradition continues to fortify and delight thirty-something power brokers as well as the after-school nursery tea set.
By far the most remarkable tea custom is the Japanese tea ceremony. Known as Chanoyu, this ritual has become an important part of Japanese culture since tea was introduced to Japan more than five hundred years ago by Zen monks traveling from China. Once reserved exclusively for men, it is now a ritual that both men and women are welcome to study and share. The Japanese consider the tea ceremony a refuge in which spirit, man, and nature come together, where serenity allows knowledge to become wisdom.
Whether the ceremony takes place in a home or in a separate teahouse, there are guidelines to nurture every aspect, from the selection of guests to the choice of food, utensils, and topics of conversation. The sprinkling of water around a host's entry gate informs guests that preparations are complete and they are welcome to come in. As they remove their coats and shoes, slip into sandals, and walk down the garden path to the teahouse, they leave behind the outside world.
Although different schools of theory govern the ceremony, every gesture by the host and his guests is part of a prescribed ritual. Guided by centuries-old customs, the host or hostess places a small amount of powdered tea, called Matcha, into a tea bowl and, using a bamboo whisk and water, whips it into a light green froth. The tea is reverently poured, offered, and sipped. In this simple and elaborate ceremony, host and guests acknowledge the four principles of an enlightened life � purity, harmony, respect, and tranquility.