In Japanese the tea ceremony is Chado, literally “the way of tea”. The ceremony and its rules were originally set out in the 16th century. The tea master, Sen no Rikyu, elevated it to an art form reflecting the culture of the country.
The host prepares matcha (ground green tea) with hot water and presents the tea to each guest in turn. The ceremony emphasises respect between the host and guests, with specific words, phrases and actions, reflecting Japanese culture. Today, there are three branches of tea ceremony, each with their own hereditary grand tea master.
As part of our tea ceremony introduction, we were provided with traditional Japanese kimonos ! It was explained that an important part of the philosophy is that while each ceremony follows the set protocol, no two ceremonies would be the same as every encounter in life is unique.
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