It's been a while since we've noticed Matcha on the menu at almost every upscale cafe in Los Angeles. Matcha, a green powdered tea rich in nutrition, became a staple as an alternative to coffee. Its unique preparation with a bamboo whisk became an iconic "zen-like" image. While these points are accurate, Matcha transcends being a mere beverage. It is an art form, a discipline, and a way of life that has been cultivated in Japan for centuries. This post aims to guide you through the meditative experience of Chanoyu, also known as the Japanese tea ceremony, in the hope of elevating your relationship with Matcha, revealing its deeper dimensions that will enrich your life.
What the "ceremonial grade" Matcha truly means
With an invitation from a tea master, you are lured into a tearoom. You kneel at the 27-inch-high entrance to a tearoom facing a beautifully landscaped Japanese garden. The tearoom is dimly lit, and you can smell the rush from the tatami mats. It is so small that it can usually accommodate only several people at a time. Charcoal is burned in a hole in the center of the floor and the sound of boiling water can be heard. There is an art space in one corner of the room, and the walls are decorated with classical art carefully selected by the owner for each guest, matching ornaments, and seasonal flowers. You will sit side by side on the floor with other guests.
When the host tea master enters the room with tea utensils, the Chanoyu tea ritual begins. The tea master begins with a performance of purification of the utensils, using a silk cloth. Step by step, with careful and precise hand movements, each tool is deployed in its designated position. A waiter enters the room and offers delicately designed confectionary, again matches the day’s theme. The tea master scoops some grounded green tea powder into a tea bowl. The tea bowl is usually a one-of-a-kind piece made by a local potter or passed down through the centuries by the tea master’s ancestors. The tea master finally holds a bamboo whisk and shakes it in the tea bowl to create a fine froth, which keeps the temperature of the tea from dropping and mellows the flavor of the tea. The waiter brings the tea in front of you, facing the front of the bowl – sometimes it is recognizable by the main motif depicted, and sometimes it is so subtle that you cannot really tell – towards you.
As tea is served only to one person at a time, you will bow to the person sitting next to you and ask for an excuse for taking the tea first. Gently picking up the bowl using both your hands, you will rotate it to face the front of the bowl away from you so that your lips and teeth do not touch the bowl’s decorations. There are only three sips of tea in the bowl, and a very thick, flavorful, warm froth slowly trickles down your throat. At the moment the flavor fills your mouth to your nostrils, there is only you and the tea in the universe. After emptying the bowl, you will rotate the front of it back toward you and place it on the floor. You will pick up the bowl again but this time with both elbows on your knees so that your arms are steady, and you will not drop the precious bowl while you are admiring the color, texture, shape, and style of the art piece. Placing the bowl on the floor again is the signal for the waiter to put the bowl away. This is only a part of the ritual. The entire Chanoyu ritual can take four to five hours, including the full-course meal, the drinking of sake, the serving of tea to each guest, the tour of the Japanese garden to stretch your legs in
between, and finally the serving and drinking the even thicker tea koicha to share with other guests.
(Video: At Edosenke tea house by Nippon Collection)
The origin of Wabi Sabi
Matcha, the tea used in Chanoyu, is powdered green tea. It is said that Matcha was brought back to Japan as an expensive medicine by Zen monks who studied abroad in China in the 8th century. There is a famous episode from the 13th century when a chief commander Minamoto no Sanetomo had a hangover, a Zen monk Eisai offered matcha and Sanetomo recovered immediately. By the 14th century, tea drinking became part of the culture of the warrior class, who came to enjoy the utensils and learn the art of making tea. 1522 saw the birth of Sen no Rikyu, the most iconic tea master of all time. He established the Wabicha style of Chanoyu, the origin of the major tea schools of today, including Urasenke, Omotesenke, and Mushanokoji-senke. Sen no Rikyu was a tea master in the service of two warlords, Oda Nobunaga and Toyotomi Hideyoshi, both of whom enthusiastically practiced Chanoyu even during wartime. Chanoyu is not merely the act of preparing and drinking tea, but has survived for centuries as an art form, a discipline, and a way of life.
(Photo: From "Ask This Of Rikyu" eiga.com.news)
Globalization of Matcha
Cultural tradition has been a vehicle for intangible virtues and philosophies in Japan, most of
which have been handed down from generation to generation only through spoken word and
a series of rituals. Chanoyu, as a flexible cultural tradition, has adapted to different times and ages. In an era of growing interest in Japanese culture, Matcha has become a globalized phenomenon. Its journey out of Japan into the daily lives of people worldwide reflects its continued evolution and relevance.
Kaoru Kuribayashi
ZESSEE Curator
Comments