11 Mar
slow movement

teahouse culture

Ancient legend of teaseller accused of being witch! She flew from her cell in dead of night tkg her tea urns with! The Tang dynasty capital was chockfull of teahouses, tea pavilions, tea societies. A wonderful era! The Song dynasty saw beautifully decorated tea houses with calligraphy hangings & bonsai plants. Singers & storytellers in Ming teahouses told gripping tales of the 108 heroes from the Water Margin. Some Qing teahouses reserved a table 4 a wise old sage to whom people wd bring grievances & disputes.

Continue reading

04 Mar
slow movement

women and tea rituals

A blog post to mark the International Women’s Day by referencing the Bai Cha tea banquet ceremony which brings the village women happily together, with no men around! Many Chinese tea customs specifically involve women. Tea plays an important role for a woman at every stage of her life, in Chinese culture. Chinese bride must move in with husband’s family. On the 3rd day her parents pay a visit, with tea gifts for groom’s parents. Wives traditionally serve special sweet & salty teas during the 15-day spring festival.

Continue reading

21 Feb
slow movement

timeless time of tea at teanamu chaya teahouse

teanamu chaya tea house is opening on 26 February. Every table at the Chaya Teahouse will have its own gongfu cha tea set to allow you to have a meditative tea drinking experience – a little time to heal and to restore. As humble as I can be, I hope Chaya Teahouse will allow my tea friends to visibly enter the timeless time of tea where they can forget their problems and be enveloped in the slow, depthless moments of the Way of Tea.

Continue reading

03 Dec
slow movement

Masala Chai – India’s Eight Treasures Tea

Buddhist pilgrimage tour of India & Nepal where I fell in love with Masala Chai. Learn all about tea as the ordinary Indians make it, spicy, hot & sweet. Amazing “green” little clay masala tea cups known as chullarhs. Masala Chai tea recipes & tea culture in India. Ingenious portable tea kettles from my Buddhist tour of India.

Continue reading

02 Oct
slow movement

Lu Yu: Classic of Tea Chapter 5

A humble attempt at translating Chapter 5 of Lu Yu’s Classic of Tea which lays out the guidelines for the proper preparation of tea. Lu Yu talks about toasting tea before adding it to salted boiling water. The assessment of water temperature by looking at the air bubbles is also mentioned here.

Continue reading