Tea (rec.drink.tea) Discussion relating to tea, the world's second most consumed beverage (after water), made by infusing or boiling the leaves of the tea plant (C. sinensis or close relatives) in water.

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Tea
 
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Default Matcha set

My sweetie bought me a Stash Tea Matcha set for the holidays. It includes a
bag of matcha and a caddy, a matcha tea spoon, a whisk, and a large cup.
Altogether a nice set. My one problem with it- no instructions. There's a
vague write up on the tea ceremony that is partially incorrect (while the
meal that goes with it is 'traditional', calling it a 'traditional Japanese
meal' is like calling a burger and fries a 'traditional American meal'. It's
completely out of context, and ignores that there are a variety of food
traditions in Japan, based on the occasion and time of year), and doesn't
explain how much tea needs to be used for a proper cup. I also wish the
whole thing had been bundled with a booklet or other items. At least the
temp for the water is given (yes, I know how I rarely use a thermometer- I
think it's silly most of the time- but when trying a new technique it comes
in handy).

Hw was the tea? I had some tonight. It was pretty good. I'm used to
drinking Gyokuro or leafy greens. The bitter-then sweet taste was very
soothing, and it was fun to use the whisk. I'm planning on teaching myself
the basics and then going to a tea ceremony (see my above post) so that I
can learn more.

--
No Work, No Food

Hyakujo, the Chinese Zen master, used to labor with his pupils even at the
age of eighty, trimming the gardens, cleaning the grounds, and pruning the
trees.

The pupils felt sorry to see the old teacher working so hard, but they knew
he would not listen to their advice to stop, so they hid away his tools.

That day the master did not eat. The next day he did not eat, nor the next.
"He may be angry because we have hidden his tools," the pupils surmised. "We
had better put them back."

The day they did, the teacher worked and ate the same as before. In the
evening he instructed them: "No work, no food."


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Honza Kasparek
 
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Hey Tea,

I am not sure if I understood well your last post. Do you want some
instructions for preparing matcha? Maybe I could help you a little bit.
Formerly I was also begginer and in matcha case I am self_made_teaman.

Honza


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kuri
 
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"Tea" > wrote in message

> My sweetie bought me a Stash Tea Matcha set for the holidays. It includes

a
> bag of matcha and a caddy, a matcha tea spoon, a whisk, and a large cup.
> Altogether a nice set. My one problem with it- no instructions. There's

a
> vague write up on the tea ceremony that is partially incorrect (while the
> meal that goes with it


It's not a meal but a small sweet that "goes with it". I have never been
macha served without a sweet, but that can be nearly anything you like, even
just a dry fruit.

> and doesn't
> explain how much tea needs to be used for a proper cup.


You said you had a measuring spoon in the set. You should use it and put a
little more or less according to your taste. Roughly I'd say the bowl is
filled with one 5th of water. In Winter, rinse the bowl to warm it, or your
drink will be cold before you finish whisking.
(disclaimer : that's just what I do to casually enjoy that tea, not the "cha
no yu" manner)

Kuri

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kuri
 
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"Tea" > wrote in message

> My sweetie bought me a Stash Tea Matcha set for the holidays. It includes

a
> bag of matcha and a caddy, a matcha tea spoon, a whisk, and a large cup.
> Altogether a nice set. My one problem with it- no instructions. There's

a
> vague write up on the tea ceremony that is partially incorrect (while the
> meal that goes with it


It's not a meal but a small sweet that "goes with it". I have never been
macha served without a sweet, but that can be nearly anything you like, even
just a dry fruit.

> and doesn't
> explain how much tea needs to be used for a proper cup.


You said you had a measuring spoon in the set. You should use it and put a
little more or less according to your taste. Roughly I'd say the bowl is
filled with one 5th of water. In Winter, rinse the bowl to warm it, or your
drink will be cold before you finish whisking.
(disclaimer : that's just what I do to casually enjoy that tea, not the "cha
no yu" manner)

Kuri

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kuri
 
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"Tea" > wrote in message

> Yup- I go over to Minamoto Kitchoan and buy wagashi a lot. It certainly
> doesn't have to be a 'meal' in the larger sense, although I've read about
> elaborate tea ceremonies where there might be several sweets.


Small ones. You'll never see, in the context of cha-no-yu, the amount of
munchies you are proposed when you visit for a cup of tea (or coffee) in any
decent Western house.
You're supposed to do the ceremony around 3 p.m. That means you have had
lunch 2 hours before and are not hungry. The meal taken before the tea
ceremony has its own tradition, for the complete ceremony, the guests arrive
in the late morning, so you prepare or have it served. It is very elaborated
(with seasonal variations, effort on visual aspect, etc) and has to be
particularly balanced, I fail to see the point of comparing with burgers.
Is that meal part of the "cha no yu", is the ikebana part of it, is the
calligraphy part of it, is the invitation card part of it, etc...? Well, the
"tea students" learn about all that.

> No, I understand. But I was really talking about chanoyu instructions.

The
> rest I was able to figure out on my own- it's not rocket science. But I
> want to learn chanoyu, which is a totally different animal.


I've got a set like yours, nearly everybody has one in Japan. It's designed
more for casual drinking than for tea ceremony practice. Most of the macha
is drunk "casually".

For the ceremony, they don't really have a spoon, but a whole set of
instruments (a good dozen), which they learn how to use in a number of
sessions by observing the master. I don't think the quantity of tea is
fixed.

Kuri



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kuri
 
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"Tea" > wrote in message

> I guess the point I was making is that it's not so much about food, in the
> way that we might view 'traditional meals' here. From my understanding,


Or your misunderstanding. That's not a question of menu or style of dish.
If someone invites you to see a film at the cinema, and you have dinner in a
restaurant just before going to the theater, that doesn't make the film
itself become a meal.
Maybe it's not clear when I speak English : whatever the school of
"cha-no-yu", the "chakai" itself is not the
meal. There is only a minuscule to small portion of sweet snack per person.

> > Is that meal part of the "cha no yu", is the ikebana part of it, is the
> > calligraphy part of it, is the invitation card part of it, etc...? Well,

> the
> > "tea students" learn about all that.

>
> I would say- yes.


I meant -no.
The making of the ikebana, putting on the kimono, having your hair and
make-up done, the "kaiseki" meal are things that are all closely related to
the ceremony, but they occur outside the time-frame of the "chakai". Many
times there is no kaiseki meal at all.

>I just felt there wasn't
> enough info for the casual drinker, and that could be left with the
> erroneous impression that because one had tea, a bowl and a whisk, one

could
> do a whole ceremony.


When I was a kid, I thought that you could do a marriage ceremony yourself
if you had the suit, the dress and 2 rings. In a way, you can, if you
believe it and don't care about what others think. It's the same for "cha no
yu", you can practice outside of the existing "churches"$B!!!J(BI mean the
official schools$B!K(Band have a great time with your friends.

That page talks about the tea hierarchies :

http://www1.odn.ne.jp/~cas30550/chanoyu-e/frame-e.html

(unfortunately the most interesting pages of the site are not in English)

In "adult world", you cannot buy a set (even as complete as a pro's) to
study the "cha no yu" by yourself with a book, the system is that you learn
from a master linked to the schools. Unless you establish yourself founding
tea master and start your own school...


Kuri

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