Tea ceremony - meditate and drink tea at the same time

Tea ceremony - meditate and drink tea at the same time.

Drinking tea is not just about having a quick cup of tea and then hurrying on to other activities in Japan. Japanese people drink tea as a ritual and as a ceremony.

So what makes the drinking of tea so special?

- Matcha powder

For this special occasion, they use fresh tea leaves in the powder, called Matcha which is actually one of the healthiest things you can have. Matcha contains Vitamin B and C and also helps women to soften their skin. It reduces weight, too. Some people can use Matcha against hangovers. But be careful how much Matcha you drink because Matcha, also, contains caffeine. As with everything in daily life, drink Matcha in the moderation..

- Purification

Before entering the tea ceremony ,you should purify your energy with the pure water or the incense powder.

- Equality

People gather for this occasion in the tea room, which has a small entrance so that everyone has to bow before entering. That means we are all equal and even the king ,if he was invited to the ceremony ,would have had to bow.

- Silence or just positive speaking

In the tea room, no one can speak except the first guest and the host.However, if you are allowed to speak, you should speak just about Nature and Art. Guests cannot speak about politics or other negative topics.. Everyone concentrates on the boiling water and on the preparation of the tea.

- Gratitude

Only old and natural tools, passed on from generation to generation, are used for the tea ceremony. This is a way of showing gratitude to their ancestors and also to the natural world. During a tea ceremony it easy to see nice old pots and wooden whisks on display.

- Zen practice

The tea ceremony is originally Zen practice. Your full attention goes to the Now and the beauty of the reality. because you cannot experience the same unique moment again. You have to be totally in the Now.

- Preparation

To prepare one cup of tea takes around 10 minutes. You have to boil water and clean the pot, which you use for the preparation and drinking. For this, you are using your own personal cloth. Women use an orange coloured cloth. Also, you have to clean the spoon which you are using for the merging of the tea. Then you mix the tea powder with the bamboo w

- Drinking of the tea

You drink tea slowly and, to show gratitude, you should make a sipping noise once you are finished. Also, some guests bring their own homemade sweets and share them to give the tea a better taste.

So, what do you think? Is it not lovely? Who would not fall in love with the tea ceremony?

And if Japanese people can do the ceremony with the tea leaves, we can do the ceremony with everything. It all depends on our attitude and behaviour. I think this a beautiful example of how to enjoy our daily life.