Friday, September 5, 2014

Usucha and Sweets

It was an honor recently to be served usucha (thin matcha tea and a sweet) by my friend, Stephanie.
The ritual of the ceremony intrigues me and I am so proud of my friends that are learning this ceremony.
For me, I don't have the patience to do each step just exactly so.
From the flower on the wall, the lovely gelatin with bean paste sweet, to the beautiful bowls
the tea was served in, it was a treat.
No pictures were taken in the tearoom during the ceremony,
but after I snapped this and just thought each tool was beautiful.
Never having been served tea at a Japanese Tea Ceremony I found watching a video helped me
understand what was ahead on that particular day.
If you are curious to learn more, here is the link to the video.
Stephanie's blog is also a fun place to learn more about the way of tea.
http://stephcupoftea.blogspot.com/
By the way, Stephanie did a great job and I loved her movements like a dance.

This quote came on the invite:
Every day is a journey,
and the journey itself home.
~Basho

5 comments:

Jeanie said...

It has been a long time since I've been to a Japanese tea ceremony. They're very moving and really make the tea a celebration.

Steph said...

xoxoxo - So glad I could share in this with you!

Unknown said...

Lovely photo and story. Thank you for sharing.

Anonymous said...

This picture reminds me of our visit to the tea garden in Portland, Maryland. I took a picture there that I hung in a show recently. It sold!

Rosemary said...

What a very special experience. Great photo - it speaks of what was.