Tea Ceremony

The Japanese tea ceremony or "the Way of Tea," is the ceremonial preparation and presentation of the powdered green tea known as matcha. The tea ceremony is highly ritualized and the manner in which it is performed or the art of its performance is known as temae. The development of the tea ceremony was greatly influenced by Zen Buddhism and many aspects of the ceremony still reflect Zen ways.

The steps to the ceremony are quite simple: clean the servings bowls, boil a pot of water, serve a sweet treat to guests before the tea, mix powdered bitter green (matcha) and water to make a frothy tea, serve the tea to guests. The flavors of the sweets and bitter tea complement each other. This is a sign of harmony.