The art of drinking tea

Yesterday at my friend's house we made Japanese food: tempura, soup, lotus root stir fry, peanut tofu and persimmon. It was so delicious, as usual!

Since it was a very Japanese style meal, we ended with traditional green tea, or matcha. The art of drinking matcha starts with the bowl it's served in. These bowls are usually pretty fancy and a little smaller than what you would normally eat cereal from. First, you must heat up the bowl with hot water. Then pour the water out and dry the bowl. Next, you put finely sifted matcha powder into the bowl and add a little water. Not much at all, it's more about tasting than quenching thirst. Then, you take a bamboo whisk, a chansen and whip it until it's frothy. Now it's ready to serve.

To serve the tea you find the front of the bowl, usually the side most adorned with a design or texture. You present the bowl with the front facing the recipient. The recipient then picks up the bowl with both hands, places one hand on the bottom and twists the bowl clockwise once or twice, so they do not drink from the front, but rather the side.

After the first sip, the drinker comments on the tea, (usually saying it's great). When they've finished, they again turn the bowl clockwise another twist or two, so that the front is pointing out, toward the host or other guests. The end.

It's kind of interesting and almost has a beauty in the strictness, but in the end I still feel like it's a bit of a fuss for just drinking some tea.