by Jason Tsaddiq
The delivery of the tea varies according to the custom of the participant (or according to how much one pays for shipping). At one time, a guest in a Chinese home was always served a cup of tea, even during a financially strained time, though the tea served then was “white tea” – a cup of boiling water.[1]However, at a dinner, the guest must ask for tea for it is not, as a routine, served at a meal[2]though Moroccans always serve their tea with every meal.[3]Still today in some regions of China, going to the tea house is an activity eagerly anticipated by many. Men will deliberate about and solve the world’s problems; the elderly will often bring their caged birds and visit all day long; and even the women, when they can escape from chores, will stay and visit. “Going to the tea house” to some people means settling a rancorous dispute or argument. Even professional groups are hired to perform at teahouses. [4]
Japanese tearooms are undemanding to the eyes and soul whereas western tearooms are cluttered – “…a Western interior permanently filled with a vast array of pictures, statuary, and bric-a-brac gives the impression of mere vulgar displays of wealth.”[5]Many Japanese wonder how westerners can dine in a room with pictures of dead people (family ancestors) for they believe that “the simplicity of the tea-room and its freedom from vulgarity make it truly a sanctuary from the vexations of the outer world.”[6]
In the Canton region of China, some teahouse customers will rap their knuckles on the table to indicate thankfulness to the server. The tradition comes from the actions of an emperor’s servant, Zhou Riqing. The Emperor Qian Long (1735-1796) was touring his imperial domain disguised as a regular citizen. He even lowered himself to pour tea for his servant Zhou; this action, of course, was not the mean: the superior is always to be served by the inferior. Zhou, extremely uncomfortable with his master’s serving him, knew that he must honor his master’s wish of not being known to the locals, so he began hitting his knuckles on the table to show his submission and thankfulness to his master. Since the Qing dynasty, this method of showing thanks has permeated South China.[7]
These teahouses must put a premium on the skill of their servers for attending to the many interminable demands of the tea service is not uncomplicated. Kit Chow explains an event he witnessed:
I was impressed by the way a young waiter, kettle in one hand and his other balancing a pile of six or seven cups with lids and saucers, shuttled adroitly among the crowded tables with great ease. When pouring, he kept the spout at just the right height so that not a drop of water was spilled and the leaves in the cup turned over the proper number of times.[8]He knew just how much water to put in so that the tea would be the right strength. Experience is required to make every cup of tea look attractive, smell inviting, and taste fresh – even a refill where the leaves have already been brewed once or twice.[9]
Samuel Johnson, quite the proponent of tea drinking, “for twenty years diluted his meals with only the infusion of the fascinating plant; who with tea amused the evening, with tea solaced the midnight, and with tea welcomed the morning.”[10]
Though history does not include details about Mr. Johnson’s diurnal rituals concerning his tea, some general features are present at every tea ceremony. “The steps to the ceremony are quite simple: clean the serving bowls, boil a pot of [limpid] water, serve a sweet treat to guests before the tea, mix powdered bitter green tea (Matcha)and water to make a frothy tea, serve the tea to guests.”[11]During certain tea ceremonies, the guest shows thanks by rapping the table three times with his fingers or knuckles after enjoying the various notes of the aroma of the proffered tea. Then he pours the tea into a drinking cup and smells the empty cup. Etiquette dictates that the tea be finished in three swallows.[12]The three main components of a tea ceremony involve the social aspect (usually a repast is served); the aesthetic aspect (the equipment used, the décor and the dress chosen are specifically chosen); and the religious aspect (though originally Zen Buddhism, other religions encourage many of the same beliefs).[13]One can see cleanliness, respect and peace represented by these three components: the social aspect dictates cleanliness; part of the beauty of a ceremony is the honoring of the most superior or the eldest guest; and the peace come to religious adherents who seek to accept the lessons from the tea to enhance their lives and to those who forsake all evil and chaos for a particular portion of time.
[1]Kit Chow and Ione Kramer, All the Tea in China, http://books.google.com/books/about/
All_Teas_in_China.html?id=NT8J5qDjABIC, 1990, 37.
[2]Ibid, 38.
[3]Jon Stout, http://ezinearticles.com/?Moroccan-Mint-Iced-Tea&id=1243470, (accessed April 11, 2013).
[4] Chow, 43.
[5]Kakuzo Okakura, The Book of Tea, Serenity Publishers: Rockville, MD, 2009, 48.
[6]Ibid, 50.
[7]Chow, 45.
[8]The turning over of the leaves is called “the agony of the leaves” and is very crucial to the flavor development of the flavor.
[9]Chow, 47.
[10]Okakura, 13-14.
[11]http://www.chinatownconnection.com/japanese-tea-ceremony.htm (accessed April 5, 2013).
[12]The United Kingdom Tea Council, Ltd. http://www.tea.co.uk/page.php?id=142(accessed April 10, 2013).
[13]Ibid.