Cup of tea

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[dps]

Someone mentioned on one of the threads that the goal of Chado (The Way of Tea) was not to make a good cup of tea. Isn't the quality of the cup of tea an indication of how well a person is mastering the art?

David

[David Orange]

Someone mentioned on one of the threads that the goal of Chado (The Way of Tea) was not to make a good cup of tea. Isn't the quality of the cup of tea an indication of how well a person is mastering the art?

David

It's tea and water. There's not much way you can screw it up. I think a master's and a novice's tea would taste pretty much the same. The importance is the concentration on making it and the tea maker's ability to produce an atmosphere of wa in the space where they make the tea.

(other) David

[Keith Larman]

It's tea and water. There's not much way you can screw it up. I think a master's and a novice's tea would taste pretty much the same. The importance is the concentration on making it and the tea maker's ability to produce an atmosphere of wa in the space where they make the tea.

(other) David

Remember the old Saturday Night Live character played by Billy Crystal -- "You look maahhhhvalous!" It's not how you feel -- it's how you look!

Just kidding -- I just always loved that bit.

I had someone compare sword restoration, mounting, etc. to chado once. And I can easily see the comparison. There is a mistake to think that the quality is somehow secondary, however. The goal is the perfection of the entire process and experience. So think doing every single aspect to the umpteenth degree. Nothing is done half-way. No shortcuts. Not corners cut. Everything done perfectly. Elegant simplicity through the perfection of process.

With chado there is a lot going on about the ambiance, mood, and feel. But still there is somewhat the same thing going on. Many aspects of the process are there because they make an oh-so-slight difference in the final quality. So it is all about perfecting everything including the smallest of details. And won't you enjoy the tea just that little bit more if the entire process has put you into the proper mindset to begin with? So who's to say some isn't necessary to the "good cup of tea?"

So cutting anything out is done at peril to the quality of the whole.

Seems to me to be a good way to approach Aikido as well. Most who decide to "cut out the fluff" do so well before they really understand what's fluff and what's one of those tiny details that in fact does make a difference in the end.

[phitruong]

the tiny detail, that is missing from all the chado, is dimsum. :)
I liked the chicken feet thingy, the tripes thing which I have not quite figure out where it located in the bovine, some other odd and end bits which I don't know which animals they came from and rather not inquire about it, various pickled stuffs from the sea (methink, one could never tell with dimsum), and so on. the contemplation and philosophical thoughts came about with dimsum made the whole chado experiences much more profound, especially, when you are armed with an extra bottle of pepto-bismal. :D

[lbb]

Tripe = guts. Pickled things from the sea...could be jellyfish, could be sea cucumber, could be snail, could be a whole lotta things. Chicken feet are great but I really like when they serve the duck feet that are all wrapped about a blob of sticky rice with yummy stuff in it, like the duck was killed while clutching its last meal. Yum!

[Joe McParland]

Someone mentioned on one of the threads that the goal of Chado (The Way of Tea) was not to make a good cup of tea. Isn't the quality of the cup of tea an indication of how well a person is mastering the art?


Frothing... ;)

If I genuinely offer and prepare tea for you and if you genuinely accept and appreciate the tea, then was it actually the tea that was shared? What is the mark of quality of this encounter, and who will judge it?

[David Orange]

the tiny detail, that is missing from all the chado, is dimsum. :)

No! It's SUGAR!

Whenever I go to a cha no yu, I always bring in some packets of Denny's sugar. I look at the tea master and say, "Umm! That looks delicious! But THIS will make it even BETTER!" and I stir in my sugar and take a big sip and wipe my lips with my sleeve and say "Yum-O! Thanks!"

I liked the chicken feet thingy, the tripes thing which I have not quite figure out where it located in the bovine, some other odd and end bits which I don't know which animals they came from and rather not inquire about it, various pickled stuffs from the sea (methink, one could never tell with dimsum), and so on.

The chicken feet are great. Tripe is cow stomach. And I once had someone serve me something in Japan that had roots on one end and meat on the other. It wasn't dimsum, but whatever it was, I'll never know. Almost hurled when I saw it on y plate. Closest I came to puking in a Japanese restaurant. And then there was one time when my wife (at the time) fed me some kind of raw fish and I later wanted to puke but resisted. Then I was deathly sick for three days. Sometimes, you just ought to let it go.

the contemplation and philosophical thoughts came about with dimsum made the whole chado experiences much more profound, especially, when you are armed with an extra bottle of pepto-bismal. :D

and sugar. Or Sweet'n'Low.

Really, I never put sugar in o-cha. But I knew someone who did. Very embarrassing to go anywhere with that guy!

[David Orange]

Tripe = guts. Pickled things from the sea...could be jellyfish, could be sea cucumber, could be snail, could be a whole lotta things. Chicken feet are great but I really like when they serve the duck feet that are all wrapped about a blob of sticky rice with yummy stuff in it, like the duck was killed while clutching its last meal. Yum!

But how much better if the duck is killed when you actually bite it!

[phitruong]

No! It's SUGAR!

And then there was one time when my wife (at the time) fed me some kind of raw fish and I later wanted to puke but resisted. Then I was deathly sick for three days. Sometimes, you just ought to let it go.

and sugar. Or Sweet'n'Low.



I thought it was suppose to be milk/cream, not sugar! especially, when you do chado stuffs during breaks of cricket game. :)

deadly creature, the wife. got one and fear for my life at every meal. zanshin turned on to the max. However, one should not use sugar, but use stevia which provides same sweetness, very concentrated, but at low calorie. might affect our ki shapes, but less than wife. :D

[David Orange]

I thought it was suppose to be milk/cream, not sugar! especially, when you do chado stuffs during breaks of cricket game. :)

I went to a tea ceremony once and wound up with a bunch of first-time non-Japanese participants, among them one woman you might call "brassy". Big and loud and a bit obnoxious. We all were introduced and got each other's names, then went into the ceremony, sitting in seiza on tatami while the teacher made tea for us. It was my turn and I was getting proper cues on behavior from the teacher, how to sit and move and turn the cup and hold it, admire the cup, etc., and just as I was about to actually drink the tea, the brassy lady behind and to my left said, "So, David, where do you work?" in a loud, brassy voice.

Might as well have put vinegar into the tea.

Now there was a cup that was perfectly made, but the overall quality of the experience was shot.

People.

David

[Marc Abrams]

I brought back a complete tea making set from Japan last April. I make myself a green tea before I start my afternoon/evening teaching schedule. I find the process of making the tea and drinking the tea very centering (and the caffeine does not hurt either!)

Marc Abrams

[Keith Larman]

I've got a marvelous large tea cup made for me by a japanese trained potter friend. The glaze is a rather rare deep green glaze that is hard to find even in Japan. The thing fits my hand like a glove and it is just soothing holding it. I treasure that thing. And my wife and daughter know that beautiful thing is mine and mine alone. So in the morning once I get home after walking my daughter to school I start the water, get a pot ready, and make a nice pot of green tea. I spend a few minutes sitting outside with my dogs centering myself and planning my day. Then it is into my workshop to get things done. There is something inefffable about ritual in human experience that is so very important, even to jaded atheists with backgrounds in psych who you'd think would know better... ;)

Time for a refill...

[Ron Tisdale]

Now there was a cup that was perfectly made, but the overall quality of the experience was shot.

Now David, I've asked you politely to stop talking about my life in public!!! :D

B,
R (hope all is well) ;)

[lbb]

I'd love to experience chado some day. I've been given some nice Japanese and Korean ceramics as gifts, but I rarely use them.

Every time I see the title of the thread, I hear Audry Hepburn saying, "Cup cup cup of of of of tea tea tea tea"