Gryphon Travel

It's better to do something than not.

Tea ceremony

Tray ceremony is the casual of a traditional tea ceremony. The long version takes about 3 hours. This version includes everything you need on a tray. A tea cloth, tea bowl, waste bowl, hot water, powdered matcha, a special whisk, and tea spoon. Also a special cloth for purification of your dishes.

It turns out, the Karate Kid part 2 from back in the 80’s, got parts of this right. The way she folds the cloth and wipes the dishes, that’s traditional. That’s the part where you purify the dishes.

We got little sweet treats too, but you have to do everything in the right order.

First make tea, but don’t drink it. Then you say a little prayer to the treats, and you can eat them. This is to soften your belly for the tea. Don’t eat them together… never together. For balance.

Finally you say a little prayer to your tea, and you can drink it. You must drink all of it, and you can do so in 3 or 4 sips, not more, not less. Either would be insulting to the host. Your final drink must make slurping sounds, no slurping would be rude.