Arts & Entertainment

Good to the Last Drop: Patch Attends a Japanese Tea Ceremony

Burnsville Patch learns how to take a proper cup of tea, the Japanese way.

A piece of cake. A cup of tea. Sounds easy, right?

Not necessarily. If you're a guest at a Japanese Tea Ceremony nothing is as simple as it appears. There is a certain way to sit, to hold the cup, and even drink the tea: Three to five sips, with an audible slurp at the end to show that you've enjoyed it.

These are just a few of the minute, choreographed motions proscribed by the Japanese Way of Tea, which has a complexity and meditative quality that has drawn comparisons to a Catholic mass. 

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It's even more complicated if you are the host, like Instructor Izumi Wirtz, who led an introductory class at  last Thursday. Izumi Wirtz has been studying the art of tea for years, but was quick to point out that a tea master's education is never complete.

“It’s not just about drinking tea. There’s an entire ritual to the experience,” said Tim Wirtz, one of the instructors. “It’s very stylized. You don’t just drop the tea in the cup and swirl it around.”

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Guests enter without shoes, hunched over: The doors in a typical tea room are only about three-and-half feet high, Tim Wirtz said, which has a humbling effect on those who enter.

"No matter what rank you are you become the same level. It takes away class barriers," Wirtz explained.

Next, the guest must sit and contemplate a display — a selection of flowers, a vase and a painting that were specifically chosen for the occasion. The guest then takes their seat and the ritual unfolds in sequence. The host places sweets in front of the guests and begins making the tea — a concoction of ground green tea called Matcha, which is whisked directly into boiling water, one bowl at a time. The ground tea produces thick, foamy, and more flavorful result than simple steeping.

The steps involved are took complex to summarize, even for the casual ceremony the Wirtz pair demonstrated on Thursday, but suffice it to say that each one is undertaken with deliberation, almost in slow motion, and the small amount of conversation required is also scripted. In the silence, the guest is invited to give ample time and attention to the taste of the tea, the formation of the bowl they are given, and even their own movements.

"It’s all about a presentation of beauty and of tranquility," Tim Wirtz said.

 Intimidating? A little. The Way of Tea reached its historical apex during one of Japan's most turbulent times, the Warring States period (1467-1572). In a violent time, the tea room was one place where enemy combatants had to check their egos at the door and enjoy a brief peace.

"It played a part in bringing them together," Tim Wirtz said. "Now it’s just a tradition. It’s seen as a great honor to serve tea to someone else. Or drink it."

The owners of Indigo Tea are hoping that Thursday's class will not be the last. Proprietor Neal Grafealen said they are planning to have the Wirtz back in January or February of next year. In the meantime, the shop offers other cultural classes on an ongoing basis. Stay tuned.


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