Tea drinking was an important part of Chinese life , but nowhere in
the world did people drink tea with more a ceremony than in Japan.
There , a strict ritual was set down in the fifteenth century by
the first great tea master, Shuko. This tea ceremony is still performed today.
Guests must wash their hands and faces and remove their shoes
before entering the tearoom through a low doorway that forces them
to stoop and appear humble.
As the guests kneel or sit cross-legged on mats, the host places a spoonful of
powdered tea into a special bowl, adds boiling water, and then stirs it with a
bamboo whisk. Although in early tea ceremonies everyone drank from the same
bowl, it later became the practice for the host to serve the tea in individual
bowls. The guests sip the tea slowly and talk until they have finished drinking.
Then they are expected to throw back their heads and take the final sip with a
loud sound to show how good the tea is.
As the ceremony comes to an end, the guests admire the empty
serving bowl for its beauty. The host washes the cups, and
the ceremony ends. The formal tea ceremony is certainly not undertaken
every time someone drinks tea in Japan, but the tea is always served with
much care and politeness.