About
The Japanese tea ceremony (Chado, 'Way of Tea') was developed from Chinese tea culture brought to Japan by Buddhist monks in the 9th century. Sen no Rikyū (1522–1591) established the form of the ceremony still practiced — based on wabi-sabi (beauty in simplicity and imperfection), mindful presence, and the four principles of harmony (wa), respect (kei), purity (sei), and tranquility (jaku).
A full tea ceremony can last up to 4 hours; every gesture (how to hold the bowl, fold the cloth, enter the tea room) is codified and meaningful. The tea room (chashitsu) is deliberately simple — a low entrance requiring guests to bow, humble the most powerful. Rikyū's aesthetic of wabi (rustic simplicity) opposed the ostentatious taste of his patron, Toyotomi Hideyoshi — who ultimately ordered Rikyū's death for the affront.
# Top 10 tea traditions
- 1Japanese tea ceremony
- 2British afternoon tea
- 3Chinese gongfu cha
- 4Moroccan mint tea
- 5Indian chai
- 6Tibetan butter tea
- 7Turkish çay
- 8Russian samovar
- 9Argentinian yerba mate
- 10Taiwanese bubble tea
Fascinating Facts
- ◆Sen no Rikyū established the tea ceremony aesthetic — and was ordered to commit ritual suicide by his patron for the aesthetics being too austere
- ◆The tea room's entrance is deliberately low — requiring all who enter, even samurai, to bow and remove their swords
- ◆Britain drinks 100 million cups of tea per day — the most tea-consuming nation outside Asia, though afternoon tea is a relatively recent tradition (1840s)
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