Japanese Yixing
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Teahouses
The first teahouses are known from ancient China as places where people met to drink tea and socialize. Most often simple wooden structures, and sometimes decorated with local art and designs, they were not unlike cafés in contemporary urban society. After the introduction of tea in the 9th century, the Japanese teahouse evolved into more specialized establishments, including the addition of Geishas, food, music, or other entertainment. The Japanese teahouses are of two varieties, one for casual, social eating and drinking, and the other in which ritual tea ceremonies are performed.
The social variety offered a selection of teas and food, often in the form of Dim Sum, a meal in the form selection of small baskets or plates and offerings of dumplings and other foods eaten with chopsticks. Different types of Dim Sum are meant to accompany various kinds of teas.
More elegant expressions of the same concept, known as ochaya, offer a refined setting in which to impress business associates, entertain a date, or pass time in an enjoyable environment. These often beautiful buildings are made of bamboo or other local woods, and feature slitted windows covered in rice paper, which allow light to pass while protecting the privacy of those inside. To further enhance the atmosphere, ochaya are usually surrounded with gardens of flowers, stones, and fish ponds. Customers recline on soft cushions or matted floors at low tables in small rooms wherein they are served tea, food, and other entertainments. Ochaya-like teahouses are common across China, Japan, eastern Asia, and indeed throughout the world, and are favored destinations for curious visitors and regular locals alike.
The Japanese ceremonial teahouse is called a chashitsu (also the word for the room in which the tea ceremony occurs). A chashitsu comprises two small rooms, one in which the tea is prepared to be served, and the other where the guests are seated. The simple but elegant design of these houses stems from the original designs by Zen Buddhist monks, who constructed them from elements they had at hand, which accounts for the traditional materials such as bamboo, and straw, thatched roofs, and clay plaster walls. Parchment with sacred calligraphy adorned the interior, and, like the ochaya, the windows are covered in thin rice paper to allow light to enter. Outside, well-kept paths and gardens often surround the building. The entire atmosphere contributes to the ceremonial experience, shielding the participants from the external world and leaving them free to focus on the ritual at hand.
Visitors approaching the chashitsu cleanse their hands and faces with clean water from a stone receptacle; this both literally and symbolically cleanses the person in preparation for entering the ritual teahouse. The tea is prepared in an elaborate sequence from a special powder, adding water at a specific temperature, and stirred with a bamboo whisk until foamy, and served to the guests in small bowls. The preparation and consumption of the tea all account for parts of the ritual tea ceremony, which takes a great deal of time to learn and master. More-or-less elaborate versions of this practice can be found today, and some people even construct chashitsu of their own, although the traditional buildings were open to the public.
Today, contemporary versions of teahouses, of both the social and ritual variety, are found in many incarnations the world over. The ancient and ceremonial aspects of tea, as well as the modern enjoyment and even connoisseurship of tea drinking, are widely appreciated and handed down through centuries of practice.
To brew the best quality loose leaf tea, you’ll need teaware like cast iron teapots, kyusu teapots, or Yixing teapots.
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