Our Japanese friend invited us to a traditional tea ceremony at her house. Tea ceremonies are heaped in tradition with all sorts of nuances and rituals. For instance- the drinker must rotate their cup so as not to drink from the front, the server must take a specific number of steps when serving the tea and the cup must be placed a specific distance from the drinker. That’s just a few I remember, wikipedia has all sorts of additional information. The tea is called Matcha (powdered green tea)- it has a rich, creamy taste whilst, at the same time, being just a little bitter.
I took this picture of our friend as she prepared the tea over a special heater built into the tatami mat floor.
snow monkey photography 
Andy Martin January 19, 2012
Great. Your blog is really capturing the very essence of the country.
winegums January 20, 2012
The tea ceremonet is pretty essentially Japanese!
Jack Sumner January 19, 2012
would love to come to Japan and experience this!
winegums January 20, 2012
You definitely get to have some cool cultural experiences! I’m guessing you do in China too though? Where abouts are you in China by the way?
marinachetner January 19, 2012
You are so fortunate to have been part of this ceremony. I love this about Japanese culture – the precision, detail and beauty of a ritual. I love matcha and use it regularly – though in powder form in a latte 🙂 Lovely image.
winegums January 20, 2012
Thank you so much! It was a very cool experience, learning about all the traditions and rituals. I love matcha too- the tea, I’m not a fan of the confectionary and ice cream. We were even allowed to have a go at making it and serving it ourselves!
marinachetner January 20, 2012
ohhh, I love matcha and green tea anything 🙂
Isaac February 3, 2012
Good pic – did you remember to do all that stuff or did you cause some horrendous faux pas? And did the tea taste better for it? Hmm
winegums February 6, 2012
Matcha is pretty good stuff- very pungent and strong tasting but with a creamy sort of feel. Fortunately no offence was taken to our continual flauting of the rules, there are just too many to think about. I still struggle with the taking your shoes off when entering anywhere, they are so graceful and I fumble around for ages trying my best not to touch unclean ground with my socks. I do quite like wearing slippers all the time though. Except the toilet slippers, I can’t help but feel there must have been splash back.