I attended a Japanese tea ceremony class in Japan 🍵

Jan 21

3 min read

I attended a Japanese tea ceremony class in Japan 🍵 and relearned everything from scratch under the guidance of a professional 📝 It was absolutely amazing! Even as someone Japanese, I was surprised by how much I still had to learn about this beautiful tradition. I gained valuable knowledge and had an incredible experience.

It was such a wonderful opportunity to reconnect with my culture and I'm excited to share what I learned from the class in this blog! 🫶

As soon as I arrived, I was warmly welcomed with hot water infused with plum, kombu, and freshly cooked rice.

The kanji “寿” written here means long life, longevity, or a celebration of longevity.

It can also signify auspicious events or words of congratulations. Since it was a festive time of year with the New Year celebrations, this was thoughtfully prepared for the occasion.

Back in the day, people in Japan split the four seasons into 24 parts to enjoy the little changes in each one🌸🌊🎏🍂☃️

The food ingredients they consumed, the flowers displayed in tea rooms, and even the ornaments used would change with the seasons. This was how they embraced and celebrated the beauty of seasonal transitions.

This is the tea room called 茶室

(cha-shitsu) where the tea ceremony is held🍵

The name of a tea room changes depending on its size. If it is 4.5 tatami mats, it is called a “koma” (small room), and anything larger is referred to as a “hiroma” (large room). You might notice a small door on the left, which is unique to a koma. In a koma, it is said that once the tea ceremony begins, you must not stand up at any point.

This year is the Year of the Snake, so we enjoyed a sweet made of white bean paste in a monaka (wafer) decorated with a snake design🐍

In the past, there were no kettles, and controlling the temperature was difficult.

To make hot water, they would heat it up and then adjust the temperature by adding cold water, carefully regulating the water used for the tea🍵

Although it may seem simple, whisking matcha is actually very difficult. You must not touch the bottom of the tea bowl, and you have to act quickly because if the water cools down, it becomes harder to froth, which can affect the taste. When drinking the tea, you say, “Otemae chōdai itashimasu” to the person who made it.

This phrase expresses gratitude, meaning "Thank you for making the tea."

What we're eating here is 落雁 rakugan, a type of traditional dry confectionery often used in the Japanese tea ceremony.

It’s made by mixing rice flour, roasted barley flour, sugar, and other ingredients, then pressing it into a mold and drying it.

Features of Rakugan

Rakugan is known for its beautiful shapes, which often mimic seasonal flowers and plants. Since it’s a dry confection, you may initially feel its hardness when it’s placed in your mouth, but it quickly dissolves in a delicate, crumbly way.