You are very welcome Charles!

There are many types of tea, and even many types of green tea. Whatever type of tea you would like I will have it ready for you!

Wonderful!

I used to be such a coffee drinker, but now I only drink tea. I changed not because I felt that coffee was bad in any way but because I had very bad insomnia, so in desperation I gave up coffee and switched to green and herbal teas. I drink green during the morning to mid afternoon, then switch to herbal tea, especially Rooibos, African Red Bush tea.

There are many types of green tea. Mostly from China and Japan. I am more familiar with the Japanese varieties from Sencha, Genmaicha, Ujicha, Bancha, and Hojicha. But I alos enjoy some of the Chinese, Oolong, Jasmine, and and especially the White tea.

I raise my cup to you and Charles!

Hawkwood

A nice selection! I can just make out the Oolong and the Japanese Sencha. Yesterday I had some Fujian Oolong at a cafe and it was really good! Unlike green tea Oolong is semi-fermented so it has a darker coloring but is very fragrant and refreshing and has some caffeine but apparently less than green tea.

Drink my tea tonight and connect myself in this words from Heart!

And connecting with you All!!

Love

Sunbeam

Thank you for joining us Anneke, Dreambrave, and also Traute who dropped in earlier. I enjoy the company of such lovely ladies. You grace us with your very presence. There is something special about collecting one's own herbs and making tea from them. Melissae and Mint sound wonderful. One of my favorite is chamomile. I remember when I was in Mexico there was wonderfully fragrant chamomile. Talking about fragrance I like jasmine tea, too. On my flight to Japan from Australia most of the passengers were Japanese, and they had nice green tea on the plane.

Although green tea is my staple, like you Dreambrave, I like to have a variety, especially in the afternoon and evening. I also enjoy the occasional black tea which I drink "straight" - no milk or sugar. My favorites are chai spiced black tea and earl grey with bergamot oil.

I've heard of yogi herbal tea but have yet to try it.

Hawkwood

The tea in the tea ceremony really does not have to be a specific tea to qualify as tea ceremony. In my view it is the "spirit" of experiencing the present moment fully as so beautifully expressed by Thich Nhat Hanh. That is the essence of the tea ceremony, so it doesn't even have to be tea. The "tea" is the present moment.

Having said the above first, the Japanese have a penchant for ritualizing things, and this certainly includes the tea ceremony. The purpose of ritual I feel is to take the thinking mind and decision making out of the equation so that the mind is fully focused on the action itself. In most tea ceremonies there is a high degree of detailed procedures to follow. The type of tea used is Matcha, or high quality shade grown tea leaves that are made into powder.



You can go to many sites and learn about the procedures of the tea ceremony. However, it was very much influenced by Zen Buddhism, and it almost like a social meditation with tea and usually some sweets to counter the bitter flavor of the tea.

However, I want to share the following as this pertains more to the spirit rather than just procedure.

The Japanese tea ceremony developed as a "transformative practice", and began to evolve its own aesthetic, in particular that of “wabi-sabi.” "Wabi" represents the inner, or spiritual, experiences of human lives. Its original meaning indicated quiet or sober refinement, or subdued taste "characterized by humility, restraint, simplicity, naturalism, profundity, imperfection, and asymmetry, emphasizing simple, unadorned objects and architectural space, and celebrating the mellow beauty that time and care impart to materials." "Sabi," on the other hand, represents the outer, or material side of life. Originally, it meant "worn," "weathered," or "decayed." Particularly among the nobility, understanding emptiness was considered the most effective means to spiritual awakening, while embracing imperfection was honored as a healthy reminder to cherish our unpolished selves, here and now, just as we are - the first step to "satori" or enlightenment. (Wikipedia)

Thank You Joe,

For the Info about Japanese Tea Ceremony!!

My special ceremonie is allways when i Drink Lapsang Sousong Tea in stilness or sharing with good friends!!!







In Peace

Kudos to you dear Sunbeam!

I would love to try some Lapsang Souchong tea! It is a very special tea as the "lapsang leaves are traditionally smoke-dried over pinewood fires, taking on a distinctive smoky flavour."

Here's my cup to you!


Love Peace Joy

Thank you dear Hawkwood.

Much to my pleasure this topic of tea seems endless. My recent journey to Vancouver for a business meeting entailed meeting with a Chinese/Japanese tea expert, Mr. Kit Wong, who originally hails from Singapore. One of the companies he is representing wishes to put a bottled green tea on the retail market - more like a health beverage. Bottled green tea, both warm and cold, are quite common place in Japan. In North America it's just starting, although in Canada I have not found bottled green tea but perhaps a beverage that may be flavored like green tea, or contain a small percentage of green tea.

He is looking at one of the ingredients that my company makes that has applications in human nutrition. The meeting went well. Kit and I really hit it off became good friends. He is unbelievably knowledgeable about tea. He told me that the most expensive green teas are never exported but kept in the country, but kindly gave me some samples of such teas to try.

Similar to Naema's story of creating an imperfection in the weaving of a perfect carpet, Kit told me a story about a famous Japanese Zen Buddhist master and a master potter. The Zen master requested the potter to make him a cup for the tea ceremony. The potter knew that it could not be perfect. The cup had to embody both perfection and imperfection, a naturalness, but perfectly so! So after many, many attempts and many cups thrown away he finally felt he had produced a cup worthy of the Zen master. The cup was reverently packaged into a box and the potter himself carried the precious merchandise to the master. The potter presented the cup to the master personally. The master looked at the cup and declared, "This is very good, but not quite there yet," and he struck the edge of the cup against the table to create small chip. He then declared, "Now it is good!"