MACHA AND MORE - in English, please!

In Vietnam people drink a lot of tea. 

No matter how small an alley might be - you will always find a mobile tea bar there.

Those "bars" are nothing special: Just a cardboard box with a tray and some cloudy glasses on it.  Some thermoses with tea. And during the summer months a polystyrene box with ice in it. Of course there will be some small blue or red stool so the clients can have a seat. And last but not least: a tasteful decoration - for example a cup with toothpicks...

In short, the Vietnamese don't make a big fuss about it. Tea is a just a "drink for in between". 

In other parts of Asia - for example in Japan - the situation is quite different: people there do not "just have a cup of tea". In Japan, having a cup of tea is "an event".

Fortunately, I did not have to travel to Japan to live this experience. Actually, I had the great opportunity to live it in Hanoi! Thanks to my friend Chiharu, who is not only Japanese but also a true "master of tea ceremony".

When she comes into the room - dressed in her beautiful kimono and hoving almost like an elf - all the women around me are just stunned.

First, Chiharu gives us a glimpse into the history of the Tea Ceremony and the philosophy behind it...

... but very soon - under the eyes of a fascinated audience - ...

... the practical part starts:

    

  

   

When Chiharu has finished, the most exciting part starts. Under the stern look of our teacher...

...  WE are allowed to prepare the tea:

And even if we do not all show a lot of talent - we have great fun together!

  

I could now write endlessly about the pureness of the water, the importance of a bamboo matcha whisk (in German called: hot-air merchant) and the art of folding the napkin - which reminds me a lot doing Origami when I was a child...


But instead, I would like to describe that morning with only three words:

'優雅、伝統、おもてなし'    *

      
 

 * Grace - tradition - hospitality