I have occasionally stumbled into in this forum when looking up information, and I finally decided to make an account because there are a couple of tea and pottery questions I am interested to post about about. As for my 'tea background', I am Korean-American, and I am mostly into Korean teas (but I also like to explore others as well). 'Chado' fits very well into my daily life, especially as an extension of my meditation- and cultivation- based path, practicing traditional Korean teachings.
In my understanding, Tea is many things to many people. It is versatile, and has various expressions. For me, Tea is at times a profound and naturalistic way of learning subtle insights, or of emphasizing/practicing certain virtues. But at other times, it is simply pleasant and enjoyable and I am without any need to see the meaning to it. I think there is a way that most people can benefit from tea, regardless of whether they see a deeper reality to it or not. Meditation and cultivation are always beneficial, but I also love the mad tea party from Alice in Wonderland
"Why yes, I'm quite fond of tea...".My Favorite teas: Korean Spring Greens, Hwang Balhyocha, and mulberry leaf 'tea'. To go with spicy Korean food, I prefer my childhood-favorite, roasted barley and corn 'tea'. For Chinese teas, I like Lung Jing and Tai Ping Hou Kui. Taiwanese Tung Ting and other 'light' oolongs are great too. And finally, for Japanese teas, I love gyokuro, but fukamushi-sencha is always more fun...
