A ritual can be as elaborate or as simple as person performing it chooses. Just preparing my tea with the single-minded intention is a ritual for me. I have not ventured into gongfu ceremony or Japanese tea ceremony so far. I may do so at some point because the meditative approach of these ceremonies interests me.
This far I clean up the tea preparation area in my kitchen before making tea. I notice that I tend to position the tea making things in a pleasing pattern on the counter. I have two teapots I use daily - one for blacks and one for greens and white. Another part of my ritual is to carry my cup with me as I do things.
I started the day with Adagio's Assam to wake up. Right now in my cup is Ti Kuan Yin oolong that Victoria so generously sent me. I like this Ti Kuan Yin! It's wonderful! I may get to appreciate oolongs after all (I had a few prior to this one that left me less than impressed.)
My "ritual" basically consists of...
1) making a cup of tea first thing every single morning, hot weather or cold, while the dog is doing her thing and I'm getting some breakfast ready. I finish it off before going out the door. (If it's a day off from work, I make a whole pot to enjoy just for me!)
2) And as soon as I get into the office, I flip on the electric kettle.
3) When I get home, re-steep the morning leaves.
4) At bedtime, refill the kettle so I can turn it on first thing in the morning.
Without these little routines, I miss little moments to enjoy our favorite drink.
This morning: 2007 Li Shan Oolong...yummm
Have a good day everyone!
1) making a cup of tea first thing every single morning, hot weather or cold, while the dog is doing her thing and I'm getting some breakfast ready. I finish it off before going out the door. (If it's a day off from work, I make a whole pot to enjoy just for me!)
2) And as soon as I get into the office, I flip on the electric kettle.
3) When I get home, re-steep the morning leaves.
4) At bedtime, refill the kettle so I can turn it on first thing in the morning.
Without these little routines, I miss little moments to enjoy our favorite drink.
This morning: 2007 Li Shan Oolong...yummm
Have a good day everyone!
"Top off the tea... it lubricates the grey matter."
(Jerry Ledbetter, "Good Neighbors")
(Jerry Ledbetter, "Good Neighbors")
Feb 29th, '08, 11:41
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scruffmcgruff
I wouldn't say I have a ritual so much as habits, but I guess, as others have noted, the definition of ritual varies. I don't do much more than what I perceive to be functional, though.
Tea Nerd - www.teanerd.com
At work now and enjoying the last of my Bai Ji Guan Oolong - wow this has to be one of the best wuyi I've ever had. (The disclaimer being that I'm not that fond of wuyi) I'm finding 2006 was a good year for oolongs.
I'll be needing a lot of tea and patience today if the jackhammer outside my office continues on today as it did yesterday.
I'll be needing a lot of tea and patience today if the jackhammer outside my office continues on today as it did yesterday.
When I scoop my sencha out, with just the right measurement, I proceed to step number 2.
I place the portion of sencha leaves up to my nose for aromatic delight. There have been one or two occasions in which I got leaf up my nose. Getting sencha leaf up your nose is nothing to be ashamed of. It's part of the unpredictability of life.
I place the portion of sencha leaves up to my nose for aromatic delight. There have been one or two occasions in which I got leaf up my nose. Getting sencha leaf up your nose is nothing to be ashamed of. It's part of the unpredictability of life.
Feb 29th, '08, 12:27
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That's funny, I'm the exact opposite! I guess I shouldn't completely discount bai ji guan yet, but I like the darker flavors of other Wuyis much more.Victoria's Own wrote:At work now and enjoying the last of my Bai Ji Guan Oolong - wow this has to be one of the best wuyi I've ever had. (The disclaimer being that I'm not that fond of wuyi)...
Anyway, I just took a couple pics of some new arrivals, which I used to make some tea today:
New yixing pot (I'm slightly frustrated-- it was listed as 110mL but is more like 150, which is larger than what I prefer), and new fishy cups! It's strange how big 60mL looks when you're so used to 20-30mL cups.
Anyway, I'm using this pot for unroasted, lightly oxidized oolongs. Maybe its a weird match to this kind of clay, but the walls are fairly thin, so I thought it would work nicely.
[Edit: Changed my mind already. I'm just going to do the super-green ones in a gaiwan, and use this baby for low-mid roast / oxidation oolongs.]
Last edited by scruffmcgruff on Feb 29th, '08, 12:48, edited 2 times in total.
Oh, YES! Perhaps not the ritual most people have in mind. This is not a routine or a ceremonial way of serving tea. I'm talking incorporating tea into my spiritual practice.
Who knows if the village witch was a herbalist or the village herbalist was a witch. There's just something about tea and magic that go together. Words whispered over the tea leaves. Intentions spoken for the greatest good. Healing. Prosperity. Tea consumed mindfully, drinking in the intentions.
When your will is behind it, the simple act of drinking a cup of Earl Grey draws upon the powers of bergamot to increase prosperity.
For something a little more elaborate, read on! http://athenagrey.livejournal.com/179274.html
edited to add: Snow Geisha in my cup this morning.
Who knows if the village witch was a herbalist or the village herbalist was a witch. There's just something about tea and magic that go together. Words whispered over the tea leaves. Intentions spoken for the greatest good. Healing. Prosperity. Tea consumed mindfully, drinking in the intentions.
When your will is behind it, the simple act of drinking a cup of Earl Grey draws upon the powers of bergamot to increase prosperity.
For something a little more elaborate, read on! http://athenagrey.livejournal.com/179274.html
edited to add: Snow Geisha in my cup this morning.
Feb 29th, '08, 12:37
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With my japanese and chinese greens I just get out my leaves, place them in the pot, take my boiling water and pour it in my yuzamashi (water cooler) with a digital thermometer resting in the bottom of the yuzamashi,. wait until I get the right temperature and then pour, brew, sip, repeat!
*This morning I am starting off with 2006 Wu's Reserve Pu-Erh Cooked/Ripe and brewing out of my gaiwan.
-Nick (TaiPing)
*This morning I am starting off with 2006 Wu's Reserve Pu-Erh Cooked/Ripe and brewing out of my gaiwan.
-Nick (TaiPing)
Tea is part of my morning ritual. Combined with a hot shower, it is the only way I can be functioning in the morning. I am not a morning person to begin with so without my shower and tea, I tend to growl at people. Sometimes, the tea ritual will be more complex when I want to brew green teas in my kyusu or other teas in my gaiwan but most of the time, my tea ritual is as simple as possible so I can start my day.
I started today by going to class with one mug of chocolate black tea and one mug of mango rooibos. At least I seem to be getting over the flu after two days of misery. Hopefully, I will be able to taste again soon so I can enjoy green teas again.
I started today by going to class with one mug of chocolate black tea and one mug of mango rooibos. At least I seem to be getting over the flu after two days of misery. Hopefully, I will be able to taste again soon so I can enjoy green teas again.
Feb 29th, '08, 14:20
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My Dan Cong yixing is sighing with delight as I just received 12 different Dan Cong Oolongs from Imem at TeaHabitat.
This morning I extracted a final brew from last nights 1986 Dan Cong and the rest of the day has been me trying to fine tune my Dan Cong ritual to try and do some justice to another Dan Cong from Imem - 2007 Gold Medalist Honey Orchid #5.
The ritual/ not ritual thing is a bit confusing to me. I've perhaps spent too much time around magical/mystical types and books to see a clear dividing line between one and the other.
It would perhaps seem to an onlooker that my ridiculously elaborate series of steps to produce a tiny cup of oolong was far more of a ritual than my mum putting a teabag in cup, removing it and then adding milk. To me my mum's method is more ritualistic as it has been exactly the same series of actions for many, many years. Myself on the other hand every cup of tea is consciously made differently so I can learn and develop my tea making.
This morning I extracted a final brew from last nights 1986 Dan Cong and the rest of the day has been me trying to fine tune my Dan Cong ritual to try and do some justice to another Dan Cong from Imem - 2007 Gold Medalist Honey Orchid #5.
The ritual/ not ritual thing is a bit confusing to me. I've perhaps spent too much time around magical/mystical types and books to see a clear dividing line between one and the other.
It would perhaps seem to an onlooker that my ridiculously elaborate series of steps to produce a tiny cup of oolong was far more of a ritual than my mum putting a teabag in cup, removing it and then adding milk. To me my mum's method is more ritualistic as it has been exactly the same series of actions for many, many years. Myself on the other hand every cup of tea is consciously made differently so I can learn and develop my tea making.
Feb 29th, '08, 14:26
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My tea ritual is mainly centered around remembering to breath and observe during the brewing process. Sounds silly maybe, but since a lot of my work is conceptual in nature I spend too much time in my head and brewing tea helps me get back to the physical world and become more fully present.
Dong Ding / Tung Ting - is becoming my breakfast drink of choice it looks like. Having some from teacuppa today = rather uninspiring but not bad. I'm gonna brew it longer next time to see if I can't get it to stand up better.
Dong Ding / Tung Ting - is becoming my breakfast drink of choice it looks like. Having some from teacuppa today = rather uninspiring but not bad. I'm gonna brew it longer next time to see if I can't get it to stand up better.
Feb 29th, '08, 14:31
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Nice pot! Ya, I have a hard time using a pot for really green stuff unless there are certain notes I want to mute. One thing to note, my green oolong pot used to cut too much, but now that I've used it for a year or so it adds stuff too plus it doesn't cut as severly. Once a pot is seasoned it does much better, new pots can be a bit drastic IME.scruffmcgruff wrote:
[Edit: Changed my mind already. I'm just going to do the super-green ones in a gaiwan, and use this baby for low-mid roast / oxidation oolongs.]
Feb 29th, '08, 14:33
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Thanks for my morning laugh.bambooforest wrote:When I scoop my sencha out, with just the right measurement, I proceed to step number 2.
I place the portion of sencha leaves up to my nose for aromatic delight. There have been one or two occasions in which I got leaf up my nose. Getting sencha leaf up your nose is nothing to be ashamed of. It's part of the unpredictability of life.
Do something different, something different will happen. ( Gong Fu Garden )
Feb 29th, '08, 14:42
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Really enjoying my current fav sencha, Sencha Premium. I have had it everyday for around 5 days, tomorrow, I will try to not have it. Thus my appreciation will not diminish, but grow even stronger. But it will not be easy since I crave this sencha the night before and gotta have it as my first tea of the day.