Wooden Ceremony Block thingy?

[dnick]

I see a lot of videos where the tea servers would perform the tea ceremonies on a wooden block type thing where they keep teaware on top and can pour even boiling water over it without caring when cleaning/warming the teaware, ... I suppose it goes in some reservoir in the bottom. What is the term for it, any variation? thanks !


edit: lol, tea tray... so simple!!

[Poohblah]

tea tray

[wyardley]

The terminology in Chinese varies some by region / personal preference. I have seen / heard things like 茶海 (chá hǎi; tea ocean, also used to refer to pitchers / fair cups), 茶池 (chá chí; roughly 'tea reservoir'), 茶船 (chá chuán; 'tea boat', also can refer to a dish that the teapot sits in, with or without a stand) and so on. In addition to wood, they can be made of bamboo, metal, porcelain / ceramic, or plastic, or some combination of these (for example, wood with plastic tray). Sometimes you'll also see trays or full on tables with drainage holes and a tube going to a bucket. This is more convenient than making lots of trips to the sink with a full tray, but can be a bit of a hassle unless you're brewing tea all day.

Tea tray can also refer to just a flat tray used to serve tea.

Lots of people prefer a setup without a tray, using various bowls, dishes, etc.

[dnick]

Thanks!

I found some nice ones at Dragon Tea House.. kind of expensive but I imagine it's pretty high quality. I really don't think I could get into the whole ceremony, mostly I just want to enjoy the taste of simple gaiwan brewed tea, but there's not reason I can't use the tray for looks, it makes tea a bit more enjoyable.

[rdl]

dnick,
you can search TeaChat for past discussions on tea trays . I suggest this because in certain environments bamboo will not hold up for long because of low humidity. there are serveral comments about this issue and others. it will be helpful to know before you make a choice.

[Poohblah]

I really don't think I could get into the whole ceremony

There is no ceremony.

There's a formal Japanese ceremony, but not a Chinese one.

[blairswhitaker]

There is no ceremony.

There's a formal Japanese ceremony, but not a Chinese one.

I have to respectfully disagree. Having been to many Gong Fu Cha Ceremony, I would indeed say their is a ceremony, it does not follow nearly as rigid rules as Chado or Senchado and is more personally tailored to the individual pouring tea, but is still ceremony none the less.

[gingkoseto]

There is no ceremony.

There's a formal Japanese ceremony, but not a Chinese one.

I have to respectfully disagree. Having been to many Gong Fu Cha Ceremony, I would indeed say their is a ceremony, it does not follow nearly as rigid rules as Chado or Senchado and is more personally tailored to the individual pouring tea, but is still ceremony none the less.

Eventually it depends on the definition of "tea ceremony". But I tend to believe (or feel) there is no tea ceremony in Chinese tea culture.
But from what you two said, I guess you two have different definitions of ceremony anyway.

[Chip]

... and then there are personal tea ceremonies as well ... somewhat ceremonious rituals we adopt to enhance our personal (sometimes shared and sometimes solo) tea experiences. I would imagine this concept pervades tea experiences throughout the world.

I have used the term "personal tea ceremony" for years, and it is pretty loosely defined. Whatever floats your TeaBoat.

[blairswhitaker]

My personal friend, Tea Master, and vendor whom many of you order from, (I'm trying to avoid name dropping) preforms what she calls, in her native language of Mandarin "chinese tea ceremony". I shall build my case upon this precedent, Not my own definition of ceremony.

[teaisme]

There are a few 'ceremonys' in taiwan. I think both are relatively new, 90's ish.

Perennial Tea ceremony
http://teaarts.blogspot.com/2005/12/per ... emony.html
http://en.tw.tranews.com/Show/Style203/ ... ectNo=6635

Wu-Wo tea ceremony
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wu-Wo_Tea_Ceremony

I think these would fit under the classification of ceremony to me. Gong fu cha, to me, is not a ceremony, Unless you want to get all deep and vague and call walking,breathing, and eating a ceremony too. For me, it's just a way of brewing/drinking/enjoying life and tea very damn well. I have very limited understanding though of the origins of 'gongfu cha' and the ancient taoist wisdoms behind it that have faded into obscurity, dumbed down I feel. Perhaps there is much more to 'gongfu' cha then many of us here realize or have yet to understand. I really don't think it's worth pondering whether or not to call it a ceremony though. Really its just a word, and words SUCK

[blairswhitaker]

I have used the term "personal tea ceremony" for years, and it is pretty loosely defined. Whatever floats your TeaBoat.

+ 1, also like this concept as well as formal ceremony.

[Poohblah]

There is no ceremony.

There's a formal Japanese ceremony, but not a Chinese one.

I have to respectfully disagree. Having been to many Gong Fu Cha Ceremony, I would indeed say their is a ceremony, it does not follow nearly as rigid rules as Chado or Senchado and is more personally tailored to the individual pouring tea, but is still ceremony none the less.

Sure, there is some sort of ritual in China that seems to be similar to chanoyu. The form of gongfu cha and chanoyu are not all that dissimilar. But it is the function that is far different. Chanoyu has, for a long period of Japan's history, served a specific social purpose, reinforcing social hierarchies and elevating the status of aristocrats as educated and elite. That practice has continued till today. There are many schools and institutions to train people to become practitioners of chanoyu. Tea is not nearly as institutionalized in China. That is my meaning when I say that there is a tea ceremony in Japan, but not China.

Personal ceremonies notwithstanding, of course. You can call whatever you do a "ceremony". But that does not make it a public, formal ceremony.

There are a few 'ceremonys' in taiwan. I think both are relatively new, 90's ish.

Perennial Tea ceremony
http://teaarts.blogspot.com/2005/12/per ... emony.html
http://en.tw.tranews.com/Show/Style203/ ... ectNo=6635

Wu-Wo tea ceremony
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wu-Wo_Tea_Ceremony

I think these would fit under the classification of ceremony to me.

Yes, I have heard of these, and they seem to be modern-day tea ceremonies. Perhaps there have been similar ceremonies in the past in Buddhist or Taoist circles in China, but I do not know much of them. I have read that such ceremonies were the precursor to chanoyu in Japan, but fell out of popularity in China after the Yuan dynasty.