A (Tea) Ceremonial Date
Hi Loves,
So, I know you all are just bursting at the seams waiting to hear about my date this weekend. Don’t worry, Tia’s here to tell you all the juicy details. I’ll give you a hint: Tea Ceremony!
So, we first went to a very nice Japanese restaurant not far from both our houses. We were seated in a private tatami room, separated from the next table by beautiful rice paper screens. Our wonderful server, dressed in full regalia, kimono and all, told us that the calligraphy on the screens was the work of the proprietor himself. Score points for Mr. Great Tea Date, who picked the restaurant.
Sitting on the tatami mats, shoeless, wasn’t any big shakes to me or Mr. Great Tea Date, since we both were old hands at Japanese dining. Of course we would be since we’re both lovers of green tea and would naturally be drawn to anywhere that celebrates the natural health benefits of our favorite elixir.
After we finished our meals, sharing a delicious assortment of sushi (extra points for him for not being squeamish about trying the weird stuff I like such as octopus tentacles and flying fish roe!), our be-kimono-ed server had a great surprise for us: a special tea ceremony to mark the tenth anniversary of the restaurant! Neither of us had any idea it was going to happen. But we were treated to a solemn and elegant ceremony where we watched the owner himself ritualistically wash and prepare the sacred tea tools and prepare the customary matcha tea.
The whole restaurant was quiet while he preformed the ceremony and one by one, each patron was served a cup of hot tea along with a delicate sweet. Both Mr. Great Tea Date and I were in such awe of the grace and dignity of the entire ceremony. At one point, as the Tea Master served his elderly father, Mr. Great Tea Date was so moved he held my hand on over the table. Awwww! He’s so sweet.
And thanks to the studying I did last week about green tea, we had a great conversation about our love for it. So great in fact that we missed the movie! After a long walk around a nearby park, we called it a night, but made plans for later this week. I don’t know, guys–this could be something special!
OX and Tea,
Tia
Tags: Green Tea, health benefits, Love, Matcha, tea ceremony
