Tea Ceremony Complete

I have officially performed a traditional Japanese tea ceremony for four guests (five if you count Dagmar), pleasantly knocking challenge no. 17 off the list. Since I didn't have access to a tea room, I held the ceremony in my apartment. It wasn't ideal (neither was the fact that Austin insisted on having his katana present), but the important thing was that my guest of honor (called Shokyaku), the issuer of the challenge, witnessed my knowledge of the many steps and rituals involved in Chanoyu.

Wagashi (sweets) served prior to the ceremony (Macchamochi & Kasutera). I purchased these from Minamoto Kitchoan in midtown.

Austin and Kaleigh bringing my ceremony to a borderline offensive level.

My "floral" arrangement + scroll, which each guest must view/bow to before taking their seat for the ceremony.

Utensil placement from my point-of-view.

Cold water container, tea bowl, tea scoop, whisk, and tea container.

Guest of honor taking the first sip.

Going Through the Motions

Now that all of my Japanese tea ceremony equipment has arrived, I must practice the steps of the ceremony itself, as I only have thirty-eight days to complete the challenge. While I do have my hardcover step-by-step guide, sometimes it helps to watch someone move through the steps (it's been many months since I had my private lesson where I watched my instructor perform a simple ceremony).

Here is one of quite a few videos I found to give you an idea of what I'll be doing when I get my tea party on. The napkin folding part might take me a half hour, so I hope my guests are patient types.

One thing the video doesn't show is the offering of sweets ("wagashi") before the tea. They are placed on a lacquered tray, for the guests to enjoy while the host is preparing his or her ceremony. I found a place in NYC that makes these traditional (and gorgeous) Japanese sweets, which look something like this: