Cuppa echelons

Nowhere has the ceremony of tea drinking been taken to such heights as in Japan. Yes, the Brits enjoy their afternoon cuppa. The Chinese use tea as part of a traditional marriage ceremony. It is served by the bride and groom to their parents, other 'elders' and anybody else they want to pay their respects to; at yum cha, the younger diners are supposed to pour for the others.

The Japanese ceremony, however, is something else. There are two broad categories, each with different 'schools': sencha-do using sencha (whole green tea leaves), and chado (also called sado and chanoyu), using matcha, or powdered tea. It's a long performance, where every movement of the host is governed, from the way he or she dresses (it should reflect the season), enters the room and closes the door, cleans the utensils before use, whisks the powdered tea with water to make a thick, bitter liquid, serves the guests, cleans the utensils again and then bows as the guests leave. The guests, too, behave formally - accepting the deep tea bowl in a certain way, turning it so the clean side faces front before sipping, then wiping the rim clean so the same bowl can be drunk from by the next guest.

Perfection in the art of the tea ceremony, say its practitioners, is unattainable.

Tea master Shogen Shirakawa, whose grandfather was also a tea master, has been practising one of the many schools of chado for about 30 years, after taking a class at university. He practised almost daily at the beginning, and now does it mostly at the weekend. He says, 'I would rather not say I am good at it; I believe we find something new to learn. Learning how to make it and how to present the tea is not so difficult; but to learn it in depth, one has to study the history of tea and learn the qualities of different teas. There are a lot of things to learn.'

The tea used in chado - matcha - was introduced to Japan from China by Buddhist monks more than 1,000 years ago, says Shirakawa. 'Chado used to play a role suited to the times. It was useful for monks at the beginning, to wake them up during meditation, and also to keep them in good health as a kind of medicine. It gradually became popular and important with feudal lords. Chado next became popular with rich merchants and then ordinary folk picked it up.'

Although the world is getting busier, Shirakawa says the tea ceremony remains popular. 'It's still a precious culture and art.'