Traditional Tea Ceremony from Japan

Tea was introduced to Japan around 600A.D. At first it was drunk by Buddhist monks in monasteries. Around 800 A.D. a monk named Dingyo Daishi brought tea plant seeds from China to Japan and planted them in the garden of his monastery. When the leaves were ready, he sent them to the Japanese Emperor, Saga. Saga is said to have liked the tea so much that he ordered tea to be cultivated in Japan. Tea consumption in Japan began to rise.

In 1191, a Buddhist monk named Eisai returned to Japan after visiting China. Eisai wrote a book called Kissa-yojo Ki or "Notes on the Curative Effects of Tea." In the book, he told of tea's medicinal powers. The book reached Sanetomo, the Shogun, or military leader of Japan.

Sanetomo was suffering from a stomach illness. Eisai's method of making tea cured him. Eisai's method of tea preparation included instructions on how to pick, prepare, and drink a powdered green tea called matcha. Tea houses and stalls sprung up all over Japan and people also began to grow tea plants in their home gardens. By 1400, the steps of tea preparation laid out by Eisai had evolved into a tea ceremony. The tea ceremony was greatly influenced by Zen Buddhism, which is an important part of Japanese culture. Zen Buddhism is a form of Buddhism in which people strive to live "in the moment" and to appreciate the things in everyday life.

Earlier tea ceremonies in Japan were held in great halls and were a chance for the wealthy to show off elaborate tea vessels. Buddhist priests began incorporating the ideals of Zen into the tea ceremony. The ceremony was moved to small tea rooms as well as the equipment for preparing and serving tea. Individuals became more aware of their surroundings and actions. By the 1500s, the ceremony had evolved into Sado or Chado, as it is known and practiced today. Sado means "the way of tea." The tea ceremony represents four important Japanese beliefs: harmony, respect, purity, and tranquility.

The Japanese tea ceremony lasts up to four hours. Each action and moment of the ceremony is carefully planned and carried out. The tea ceremony tales place in homes and at tea houses across Japan. A special room called a chashitsu, or tea room, is reserved for the ceremony. The host of the ceremony rings a bell or bangs on a gong, called a dors, to tell the quests that is time to enter the room. In some tea ceremonies, guests are served a light meal before the ceremony begins. The ceremony includes the acts of serving and receiving tea, and all guests share tea from the same bowl. Throughout the ceremony the host and the guest remember that their "time together is a singular event that will never happen exactly the same way again.

The tea ceremony requires very specific tools called dogu.

Wu Long Tea, Chinese Traditional Tea for Losing Weight

Wulong tea is a traditional Chinese tea. It is somewhere between green tea and black tea that is usually used for losing weight. It ranges from 10% to 70% in oxidation. Polyphenol which is found in this tea is believed to have a role in activating the enzymes in the body that breaks down body fat. There are more than two phenol-based hydroxyl groups inside the molecule of polyphenol.

The word Wulong means “black dragon” in Chinese. There are several legends show the origin of this strange name. One of them tells there is an owner of tea plantation scared away from his drying tea leaves by the appearance of a black snake. The tea had been oxidized by the sun when he went back after a few days. Because of that oxidation process, the tea has wonderful brew.

Another legend tells a man named Wu Liang found about Wulong tea accidentally when his attention was diverted by a deer after an exhausting day of picking tea. He almost forgot about it that the tea had already started to oxidize.

Another version says that the word Wulong is used to name the tea because the leaves look like little dragons awaken when hot water is poured on them.

Semi-oxidized of Wulong tea that is merged in groups is called Blue green tea. The taste is more close to green tea rather than black tea. It does not possess the rosy, sweet aroma of black tea, and it does not have the bitter grassy vegetal quality that distinguishes green tea. The best Wulong tea has a nuance flavor profile. It is commonly brewed to become strong, with the bitterness leaving a sweet and pleasant taste on the tongue.

Wuyi Mountain in the province of Fujian in China and Central Mountain in Taiwan are places where the original Wulongs are created. They are commonly processed and rolled into elongated coiled leaves or into a ball-like form to gunpowder tea. Wulong tea is usually offered to go with dimsum and other Chinese food in Chinese restaurants.

There are several customaruy mixes of Wulong tea that marries the wonderful outcome of Wuyi’s Wulang tea with another Wulong tea from the province of Anxi and Formosa’s Wulong tea. Although each of them is unique in flavor, they are good for health. There are many benefits when we consume Wulong tea. It wards off hunger, burns calories, excesses fat resulting to weight loss, lessens signs of aging, boosts energy, fortifies teeth, lessens hair fall, improves immune system, lessens eczema and may treat type 2 diabetes as well.