We’re releasing this episode in between the Western new year and the Asian lunar new year, and we took this opportunity to quiet our minds, turn inward a bit, and look again at tea as a contemplative practice. Chatting with us in this exploration is Ven. Hyeonmin Prajna, a Zen teacher in the Five Mountain Zen Order based in New York City, and a student and practitioner of Japanese tea ceremony in the Dai Nihon Chado Gakkai school of tea. Read the full show notes
Tag: chado
A Relaxed Approach to Tea & “Tea Decadence” at Montreal’s Cha Do Raku
Today at Talking Tea we’re in Montreal beginning our exploration of this city’s vibrant tea scene. Our first stop is Cha Do Raku, a new tea house and shop in Montreal’s Plateau district. Cha Do Raku (it means “decadence of tea” in Japanese) and its owner and founder, Shiho Kanamaru, have already made a name for themselves through the highly regarded teas offered through Cha Do Raku’s online store. Today we visit Shiho in her new shop and chat about how she realized her dream of a tea space that embodies the spirit of doraku, a simple, relaxed enjoyment of tea. Read the full show notes
Tea & Relational Culture: What’s Tea Got to Do With It?
One of the things we hear over and over again from people in the tea world is how so many great relationships have been created and nurtured through tea. But what is it in tea culture that’s so good at bringing us together? Read the full show notes
Beauty in Imperfection: A Visit to the Shofuso Tea House
This week on Talking Tea we’re back in Philadelphia at Shofuso, an authentic, and quite amazing, Japanese house and garden with a fully functioning tea house and roji, or tea garden. We’re joined by Derek Finn, Shofuso’s site and program manager, and Morgan Beard of Urasenke Philadelphia, an organization dedicated to practicing and teaching the Japanese way of tea. Read the full show notes
Talkin’ Matcha, Part 2: How To Make It
Have you been wondering how to make a bowl of matcha without the ritual of a formal tea ceremony? How to get a smooth, frothy lime-green foam that looks and tastes great? Talking Tea is here to help. In Part 2 of Talkin’ Matcha, tea blogger Tyas Huybrechts explains how to make a fine bowl of matcha in a few easy steps. Read the full show notes
Talkin’ Matcha, Part 1
This week Talking Tea talks matcha with Tyas Huybrechts, founder and blogger at Tea Talk, a blog devoted entirely to Japanese green teas. Matcha, a powdered green tea that’s whisked into a frothy brew, is fast becoming the caffeinated drink of choice among many in the West, and Tyas tells us about matcha’s history and cultural background in Japan, how it’s grown and processed, and what to look for in buying quality matcha. Read the full show notes
Artful Tea
This week on Talking Tea we chat with Morgan Beard of Urasenke Philadelphia, an organization dedicated to practicing and teaching the Japanese way of tea. We recorded our podcast inside the amazing Japanese galleries at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, which include a complete tea house and garden as well as centuries-old tea utensils and masterpieces of Japanese art.
Morgan talks with us about some of the objects in the galleries (including the tea bowl shown here), and about how Japanese traditions of tea and aesthetics come together in the spirituality of the Way of Tea. Read the full show notes
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