茶道初歩の初歩　First Steps to Tea - A Simple Tea Gathering.

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Today we will discuss elements of how to be a guest at a tea gathering. Please wear comfortable clothing and white socks. Like the zendō at the Zen Center, please avoid wearing jewelry (especially anything that dangles) or strong scents.

Today we will have a simple 茶席 chaseki (tea ceremony) so that you can begin to practice the role of the guest. Plan on participating in two sittings which will give you two chances to practice being a guest. Please show up promptly as we will practice a number of guest procedures before the actual chaseki.

The journey of tea begins with learning how to be a guest at a simple chaseki. The next step is to begin practicing 割稽古 warigeiko where the basic movements performed by the host are practiced. Usucha 薄茶 (thin tea) is learned first. Later on, Koicha 濃茶 (thick tea) is learned. After learning both basic procedures, tea practitioners learn a rather extensive collection of procedures which adapt chaseki to different: seasons, rooms or even outdoors, equipment and furnishings, and social situations.

I will provide tea which costs me a bit over $20.00 for one gathering (which can fit inside Roji) when directly imported from Japan in large quantity. (Note. Tea for the "tea ceremony" costs about twice as much when purchased in the United States. For koicha, we use more expensive tea.) I will also provide sweets to go along with the tea. Please feel free to chip in to help defray expenses.

I have limited supplies of practice utensils which I can lend during meetups. There are no tea ceremony supply stores in New York. (Ippodo has recently opened a branch store in Manhattan which sells tea. However, they do not appear to stock utensils, and they do not ship orders.) There is a fellow in Portland, Oregon who is importing tea ceremony supplies. (Be prepared, the prices may shock you.) His webpage is at: http://www.teadogu.com/ New tea equipment can also be imported from Japan by searching at http://www.rakuten.co.jp/ and used equipment can be purchased from: https://www.net-qp.com/en/ However, please note that "NEW" means "newly stocked", and please carefully examine all of the photographs before buying anything. Also, never buy a used chasen 茶筅 (tea whisk). They are comparatively inexpensive, and a used one may be seriously damaged.