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Global Tea HutNewsletter #6, July 2012

The old, worn bowl covers his ace or a moment ashe drinks the last o the steaming draughtdrinks itin deeply, beyond the body. He sets it down with twohands, gently and with great reverence as he was oncetaught. Te old bowl has been more than just a riend;it has come to be a talisman o peace. It shows up atthe in-between moments, when his work is done andthere is time to sit and be. But today is dierent, and heknows it the moment he adds more water. He watchesthe old leaves dance in twirls around the bowl and ima-gines the orbits this tea has made, and is making: romyears o earth and sun, moon and stars to tree and lie.

And even now, he looks into the slowing leaves and seesall the others out there. He can eel them sharing thesame tea. He can eel the community building throughthis shared love o the Lea

Outside o time, there is this month-long teasession. We meet together here and share some tea, sip-ping our respective bowls on all sides o the globe. Andits hard to believe that weve been meeting here hal ayear already! As the circle grows, so does the magic andinspiration.

Its oten all too easy to write o the ordinarymoments o our lives, and orget the simple gits. We

want to say just to so many things: just a meetingor just another meal or bowl o tea. But, in the end,our lie is almost exclusively made up o all these dis-

carded justs. Rather than dismissing the ordinary, wemust learn to celebrate it. Tere is great power in thesimplest things, as even a single atom can power a city.

We hope that this tea hut is such a place, where we canmeet and celebrate a simple bowl o leaves and watertogether.

In ancient China, there were orest monkswho wandered the mountains above the clouds. Peo-ple sought out their huts or the solitude and peace oNature and or a bit o wisdom and guidance rom thesages who dwelt there. And oten when theyd come,

the old master would serve them tea, having nothingelse to give. We are very much carrying this traditionon, only the hut has grown so much larger. Te worldis connecting in marvelous ways, through technology,travel and increased inormation. ea understands this

and is also seeking new ways to connect with people.Tis hut is another new way that this connection is be-ing awakened.

Find yoursel some good mountain spring wa-ter, toss these leaves in a bowl and join us in this hut.Invite over some riends or loved ones, or maybe theyll

join us rom aar. Celebrate the ordinariness o it all.Teres just this packet o tea, scribbled writing on theoutside, a shoddy black and white newsletter, you andI. Its just a packet o some papers and a bit o leaves.But the tea inside was donated to you; its connectingyou to an organic arm thats probably on the other sideo the globe. Te armer was thrilled to give it to you,hoping to spread the changes hes a part o, and proudthat his tea is bringing joy to a brother or sister as araway as you are. And this git and newsletter were also

donated with great honor and love. Your money, too,is connecting you to a living tea tradition, unding ourree center, school, publications and roadside huts. Teother members o this hut around the world would loveto meet you and share some tea. You could probablystay in most o their homes, i you happened to ndyoursel nearby. Tey are wondering about you as yousit and drink your tea, just as you think ondly o them.

All o this in a simple packet o tea!Its amazing that so many connections arise out

o the steam o this one steeping o magical teacon-

nections to our center in aiwan and all the people thatare coming to visit and/or stay, connections to tea arm-ers and connections to others through this growing teagathering. And this is as it should be: Nature is gather-ing us in. Te Lea is showing us the vibrant earth wegrew out o, and within it we nd a reection o ourlie and soul, our joys and sorrows. It is a medicine thatcures the disconnectionrom Nature, each other androm ourselves. And theres much more healing powerin sharing it with others.

He slowly picks up the bowl again, as the senti-

ments and words inside o him vanish with the curls osteam. He holds it or a while, eeling the warmth in hishands. Teres nothing to say about the bowl o leavesanymore

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The majority o our brothers and sisters around thistea-drinking globe are enjoying warm temperatureswhile reading this newsletter, so we thought to oera kind o tea thats one o our summertime avorites:a splendid Japanese sencha tea. Japanese green teas aretreats when its hot outside, as they have a rereshing,cooling eect. Tey also provide a pleasant boost andseem to mirror the light-headed happy eeling long,sunny days give us.

We hope you will like this months special treat,an organic sencha produced with loving care by the Mo-rimoto amily o Miyazaki, on the southern island o

Kyushu, Japan. Tis green splendor was brought to ourattention by two German ellows collectively known asMarimo, who are dedicated to supporting small or-ganic armers in Japan and introducing antastic, cleanteas to tea-lovers in Europe. Te tea is comprised main-ly o leaves rom the Okumidoricultivar (see below: Letsalk Varietals), with some Okuyutakaexpertly blendedin. Picked and processed in 2011, it was packed im-

mediately to preserve reshness, though it has also hadtime to settle and develop a deeper taste-prole.

Te Morimoto amily have been tea armerssince the 1970s. At rst, they used the conventionalarming techniques employed by everyone else butquickly noticed that every year extra chemicals and pes-ticides were becoming necessary, and elt uncomorta-ble with this. Raising young daughters, health concernsbecame primary in their lives and they decided to makea concerted change in their lives, rst and oremost toensure their amilys uture well-being. From the early1980s, the Morimotos have been employing organic

arming techniques; at rst they were pioneers, nowthey are an example to others.Tey live in a simple wooden house surround-

ed by their tea elds; the Pacic ocean is visible in thenear distance rom some o the elds. Te air is sweetrom tea, with an echo o resh, salty air. Te coupleis dedicated to preserving the environment as well astheir customers health, and working with the land inas much harmony as they work together.

Your Tea of the Month, July 20122012 Spring Sencha, Kyushu Japan

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Article/Photos by Steve Kokker

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Tis Okumidori is processed in a similar wayto most other Japanese sencha teas. Freshly pluckedleaves are brought down rom the elds to the pro-cessing arm as quickly as possible and go through thekill-green stage (with no withering) to preserve color,reshness and a lightly bitter bite. Tis enzymaticdeactivation is done primarily by steaming in Japan(see below: Whats Your Mushi?). Ironically, the wordsencha literally means roasted tea but this reers his-

torically to older methods o processing Japanese leatea, versus the ground, or mo, tea (matcha), which hadbeen part o Japanese culture or centuries beore steep-ing lea tea became popular in the 17th century. Teprocessing o sencha (see below: One Category, ManyDiferences) was developed in the 18th century. Bysteeping leaves, tea was brought into the houses o thecommon olk and could nally be an everyday experi-ence, or at least not a luxury to be experienced rarely inormal ceremonies or almost exclusively by the rulingclasses.

Your JulyOkumidoriis a blend o two cultivars(see below: Lets alk Varietals) chieyOkumidori(it-sel a blend o second and third harvests, that is harvestsrom both June and August), as well as some third har-vest Okuyutaka. Tese leaves are evidently at and on

the large, thick sideone way to spot that they are notspring plucks (which would be more tender and small).Te tea isAsamushi, which you can tell rom the generalscarcity o small, broken bits, with the second harvestteas having received a slightly longer steaming than thethird harvest teas. Tis is because the second harvestleaves are slightly thicker than third harvest ones as theMorimotos cut back the tea bushes slightly ater thesecond harvest to ensure relatively tender shoots during

a third harvest. Tis makes their method o arming notcompletely wild (which would allow the tea bushes togrow as they like and be plucked when ready) but in the

Japanese context, their method o arming is considerednoninvasive.

For those worried about possible radioactivityrom the March 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster, Ma-rimo has each o their teas specially tested or radionu-cleides, and the reports are available online. Tere wasnot a trace o radioactive material in tests done both in

Japan and Europe. Te team is so thoroughly dedicated

to oering organic teas to people, they as a matter oresponsibility do all they can to ensure their teas com-plete saety.

ea o the Month, July 2012

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Brewing ips

Tis Okumidoriis not quite as ragile as some other Japanese green teas, where the dierence o just a ewdegrees in water temperature or a dierence o a ew seconds can make the dierence between paradise andmouth-puckering intensity. Still, we recommend relatively cooled (ideally spring) water (70-75C), with aproportion o 4-6g (a heaping teaspoon) per 225-250ml o water. Steepings can be 45-60s or the rst, 30-

45s or the second, over a minute or the third. With this and other teas, do experiment with brewing timesand water temperatures. For example, many Japanese teas are delightul when steeped in cold water, with aslightly higher lea per water ratio and let to steep or 10-12 minutes. Youll never need to buy commercial

iced tea again!

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Lets alk Varietals

A little look at Japanese tea cultivars would be instructive at this point. As domestic consumption o tea startedto soar in the 1970s, Japanese tea armers looked or a way to reduce dependency on importing tea rom elsewhere andincrease domestic production. Te Yabukitavarietal at this point became king and even today, some 75% o all teas pro-duced in Japan are made rom Yabukitaleaves. Tis particular strain oered a pungent and pleasant umami taste proleand proved high-yielding and relatively easy to cultivate. Eventually, however, having such a one-variety dominance ledto immunity problems and Yabukitabecame susceptible to pests and diseases which in turn required a large amount oertilizers and pesticides to be used. Other varieties were then developed, and today there are over 50 ofcial cultivars

classied in Japan, though the real number may be inniteonly Nature truly knows. Yabukita, which was developed rom an indigenous wild variety o camellia sinensis growing in Shizuoka, stilldominates production, but lets look at a ew other varietals currently being armed in Japan:

YutakamidoriA distant second to Yabukitain terms o volume o production, and mainly grown in Japans southern Kagoshi-

ma and Miyazaki regions.

OkumidoriNoted or its mild, slightly smoky notes, this tea was developed in the early 1970s as a cross between Yabukita

and another Shizuokavariety. Tis variety is oten used in gyokuro and matcha processing, along with the equally re-vered Samidorivarietal.

OkuyatakaTis is one o the newer varietals in Japan but quickly gaining popularity or its sweet aroma and deep, rich

notes. It is also used in matchaproduction.


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Te kill-green (shaqing) process (to kill enzymesin the lea which would otherwise lead to oxidation) in

Japan is almost always done by steaming (versus by ry-ing, as is the common rule in China). Mushi meanssteamed. Just how long the leaves are steamed, however,can aect the resulting green tea massively. In additionto knowing when your Japanese tea was picked, rom

which region, and whether or not it was shaded, youalso want to know the teas mushi-ness.

As with all categorizations, this one is also il-

lusory in that teas rarely sit neatly in one category orthe other. Tink o this as a continuum rather than asstrict categories. Also, the denitions o these categorieshas changed somewhat over the years as teas in generalare being steamed or longer than they were tradition-ally. Tis has to do with the changing palate o consum-ers but also because extremely short steaming producesteas best drunk ater having sat or several months;the modern market demands more ready to drink teas.Tats why most current Japanese teas dont age as wellas they used to and are best drunk within a year or so o

production (with notable exceptions).

Asamushi(Short steamed). Tis is the most commonorm o steaming, and the resulting leaves tend to belonger, intact, with ewer small bits o lea visible. Teliquor is quite clear, oten a transparent green-yellow,and the taste is lighter than that produced by othersteaming methods; many people like this as it tends topreserve the leas resh, vegetal taste. Almost all shin-cha (early Spring pluckings) areAsamushito emphasizetheir gentle nature. Te taste is rened, elegant, crispand clear.

FukumushiTose stepping into the Japanese green teaworld tend to go wild over Fukamushi(deep steamed)

teas. Tese teas are oten quite intense in taste, but verysweet as well; umamiand bitterness are backgroundedto a very ull-bodied experience, which appeals to those

who havent developed a palate or Japanese teas yet.Tese teas are not subtle (as evidenced by the cloudy,thick appearance o the liquor) and not known or deli-cacy, but quite oten the rst two steepings can be in-tensely delicious mouthuls. Teir appearance is easy tospot: lots o small lea pieces, as i theyve been nelychopped. Te wet leaves clump together in a paste-like

glop thats un to mix with soya sauce ater steeping andeat up! Legend has it that the deep steaming process

was developed about thirty years ago to compensate ordeclining water (or tea lea) qualitythe more intensetaste masked any other present deects. Low-grown teas(versus high mountain grown) are better suited to be-comingFukamushi.

Chumushi Not much to say here, as these medium-steamed are predictably in-between the other two ex-tremes, exhibiting characteristics o both. It is some-

times hard to visually discern a Chumushirom someAsamushiteas.

We talk about shorter and longer steepings, buthow long is long? Its hard to give a precise denition asthe length o steaming depends on the lea and climaticconditions, but very generally,Asamushiusually meansa steaming o up to 30 seconds, Chumushiaround 45seconds and Fukamushiup to 90 seconds. Some teas aregiven up to 2 minutes o steaming, and some rare teasgo through a two-step steaming. Te dierence mightnot seem long to us, but these ew seconds make all thedierence to your drinking experience!


Whats Your Mushi?

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One Category, Many Diferences

Although Japan produces almost only green tea, the dierence between the kinds o green tea processed can bestaggering. Heres a very brie introduction to some o the dierent kinds o green teas you may nd in Japan:

Tere are our main categories o Japanese green tea: bancha(late-harvest, or common tea), sencha, gyokuro andmatcha. Senchaaccounts or over 80% o all tea produced in Japan, banchaabout 10%, matchaabout 1% andgyokuro,

which can be among the worlds most expensive teas, about 0.3%. Both matchaandgyokuro are made with so-calledshaded leavesentire plantations and tea gardens are shaded rom the sun rom a ew days to several weeks beore har-

vesting. Tis causes numerous changes in the lea, which increase umami, sweetness and intensity.

Other kinds o teas include:

Houjicha- roasted banchawith twigs and leaves.

Kukicha made rom senchaor evengyokuro twigs.

Karigane- blend o high-grade sencha or gyokuro stems plus leaves.

Genmaicha a blend o sencha, roasted brown rice and popper corn!

Kabusecha- shade-grown tea, usually taken rom rst pluck o season.

amaryokucha a specialty rom the Kyushu region, a rolled and sweet tea.Shincha the rst plucking o the season.

Kuradashi- aged sencha.

Konacha green tea annings or ne particles, used or tea bags.

Sobacha not a tea really, but an inusion made rom roasted buckwheat.

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They say.

Tat long, long ago there lived a great scholar, wiserand older than the cragged mountains he dwelled upon.Many eared him and stayed away. Tey said he couldbring down those mountains i he wished. And whenthey suered drought or rain they said it was his magiccursing their lands rom above. Some went to him oradvice. Some went in desperation, as it was said that

with his power to bring misortune, he also had thepower to restore lie. Tose that returned sometimes did

with stories o miracles, while others were unable to ndhim. And when the people needed advice, they would

elect a group o representatives to make the journey upinto the mountains to seek out his advice, or whateverelse he was, he was their emperor, Shen Nong.

One young monk was said to have spent an en-tire season with Shen Nong on his mountain. He toldthe people that the emperor conversed with Nature,that he knew the names o the trees and plants, animalsand birds. Te people say that when the monk returned,he was crying. He had scrambled down the mountain,tearing his robes and sullying his ace and hands eve-rywhere but the our lines that the stream o tears had

washed across his cheeks. What has happened? askedthe gathering crowd. Another pool o tears welled up

just under the young monks eyes; his eyes wavered likehis voice: Our great emperor is dead, he whispered.Perhaps the villagers were too shocked to share his sad-ness. Maybe they stood in awe as he gently reached intohis robe and pulled orth a single branch holding veperect leaves and two seeds. Could the monk have thenplaced the branch in the hands o the new leader, gentlycurling his ngers over the treasure?

Te monks story would be told again andagain or the eons to come, the shadows growing thatmuch longer with each recount. Shen Nong, at one

with Nature, had spent his days walking the moun-tain paths near his home, meditating beneath avoritetrees, or maybe stopping at some poignant landscapelong enough to be the subject o many generations opainters. He taught the young monk the names o theanimals and plants. He showed him what he could eat,and what was or the Earth. His lie was truly in har-mony, they say. And that was why he was the ruler o

all rulers. He had no greed. No stake in the outcomeso the world below, just the answers o the Earth, sky,sun and stars.

During the colder months, Shen Nong wouldboil herbal drinks or the monk, warming him throughthe cold watches o the night. It was maybe during onesuch night, possibly when the moon was ull and thesky clear, that they sat in the orest listening to themountain and the sound o the water cooking on anearby re. A serendipitous breeze stirred. Imagine,

just a simple breeze. Was it chance? Did destiny reach

out and pluck that lea rom the tree, and in the ormo wind let it all into the boiling water below? Whocan say? But Shen Nong was never one to question thegits o Nature. Te monk and himsel drank the brotho those leaves steeped in that water, and because othat even all these ages later, we sip our own bowls and

wonder i the moon was bigger on those distant nightsso long ago.

O course the boy and his wise companionknew at once that the liquor they drank was special.

The Legend of Shen nongHow it all began

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Shen Nongs meditation that night spoke with the Lea,telling countless tales o enlightenment, courtly pride,

weddings, cutter ships rom lands beyond the ends othe earth, and countless other tales o lie, death and allthat comes between. Tis tree had a story longer andbrighter than his own. She told Shen Nong that sheactually didnt belong up here on this cold mountain.

She said that this would be her nal crown o leaves,and that her spirit must return home or perish on themountain alone. She had chosen that pot o boiling wa-ter, asking him to please give her spirit to the peoplethat lived below and bless her on her great journey overcontinents o land and spirit both. Maybe Shen Nonglaughed when he heard the trees story, and o course theyoung monk wouldnt have known what he was laugh-ing about, but having drunk the same broth, and hav-ing elt the elation it brought to his own spirit, he ocourse would have answered with a great guaw o his

own.Tat winter they say the young monk grew

deathly ill. Shen Nong tried everything to save the boy.He had made a promise to the tree, but the illness wastoo strong. One morning, possibly when the sun wasshining brightly over the snow swept mountain, ShenNong rose and went out into the orest. Te boy and hehad harvested a whole canister o the trees leaves anddried them in the sun. Every night, Shen Nong wouldboil water with the leaves in it and serve it to the weak-ening young monk. And each night, he would tell the

boy the trees story. He would tell him about how itwould be there with and in all the emperors o the u-ture. He repeated that the tree wasnt meant or theseisolated peaks. It had only come up here to meditateor some centuries, and having done so, the time or itto return to the world below had come. He told himo the weddings and meals, the riends and oes that

would drink it or ages and ages to come. And as herepeated the story each night, Shen Nong slowlyyetnaturallyslipped into the rst person: And remem-ber young one he would say with one hand behindthe young monks head and the other guiding the bowl

o broth to his lips, I will be drunk by all the monks.I will write a thousand, thousand poems. I will makeriends o enemies, and enemies o riends. And I willlive on in each o my selves..in every sip.

Tat winter day, when all seemed lost, they sayShen Nong walked into the orest. No one speaks o

what happened that day, and neither did the youngmonk. But when the sun had risen the next day, theyoung monk was better. He could even brew the leaveshimsel. Somehow, its better to imagine him con-tented, perhaps the sadness hadnt yet sunk in. Did heknow deep down that his master wasnt coming back?Hard to say.

When the boy was well enough, he let thehut to nd out what had become o his great lord andteacher. He o course knew which direction to walk.His eet carried him to the same ancient tree, older

than his teacher even, o which Shen Nong had so o-ten talked. When he got there he ound Shen Nongresting comortably against the oot o the tree. Some-how the young monk knew that he had let this worldand began to cry. He came back later in the day andburied Shen Nong right where he had laid down withsuch a satised look on his ace.

Te young monk cried and cried. He con-templated leaving the world to help carry his mastersbelongings in the hereater, but he remembered whatShen Nong had told him about the tree and its story.

He decided to return to the world below and announcethe passing o their lord, so that proper rites and cere-monies could be observed everywhere in the kingdom.

Beore he let, he made one nal stop at thegreat treenow a reliquary to his master. He boweddown and prayed or his teachers peace. When helooked up, we can only imagine the great surprise thatcame over his young countenance as he ound that asingle branch covered in leaves and seeds was hangingdown rom the otherwise barren tree, perhaps catching

the sunlight just so...

Shen Nong

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Whenever anyone comes to our center to learn thisWay o ea, we always emphasize that in this tradi-

tion we are not learning how to maketea, but ratherhow to serveit. We cultivate and express a way o pre-paring tea that promotes awakening o the heart, andis thereore a part o the greater shit o consciousnessand healing that is happening globally. All o the skill(gongu) and mastery we learn through (and rom)tea should be applied towards the awakening o oth-ers, or there is no mastery without such devotionand selessness. It is paradoxical, but there really isonly so ar you can travel beore your own growth,

learning and improvement must involve sharing,which becomes the lesson itsel. It is only in serviceo mankind that we nd purpose, in other words.

O course, it isnt selsh o a doctor to ocusall his time, energy and money on himsel while hesat medical school. An uneducated doctor can be oservice to no one; and you cant loan me twenty dol-lars i you only have ten. We must thereore beginour tea journey by cultivating our own skills. But

we shouldnt ever orget our aim, which is to shareany and everything we cultivatejust as the doctorshouldnt orget that ater school he will be a healer.

At our center, we generally divide learninginto three stages: rst, a student o the Lea should

learn to drink tea. Beore you can make tea or oth-ers, you must learn how to be served yoursel. Acceptthe tea rom another, watch how it is done, and learnto communicate to the tea and the Nature that owsthrough it. In connection, we nd ourselves. Tisrst stage is about learning to speak the language otea. For this, it is oten best to take out the humanelements in tea preparationthe words describingit and all the skill and expertiseand return to justleaves and water in a bowl. You dont need to classiy

or comprehend the tea. It doesnt need to be namedor categorized and you dont need to understand allthe details o its processing. It will tell you its story:

where it comes rom, what kind o mountain andenvironment, the terroir and even the wisdom that

was handed down to it through its genetic heritage,and rom the sun, moon, stars, mountain and water.It may also tell you some o the more personal wis-dom it has cultivated as a living tree, though it rarelyspeaks rom a sense o sel that would distinguish

it rom the other wisdom passed on to it rom Na-ture. But none o this is spoken; the language o

The Guest & host realize they are oneServing tea to yoursel

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tea is one o sensation and impression. Te connec-tion must be deeper. And having lost much o ourconnection to Nature, in these mind-made cities, wemust relearn how to communicate with it.

Te second stage o learning at our school in-volves a lot o participation in the brewing process.Tere are lietimes worth o skills to be learned: howto gather water, which is best or tea, how to lay andmaintain the coals, how to boil the water, which potto use and how, etc. All o these skills should becomesecond nature to you, i you are to master this Way o

ea. It is important that you develop a great acumenwith the way the tea is prepared, as well as allowingthe teaware to be an extension o yoursel. It is only

when tea preparation is truly a part o who you are,that you will be able to ocus completely on serv-ing your guests (even i that guest is you). Otherwise,you will be too ocused on spoiling the tea and han-dling the teaware properly to pay much attention toyour guests. When the skill (gongu) o tea prepara-tion has become an unconscious ow, it then comes

out o your own spontaneous nature and is ree toalign itsel with the Dao o the moment, and you canocus your energy on other things, or the most part.

Te nal stage o development in this tradi-tion is to study the shamanism o tea, which means

a ocus on the underlying energy work. ea and wa-ter are both some o the most sensitive media in the

world or energy work. Water takes the shape o any-thing you put it in, and as we discussed in our FiveElement series a ew issues ago, it is incredibly mal-leable on the energetic level, and very pronouncedlyinuenced by the energy o its environment. Simi-larly, tea is a very sensitive and energetically suppleplant. Te Qi o tea will be greatly aected by theenergy o the place it is stored in, as we have real-ized through countless experiments. Even physically,

tea shouldnt be stored in the kitchen, or example,because it absorbs the odors o whatever is around it.ea and water together respond to the brewer, andcan be coaxed into various energy requencies, which

will then inuence the drinkers. And this is why wesay that the brewer (host) is completely responsibleor the energy o the tea space. We can communicatemuch o where we are in this moment through tea,and in a way that is more intimate than words couldever be. And that is why masters have so oten used

tea to communicate a nonverbal wisdom o Zen andDao, deeper and more lasting than words.Te two main aims o sharing what we culti-

vate through tea are rst to promote a turning inwardor our gueststo introduce them to themselves, and

Guest & Host

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the connection to Nature that lies therein. Tere isgreat and proound healing in such an experience, asso many o you already know. We utilize tea to returninto our bodies and then souls, and as the Sage said,the Dao is a returning. In this way, tea is a powerulspiritual aid or those we meet in the tea space. We, ashosts, acilitate growth in our guests, allowing them

the solace rom the world that they so desperatelyneed. We instill quiet and presence in the tea, so thatthey turn inwards and meet the tea in their own bod-ies. Tis is tea as meditation.

Te second aim o expressing this tea is tond a meeting o our true selves in the tea space.Tis is how guest and host nd that they are one.

When we rest inwards and meet the tea together, wend that it is so much easier to let go o our egomasks: our social statuses, sex, race, etc. and just be

in our true selves. We start to communicate as spirits,rather than egos or bodies. In this tradition, we callthis energy calm joy. Sometimes it takes the orm oa casual conversation about spiritual matters. Drinktea and discuss the Dao is a Chinese saying that isolder than the word tea. And just about every spirit-ual conversation that has ever happened in Asia thesemany eons has happened over tea.

In all the dierent orms o Cha Dao, romChina to Japan and Korea there has always been anemphasis on creating a space in which guests andhosts can nd one another and rest in their true na-turethe space deep down in us all where we ndthat the tea, each other and Nature are one. And as

we are nding in this global hut, it isnt always neces-

sary or us to be sharing the tea in the same time andspace or such a magical connection to occur. Te

world is, ater all, round.In creating and acilitating such civilized

peace, our roles o guest and host evaporate and wecan smile and rest in our mutual connections. Incultivating such spaces, we also grow ourselves spir-itually. And more importantly we make lasting con-nections that are deeper and beyond the egoic rela-tionships we usually oster. When we serve our guests

completely, in the spirit o their higher good, we ndour own higher sel growing as wellor it is con-sciousness itsel which is evolving through us all...

Guest & Host

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Guest & Host

Serving tea

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At the end o the Song Dynasty, the empire had collapsed nancially. Te rst Ming emperor was a armers son, andquickly initiated several economic reorms, one o which was outlawing powdered tea, which was an extravagancy thatcost twice as much eort or hal the yield. He demanded that all tea be steeped loose, much as it is today. As a result,all the major kilns in China began competing or the attention o tea lovers, producing pots and wares to steep tea in

the new ashion. Very quickly, all the kilns went back to producing what they had been prior to the Ming decree: plates,bowls, dishes, vases, etc. And in one o those cities every man, woman and child became involved in the production oteapots, rom mining ore to transporting it, processing clay to producing potsthe whole city became known as theeapot City. Tat city is Yixing.

Te reason why Yixing superceded all the kilns has to do with the magic properties o its clay. As we spoke aboutin last months Five Elements series, all teaware is stoneware. Yixing, too, is an ore mined rom deep in the earth. Andtea lovers, then and now, could discern the drastic eect it had on the tea they dranka marriage ordained in Heaven.Some say its because Yixing has no lead and is thereore unglazed and porous, so the oils o previous sessions stay in thepot to benet later tea. Others say its the high amounts o iron and other minerals, which help preserve temperature.Still others say its because Yixing pots are slab-built, rather than thrown on a wheel, which preserves the structure othe clay, including the pores. But really there is no why; it just is. Yixing makes the best gongu tea. When asked what

teaware to use in gongu tea, Master Lim always says: Tere is Yixing and there is no second.Tere are three amilies o clay rom Yixing, hongni(red clays), zisha(purple clays) and duanni(yellow/gray

clays), each with several sub-categories. It is purple-sand clay (zisha) that made the city amous. In act, it is also calledthe Purple-sand City. Tis is the clay that displays the most magical eects on gongu tea preparation.

I you can get your hands on a purple-sand teapot, try some experiments. Put 3 grams o the same tea in aporcelain pot or gaiwan and an Yixing purple-sand pot. Steep them with the same water and see the dierence whenpoured into identical cups. As we have discussed in this section beore, pay attention to the moutheel, and how smooththe tea is going down. What eect is the Yixing having? How is the tea dierent?

An alternative to this is to brew the tea in a gaiwan and then use another gaiwan/porcelain pot as well as anYixing as pitchers. Pour the steeped liquor into both and then rom there into identical cups. Tis makes the prepara-tion a bit more equal and might urther clariy the dierences between the two. You could use glass or other kinds o

clay instead o porcelain. Similarly, you could pour directly rom a porcelain or glass pot into a cup and then into apurple-sand pot beore pouring into the second cup. Using the Yixing as a pitcher in that way may help you clariy the

dierences

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Zisha, Purple-sand

Duanni, Yellow Clay

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Harmony through alchemy has always been central tothe aesthetics and philosophy o tea culture, whetherclearly expressed by ancient Daoist mendicants, or letunstated, yet recognized by the modern tea drinker whointuitively knows when a tea set unctions well, when atea is brewed properly, or when something in the process

is o. Te mixing and blending o gurative and mate-rial elements in tea truly is alchemicalboth externallyin the way the lea, water, re and teaware combine toorm the liquor; and internally in the way we use the teasession to create peace, quiet and a stillness that inspiresdialogue with Nature and the Dao. And harmony hasalways been the guiding principle o these processes, orit is the harmony o a tea set that makes it beautiul andunctional, the harmony o a tearoom which inspires re-laxation, and even the harmony o the lea, water andteaware which combines to make the best liquor. In the

exploration o tea and our own development towardsmastery, harmony is the ideal that we must seek out, justas masters past and present have always done.

Te best teas are those which are brewed in aplace where all the elements are in harmony together.Tis neednt mean anything magical or difcult to un-derstand: harmony might just reer to the way that theproper water, at the proper temperature, combines withthe right kind o leaves in the right amount, all in thebest teaware, etc. What could be more alchemical? Moreand more modern tea armers, artists that crat teaware,

and even tea drinkers are beginning to understand thatharmony must guide their tea. In exploring the elementsthat go into a ne cup o tea, and the way in which amore harmonious approach can be achieved, we canlearn not only how to develop and progress in Cha Dao,but how tea can be a part o a healthier, calmer and moreproductive liestyle.

Since ancient times Chinese sages and seers haveseparated the material world into ve elements calledWu-shing(): wood, earth, water, re, and metal.Tese principal elements are extremely complicated, in-

uencing all aspects o Chinese culture, philosophy andspiritualityrom Daoism to Buddhism, Feng-shui,

medicine and even tea. Lu Yu himsel inscribed symbolsrepresenting the Wu-shingon all o his teaware, and spokeo the way they all combined uently in the brewing otea.

raditionally, these elements represented muchmore than just material aspects o the universe. Tey

were also processes, with re representing temperatureand earth representing yin energy or example, and muchmore. Tey guided the selection and construction obuildings, understanding o the seasons and agriculture,spiritual work and meditation as well as Chinese medi-cine.

For tea brewing, it isnt important that one un-derstand the library o concepts and ideas behind theWu-shing or even recognize all o the phenomena thatthese concepts reer to as they occur in Nature. In orderto grow in tea and develop in Cha Dao, we only need to

understand how each o these elements combine to makethe greatest cup o tea, and the way they come togetherin our spirits so that drinking ne tea daily can becomemore than just a beverage or rereshment, but a Way oliving in concordance with ourselves, with nature and ul-timately with each other as well.

As an ongoing column, I thought that each is-sue we could explore one o the Wu-shingas it pertainsto Cha Dao. One should remember that the elementsow in and through each other, so the earth and waterare in the wood, the re in the water, etc., and were just

separating them conceptually or the sake o discussion.In understanding each o these elements, we might be-gin to see how they can either make or break the overallharmony o our tea session and our approach to tea as atime or relaxation, quiet, insight or even just the desireto share good tea with amily and riends.

Last issue, we discussed Earth. Let us now turn toWood

Harmony through AlchemyWe will continue this series until completion

o know harmony is to know the Eternal,o know the Eternal is to cultivate insight.

Lao zu, Dao De Ching, Verse 55

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-wood-

Pointing us down the road o the other elements, theresa wooden sign where this Way begins: the tea itsel. As

we mentioned beore, all the elements are in the others,and a tea tree is brimming with earth, water, temperature

and metal. Te elements also cycle into one another, asre consumes wood into ash, which returns to the earth,becomes metal and also gathers water to course through

wood again. Te patterns are endless, and regress intoone another innitely.

Out o Nature came this amazing signal, and amedicine powerul enough to tell us o our own origins.

And it is with this plant that our mastery begins, andthat we live a lie o tea and Dao. Native American sha-mans believed that the medicine o any plant could beound through any other plant, so that one could access

the healing properties o goji berries through tea, or ex-ample. Tis is because the plants are connected, not onlyto each other and the earth, but also to what is beyondthrough the photosynthesis o starlight.

Imagine being born with all the collective wis-dom and memory o your entire ancestry. It is thus ortea, bringing genetic light rom the other side. It speaksor the entire plant kingdom, and beyond the conceptualboundaries we call plant, because these beingstheseportalsdont distinguish between themselves and the

water; they are the water. Tey dont call the mountain

other than their roots. Tey are the mountain. Andthis connection and completion is the healing they bringus: or when we drink tea, we also erase these imaginaryboundaries and take into our bodies water and leaves,

and all they are connected to.Living teas are a hazing o the boundaries be-

tween us and Nature, as well as between each other. Youcould say that they are a walk in the orest; and then weare the orest, as much a part o it as any other animal init. Living things go with their environment; and a studyo a river, or example, is also a study o the beings thatinhabit it. Anything the sh who live in that river do a-ects their environment, and is registered as a change inthe environment by the biologist studying it, and viceversa.

o understand tea you must rst learn to con-nect to it. Ten it will tell you its story. Beyond count, wehave witnessed tea masters tell us the season, mountainand weather just rom sipping a tea. It told them its story,and without uttering a human word. Tis is because theylearned its language, and are then translating what it saidto us. And you neednt have studied tea or long to dothis. We were once astounded by a sensitive woman whohad never drunk tea beore, and yet when asked to com-ment about the tea she was drinking began by saying, Isee a and then went on to describe in miraculously

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accurate detail the environment the tea came rom. It hadtold her o its home and heritage. ea can also speakvolumes o wisdom, tooeven about being human, as ithas thousands o years o experience doing that as well.

In this tradition, we always say: as the man seeksthe Lea, the Lea seeks the man. Its about letting theright teas nd you, and about respecting that they have

their own destiny and power, and can seek out the timeand place they want to become human. Living teas havea way o showing up, and at just the right time and place.Let the best teas nd you, rather than straining or cer-tain avors or kinds o experience. And that is a powerullesson or how to live lie, in general!

Tat said, i you are looking or elemental pu-rity to complete the alchemy that transmutes tea into theElixir o Lie, you should understand living, real tea.Living teas come rom seed-propagated trees, born andgrown naturally. Tey are given the breadth and space to

grow organically. Such tea trees are let to develop a rela-tionship with their environment: wind and water, moun-tain and plants, sun, moon and starlight. In that way,they receive a genetic light rom the seed, which whispersinto the tree billions o years o lie on this planet andbeyond. And rom their connection to the mountain,the teas wisdom extends that healing power, becoming aconnection to the heart o this Mother Earth.

wisted away rom its nature, tea becomes a hu-man commodity: bought and sold, discussed and de-bated in hedonistic terms and ultimately with much lesshealing power. Bushes are cloned, chemicals used and theenvironment destroyedthe teas only nutrients thenbecome the chemical ones the armer eeds it. It thenloses the connection to its genetic heritage, having beencloned rather than birthed in soul as it was intended tobe. And without a connection to living soil, mountainand other plants and animalswithout a seat in the give-away council it should rightly sit upon with all the otherlocal plants and animalswithout any o that, its spiritvoice is weak and muted (though not gone completely).

All living things are a part o this globe, and theenergies beyond it. We all give and take rom each other.Te plants and animals understand this give-away and al-

ways maintain balance, rectiying disharmony in council.Much o humanity is now one such disharmonyonethat will eventually be balanced, one way or the other.From a higher perspective, even the warps and woos wecall disharmonies are all part o a greater musical bal-

ance, the way the twists and turns o a river straightenout when viewed rom the eagles height, or soaring onthe back o the black dragon.

You will know when a tea is alive, or it will reelyand unconditionally give all its energy and lie to you

when you drink it. All that it has accumulated rom themountain, water, sky and earth will drain into you. It

doesnt hesitate in this giving, not even or an instant andnot ever with any sense o sel. Just as it was connected inthe receiving o lie and energy rom its environment, sotoo is it connected in the giving o all that it has to you.

Your body will awaken to it. And i you are listening, itwill share its spirit with you as well.

We have talked at great length in these newslet-ters about teas connection to the earth, and beyond tothe stars through photosynthesis, but not much aboutthe other end o this exchange, which is just as important:the giving. Te vastness o this plants receiving, rom its

genetic heritage and rom its environment would neverallow it to hoard this wisdom. Its purpose is in sharing.ea is meant to ow and be served. Nowhere does Na-ture accumulate and hoard energy orevereven the sundies. Energy is accumulated so that it can be shared, andthat is the secret to immortality. You dont live oreverby hoarding up energy, or empowering yourselphysi-cally or spiritually. You live orever by giving away all thatyou are to something else, unconditionally. In that way,the same energy transorms and goes on and on. In yourbody, i you look closely, you will see in your very handan unbroken movement o energy that extends back andback to the very star out o which this whole earth wasborn. O course, tea understands this and gives all thatit has accumulated, as all and everything in Nature hasbeen taught to.

When we constrict, all suering becomes a priva-tion to be borne by ourselves alone. But when we con-nect, we share our suering with all that is; and the dancegoes ever on. Our energy and lie then lives on in otherorms, other dancesperhaps to and rom the trees. So

much o spirituality is about an allowing: Allow the teain; receive it the way it receives its environmentsunand moon, mountain and water. In that way, the con-nection goes on in you. And then, thoroughly steeped inliquor, you will turn and pour it or another. In a ashquick enough to tear your eyesit will be you passingthe bowl you once received to another with eyes just as

eager as yours are now

Five Elements*Wood

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For hundreds o years teaware has been the principalmethod and passage through which the art o tea is ex-pressed. Te vast array o cups, pots, decanters, kettlesand utensils has spawned thousands o artists, small andlarge, using many dierent media to capture their un-derstanding o tea. From Calligraphy to painting, ceram-ics to metallurgy, artists have ound ways to enhance thebeauty o the tea ceremony.

In the ang Dynasty, tea masters like Lu Yu a-vored green/blue celadon because it highlighted the natu-ral brightness and verdure o their boiled liquor. In theSong age, teaists switched to darker brown or black bowls,

which brought elegance to the green o their whiskedteas; and in the Ming, when tea was steeped whole-lea,as it is today, there was a return to porcelain cups, eversmaller and thinner, which enhanced the appearance,aroma and texture o the liquor. Tis vast tradition neednot be at odds with Cha Dao, either. In act, the art o teacan, and does, capture the essence o the Dao and express

what could otherwise not be said, even in its more physi-cal aspect as teaware.

And i teaware be true teaware, in this pure senseo art as transcendence, beyond orm, then the viewer

nds within the piece symbols that help him or her con-nect to, interpret or even transcend the ordinary world.In that way, our teaware and the way we arrange it mightbe thought o as a Mandala, which the Hindus and i-betans dene as any kind o geometric pattern that ex-presses an aspect or the totality o the cosmos itsel, asymbolic meditation o transcendence. Tey also taughtthat objects o beauty could be great encouragement orspiritual development as long as they were used and ap-preciated without desire and craving. Perhaps this is whatLu Yu meant by devoting so much time to the proper cre-

ation, organization and expression o ones tea set; whatthe Buddhists in China and Japan later ormed into thetea ceremony: its tea houses, paintings and owers; andeven what we may achieve today with the organization oour own tea sets, as expressions o our own inner nature.

Te ancient Daoist sages lived simple, clean andpure lives. In their orest hermitages they practiced medi-tation, Qi Gong, and other methods o connecting to theDao, including tea. In such an environment, the simplic-ity o bowls and hot water is enoughthe pure moun-tain water and the essence o the Lea were sufcient orpeople as sensitive as they were. Many tea sages and teaceremonies in the modern world could be equally sim-ple, though or some o us calming down and ndingthat connection to Nature beyond ourselves is difcult.

Beyond just satisying the collectors passion in us, tea-ware can improve our ability to relax, and help inspireour connection to our tea ceremonies. When we are ina beautiul setting that inspires calm, it will be easier tond the quiet place that Cha Dao ourishes in. Somemight argue that the unassuming practice o the ancienttea sages better exemplies ideals like renunciation andpurity o mind, but we think that like all ideals, thesetake place on the inside. One can be attached and aect-ed as much by a worthless stone as one can by a solid goldthrone. Te simplicity, renunciation and even unaect-edness must all take place within the breast o the person

walking the road. I calmness, presence or renunciationare only external symbols, they are as hollow as a richmans outer garbs meant to distinguish him rom others.Tere is an ancient Chinese proverb that says it is easyto be a sage in the peace o the mountains, more difcultin the city; while the deepest o saints can live unaectedin the palace.

Finding teaware that improves the sensations,avors and aromas o our teas will help inspire us to delvedeeper into the world o tea and tea culture. Many o ourcups and pots will become like brothers, supporting us

as we journey through tea. Our love or them can helpconnect us to the ceremony, igniting the understanding,connection and even transcendence o the ordinary mo-ment just as well as the leaves themselves can. Our mostprized possessions are the dierent teaware, and just bylooking on them we nd an expression o the calm joy weare sometimes able to nd in tea. Tey are a representa-tion o the silence and peace we nd each day in the tearoom, and sometimes just in handling one o our pots wecan catch a glimpses o that energy.

As we have discussed elsewhere, we believe that

the worlds o art and spirit have always been aligned, andthough art is capable o expressing a terric variety omeanings, within that list is the articulation o spiritualprinciples and experiences that are otherwise ineable.

And though art, even at its best, can never be equal tothe experience o being with tea, it can help those whohave had such experiences to rekindle them, not only byinspiring them to have more and varied tea sessions, butalso by relaxing and connecting their spirits to the cer-emony itsel. Grasping in pleasure a Qing Dynasty cupknowing its energy is stronger, the avors o the liquor

within more eervescent and joyousthis all helps in-crease the degree to which one participates in the tea cer-emony, and that is what Cha Dao is all about. Te more

we participate and involve ourselves in our tea, the more

teawareAn Expression o the Spirit o ea Art

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it consumes the moment. We nd ourselves emptied, lost

in a blissul stillness. Trough that, transcendental wis-dom is possible.

Te aesthetics o tea quipage

Most tea lovers nd that as their experience, dis-crimination and understanding o tea grow, they invari-ably start leaning more towards simplicity and unction.eaware becomes a matter o which cup, pot, kettle, etc.can enhance the avor, texture or aroma o their teas

which are also becoming more rened, rare and oten ex-pensive. O course no amount o unction can outshinethe skill and ocus o the person through which the cer-emony ows. ea brewed ever-so-simply by a master willstill be more delicious than that brewed by a beginner

with the best o teaware. Te conduit through which thewater is held, poured, steeped, poured again and served isthe most important part o the ceremony in every possi-ble way. Ater all, it isnt the cup experiencing the tea; thepot doesnt pour itsel and no amount o silver can gatherand carry the mountain water that will be heated in its

kettle. Understanding the human role in the Way o eais important i one is to progress, and in order to do sothere must be a balance between the aesthetic and unc-tional sophistication o the ceremony and the teaware weuse in it.

Te role aesthetics play in the enhancement

o tea, both in avor and in the experience as a whole,should not be underestimated. Even i ones taste remainssimple, one shouldnt ignore the inuence beauty has onthe most important element o the tea ceremony, whichcontrary to the obvious is not the Lea, but the person.

Arranging the teaware, owers, cushions and artwork othe tea space are all aspects o the expression that hasever made tea an art orm. Not only do they allow orcreativity and intuition, they create an environment ocomort and calm relaxation. Te best teahouses, tea-rooms or even tea spaces in a house are the ones that

immediately relax you as soon as you arrive. Even beorethe tea is served, one already eels outside the busy owo the ordinary world, comortable and ready to enjoy.Tis will directly aect the experience o the tea itsel. Itis a well-known act that dierent people are all boundto taste, smell and eel a variety o dierent experiences

when drinking the same teaas even a cursory surveyo tea reviews will demonstratebut even our own ex-periences change over time and space. Why then is thesame book so much better when read on a vacation at thebeach? Why do restaurants devote as much attention to

ambience as they do to the menu?Learning about the various roles that teaware

plays in the creation o the best cup is exciting and addsto the passion o tea. asting the water heated in dierentkettles, or example, is so insightul and oten improves

eaware, the Art o ea

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the way tea is made thereater. It is, nonetheless, impor-tant to maintain a balance between the teaware that willimprove the ceremony unctionally and that which willinspire the one making the tea aesthetically.

Te process o creating the tea space and cere-mony are very personal and the aesthetic design need notollow any other pattern than the one that will motivate

the person who brews the teahe or she is the masterin that space, and unless it is a tea house with a steadystream o guests, then his or her eelings and intuitionsare the only ones that really matter. A teapot with excel-lent unction that doesnt at all inspire one may not be asgood o a choice as one that unctions a little bit worse,but is gorgeous. Again, balance is the ideal. In speakingabout how the ambience o a tea session can at least resultin quiet, deep relaxation and at best spiritual change ortranscendence, John Bloeld remarked in his own bookon tea that it was no wonder the Zen masters always

ended conversations with tea, or answered particularlyabstruse questions with Have a cup o tea:

On discovering that tea osters the special attitudes involvedin ollowing the Way, we shall want our tea sessions, whethersolitary or in company, to be set rereshingly apart rom morehumdrum activities. Since appropriate objects, surroundingsand atmosphere all help emphasize that eeling o withdraw-al into a world o beauty, some expenditure o time, thoughtand money on collecting a heart-satisying set o tea-thingswould seem to be exceedingly worthwhile.

He then goes on to say that the great ang and Song teapoems are indebted to the surroundings and ambiencethose ancient tea sages traveled to in order to enjoy tea;and we also can achieve that by occasionally choosing anambience o pine trees, curious rock ormations, moun-tain streams, sparkling sunshine, sunset clouds or moon-light, conjuring the same poetic atmosphere o lost

ages. More than any other topic, Lu Yu also constantlyreminds us to spice up our tea sessions and lie withharmonious decoration. As Francis Ross Carpenter saysin the introduction to his English translation o Lu Yu,Te environment, the preparation, the ingredients, thetea itsel, the tea bowl and the rest o the equipage musthave an inner harmony expressed in the outward orm.

Achieving harmony without helps oster harmo-ny within, but we must never lose touch with the beingsat the center o the tea sessionthe people here, host andguests, are most essential. Even within the preparation o

tea itsel, so much is dependent upon the energy o theone doing the brewing. I they are cheap and ocused ongetting a lot or a little, i they are a businessman ocusedon selling tea, or i they are rich and trying to show otheir Ming Dynasty teapot, all o these actors will showin the tea ceremony, resulting in a dierent cup. Tereis no scientic objectivity in the world o art, only taste.Tere are those that write books on orm and unction,conduct experiments on water temperature and get busyrecording notebooks ull o tea reviews, but as such they

will never progress to the level o artist or mastera level


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based not on the intellect but on intuition. Measuring,analysis and recording data play no part in experientialgrowth. One cannot record data and ully experience atthe same time. Anyone who has experienced trying toreview a tea, with written notes and all they incur, hasalready recognized the dierence between these sessionsand the more relaxing, personal ones. And anyone who

has ever meditated or sought connection through calmknows the importance o shutting o the mind and itsinternal dialogue.

rue enjoyment must be just that. Tis is why teais made gong u, because it is a skill, an intuitive mas-tery. Cha Dao must be ree and loose, open to explora-tion and responsive to the idiosyncrasy o every beautiulmoment. And there is much to be said about brewing

with a clay kettle rather than a plastic one, a beautiulQing Dynasty cup rather than a cheap one; its not justthe ware itsel, but also the act that the one brewing

isnt reading a digital temperature on his or her kettle,analyzing the ratio o leaves to pot size, etc.he or sheis intuitively dancing a utter o leaves rom the scoopto the pot, gauging the water temperature with a gentletouch, and steeping with all the relaxation o the timer

built in his or her heart. Does that sound corny? Per-haps it is, but ater enough tea houses, shops, teachersand enough sessions, most people would agree that thebest cups they ever had were poured by people such asthis. In the hands o an artist, even the simplest lump ocharcoal and torn cardboard can become a masterpiece;likewise, a cup o tea brewed by the hands o a master

can hold worlds o avor, aroma and even peace justover the cusp o its rim...


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Im sure that i you had asked any o my teachers in highschool, condentially, what proession they guessed Imight take up, none o them would have suggested thatId become a teacher, and rightly so. Excellent teach-ers, ater all, must also be excellent students. Althoughstudents as bad as me must have existed, it would havebeen difcult to imagine worse, short o those whosimply didnt show up at all (which I didnt always doeither). I could go on and on with details and examplesthat might leave you shaking your head in disbelie, butin the end it was all really rooted in a single characteris-tic: a lack o humility.

Te truth is, actually, I was even worse than anabsentee student. Unlike a student that simply choosesnot to interact, I was showing up and making a scene,to the greater detriment o not only mysel but the oth-er students as well. I was enrolled in an internationalprogram which involved its own particular set o nalexaminations in the Senior year, and I was o the opin-ion that I could already pass them at the beginning omy Freshman year. As it happened, high marks on theseexams overrode anything other than a ailing GPA orthe purposes o entry to University. As such, I showed

up each day and made a show o not studying, tak-ing notes, doing homework, sleeping, etc., all the whilebragging o how I was too good or it all.

Although I did indeed pass the exams (with just-mid-dling marks), it wasnt until the years began passing thatI started to realize the extent to which I had really ailed.

At rst it was clear only in very obvious, prag-matic ways: being unable to take good notes or have anorganized study plan during college, or example. Lat-er, I started to realize that i Id been paying attention,

there was actually a lot o interesting inormation I had

missed out on and ound mysel wishing I had learnedit simply or learnings sake. Still later, I began to seethat I had had a chance to develop a positive relation-ship with several interesting and oten wise people: myteachers. It seems so ridiculous now that I chose insteadto create constant strained and strie-ridden drama be-tween us. And beyond those obvious relationships, Ican now nally see and hear my ellow students, theones who were studying hard and paying attention anddoing all the work, many o them substantially moreintelligent than me, undoubtedly even more capable o

passing those exams without working so diligently. Iscorned them and would roll my eyes when they wouldcomplain about me in class or even sometimes wouldconront me ace to ace about my bad attitude; I didnthave even an inkling o the compassion or their posi-tions that I have now.

So here I am today in the most unexpected roleo a student again. Im also, coincidentally, an Englishteacher by proession, as I study Cha Dao here in ai-

wan. I eel very ortunate that my students are children,because in general, its their nature to completely emp-

ty themselves and unquestioningly accept everything Iteach them; even when I tell them all the chocolate inthe world is made by a tribe o little orange Aricanpeople called the Oompa Loompas. In essence, theyare incredibly humble, and one o the amazing side-eects o this is that they are willing to allow their en-

The importance of humilityBy the Extraordinarily Superb and Efervescent Kaiya

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Humility

tire picture o the universe to shit tremendously at anygiven moment. My teacher says that the masters in-nocence is more powerul than the childs, or the child

will soon grow into an ego and lose such unconscious

innocence and grace, while the master has earned hiswith awareness; and its true; the more we cultivate areturn to that child-like state o humility, the aster wetoo will learn rom our teachers and nd our aware-ness returning to recognition that the universe is indeedever-changing and awe-inspiring, never to be caught inour static, conceptual, adult nets o pride.

So today, thankully, Ive nally ound myseldeveloping as a student o Cha Dao. I do my best eachday to take a reminder rom the empty cups. Yet stillthere is that voice inside that is always waiting to speakup with an I know that an I doubt it, or some othersuch objection which has the potential to even lead toan argument; and is, o course, the vocalization o areusal to learn.

Fortunately, I can now bring a bit o awarenessto that voice inside my headthat part o me that isactually convinced that Im being threatened by thesuggestion that I could improve mysel in some way

by learning the lesson at hand. Im the one threateningmysel, because the deepest part o me wants to im-prove, and Im getting in the way. I can see that Imdisconnecting rom my teacher and ellow students,orcing others who were eagerly drinking to wait on mystubbornness. But the greatest loss o all is the abilityto see the world as it really is; beyond the grasp o myknowledge and understanding, a mystery o blindingbeauty. O course, these sorts o thoughts and realiza-tions are a long way o rom the natural state o a child,but old habits die hard; ultimately, I have aith that iI as a child could begin to lay those bricks one by oneuntil they towered above me, I can now knock them

back down until I can stand ree o them again.

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In my nal two weeks in aiwan, searching in darknessor the true light o tea, I ound such a beacon o lightand I went towards the source. I arrived at the ea SageHut.

Here in Miaoli, aiwan, is a center o tea wis-dom, expressing the communion o ea and Spirit, Chaand Dao. Tis center is called ea Sage Hut. It is a spacededicated to community, connection, sustainability, theenvironment, development o skill, unconditional kind-ness, mindulness, laughter, meditation, and awakeningto harmony through the wisdom o tea and service.

It is here at this wayside hut where enthusiasts

o Lie, Spirit, and Nature (and absurdity!) can honora bowl o tea in a constructive environment; where teacan be shared in its highest regards; where we can bestowupon it the respect it deserves; and where we can walkthe Great Way, guided by the wisdom o the Lea andthe teachings o the Daothough, not at the expenseo healthy humor and reedom to express yoursel. Seri-ousness has its place, as does hearty laughter, which wethoroughly employ here at the hut!

Its quite special: the way tea is sourced, pre-pared, and served here. Te water comes rom a springin the mountains. Te teacher and the students gatherthe water once each week, hiking to the source. Back inthe hut, the water rests in a clay pot in the meditationhall, receiving the energy o Metta generated there. Aterbeing careully and mindully ladled into a tetsubin, the

water is patiently brought to boil using coal. Ive readabout the eect water can have on a cup o tea, but onlyater coming here did I come to experientially under-stand the signicance behind that eect. In act, just theheated water alone (without any lea) is ull o energy

and a pleasure to imbibe. So too, the tea is alive withorganic energy. It comes rom soil thriving with naturalcycles o lie and death. It comes rom armers who careabout tea and the environment. In line with all this, thetea is prepared and served in a like manner. But these

are only constituent parts o the whole experience. Te

margins o space between these paragraphs are so greatthat what is let unsaid is all. Tis Cha Dao experiencein its entirety lies in the communion o all parts in thepresent moment. Tats the beauty and mystery o tea: asimple concert o liquor and lea oering a symphony ocomplex sounds, silences, and sensationsand its avail-able at the ea Sage Hut.

When you come here, you are welcomed as i athome, along with all o the other tea brothers and sisters

who pass through this sanctuary. Unlike home, however,where rent might be expected, everyone here is welcome

ree o charge, which includes tea, wisdom, room andboard, and a moving experience. It is the donations romthose who wish or others to receive the same wisdomthrough Cha Dao that they reely received, which keepthis center open, operating, and thriving.

Here you can connect with tea brothers and sis-ters rom around the world, and two amazing teachers:

Wu De and the Lea. In my short time at the ea SageHut, I communed with the most amazing people romRussia, Canada, Estonia, and the US. ogether, we en-gaged in sharing bowl tea, supporting organic armers,

meditating, laughing, preparing healthy meals, and all inthe name o Cha Dao.

It really is amazing that such a place as this exists.Tis is a space Ive always been looking or, as I think anyenthusiast o tea and spirit is. A place to drink high-qual-ity tea rom high-quality ware; a place to cultivate spiritin the company o brothers and sisters; a place o solaceand sanctitude; a place in tune with Great Nature; a placeree o charge, open to all, and oering movie-night onFridays! Beore coming here, it really was only a distantantasy that this wayside hut existed; something I couldonly ever have read about in books or seen in videos; apoint in time I would have only imagined to exist. Buthere I am, right now in this moment, at this very centerexperiencing this dream.

An experience at the tea sage hutTis article is by our very own

Shane Marrs, this months eawayarer!

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Why this Lea

Why this Leaf, and not some Other?Why this Plant, and not its Brother?

Why this Petal, White Soft and Yellow?Why this Brew, Bright Smooth and Mellow?

Why this Water, Nurtured by Gaia?Why this Ware, made of Earth and Fire?

Why this Taste, Returning and Sweet?

Why this Wind, Beneath my Feet?

Why this Nectar, Drunk by the Sages?Why this Sharing, Passed on over Ages?

Why this Concert, of Liquor and Leaf?Why this Music, of Silent Relief?

Why this Seed, Sown Green and Brown?Why this WayCha Dao?

Why this Attraction, Drawn Towards Tea?Wont You Receive this Bowl and See?

Shanes Poetry

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When you begin down an Eastern path, and Cha Dao mostly heads East, you quickly realize the impor-tant role language can play in our thinking, and consequently our insights. For the most part, we come to lovethe ancient spiritual words in languages like Sanskrit and Chinesefor their subtlety and breadth. Tere is oneEnglish word weve come to like better than its Eastern equivalents, however: Enlightenment. When mostpeople think of Enlightenment they see in the word the light and are reminded of the light in us, which

we all travel towards. But light in English has another meaning: not heavy! Being enlightened means, liter-

ally, lightening up! Dont take yourself serious, or anything else for that matter. Tere is an old Indian saying:beware the spiritual/religious man that takes himself seriously! And many of you know how we here do solove laughter and humor. We thought that these newsletters might be getting a bit heavy and that we would en-lighten them up.

en-Lighten up

Are you tired of people holding you responsible

for your actions?

Have you always had the eeling there should be some way to blame someone else? Are oldamiliar lines such as Its not my fault; its your fault!, I did it, but you made me do it!,or the classic I did it, but I remember a time when you did something similar!, starting tolose the luster and oomph they had in the past?

Have we got a product for you:Blame KaiyaTats right, with this ingenuously uture-thinking product, designed specifcally with theneeds o todays modern consumers in mind, youll never have to take the blame again!

Blame Kaiyacan be used at any time, in any situation! I nobody saw whodid it, you can blame Kaiya! I someone catches you doing it, you can say that Kaiya madeyou do it!

Your subscription includes not only a ree membership card which you can show to thosedoubters who may need evidence, it also includes a 24-hour telephone service! Tats right,

at any hour o the day or night, you can actually call Kaiya on the phone and he will admithis ault to your accuser!

I so desired, you can text in our special code and he will be notifed that he should notonly take the blame but also backtalk, insult, or curse as he does so or greater authentic-ity!

WE know that youve never been wrong in your life, but youre surrounded by

stupid jerks who dont! Let us help you set the record straight!*For a limited time, now including free photoshop services! Let us photoshop Kaiya into any of your embarrassing

or potentially incriminating photos. Call now and receive this added bonus free of charge!!

Call now: 1-800-BOOBERY

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Blame Kaiya Call now: 1-800-BOOBERY

T

Your membership card will look like this:

Blame Me!

Its all my fault!I did it all!

Call now: 1-800-BOOBERY

Tis card demonstrates irrefutably that

(Your Name Here) is not to blame at allin this, as it was entirely and completely

Kaiyas fault. He did it, so go talk to himabout it!

Contact Kaiya and hell be happy to tell you he did it,and that you, sir (or madam), are a MORON!

What can I say?!Guilty as charged!

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My name is Shane Marrs. I grew up in Vernon, Brit-ish Columbia, Canada. Ater graduating with a sciencedegree in mathematics I took a break rom the academic

lie, went tree planting in B.C., and decided to travelthereater. Inuenced by my university exchange to

Japan, I ound mysel living and working at a ShintoShrine in Washington State as a student o Shrine Lieand Aikido.

My next excursion took me to Costa Rica, whereI would oer my support on a ranch in return or oodand shelter. Getting back to the land was a very movingexperience. Now in love with arming, and already wellin love with tea, I thought o a way to bring those twoaspects o my lie together, and that took me to Hawaii.

It was on the Garden Island o Kauai and theBig Island o Hawaii where I would rst encounter teain the ush. Again, I would volunteer my time on armsin return or the bare necessities and an opportunity tolive out my new dream: tea arming. Tat dream, like atea bud unolding only to present another, would lastor six months across two islands on three dierent teaarms. I also learned about Organic & Natural arming,Permaculture, sustainability, and sel-sufciency, thus re-igniting my amilys green-thumb tradition in arming,and also starting a green-tongue tradition o my own.

My interest in the roots o tea, both metaphori-cally and literally, took me to aiwan or three months.I would learn about all aspects o conventional tea arm-ing, Oolong processing, and lie in a tea village. I stum-

Tea Wayfarers

From now on, we plan to introduce one o the Global ea Hut members to you eachmonth in these newsletters. We hope that this helps us all get to know each other better. Itsalso to pay homage to the many maniestations that all this wonderul spirit and tea arebecoming, as the tea is drunk and becomes human. Te energy o the tea uels some great

work in this world, and we are so honored to show you some glimpses o such beautiulpeople and their tea. Since hes so amazing and soon to live here at the center, we thoughwed introduce you to Shane Marrs.

bled upon a very special place during that time: the eaSage Hut, where I plan to return and live a lie o ea andSpirit, Cha and Dao, in the company o so many amazing

tea brothers and sisters.For now, Im headed back to Costa Rica to intern

on an organic arm at a rainorest eco-lodge. You can ol-low my travels at:

www.tealoveandcare.wordpress.com.

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he Global ea Hut website now has a orum up, wherewe can all discuss this months tea and ask or answerquestions, as well as share our experiences. It is a great

way to meet some o your brothers and sisters in the hut.Come and join us:

www.globalteahut.org/forum

(We are also on Facebook and witter now!)

We have launched the new video series! Te rst video

is an introduction to this Global ea Hut. You can visitour Youtube channel via the GH website or watch thevideo on the new page at our site. We will be launchingregular videos starting in August, with tutorials, inter-views, introductions and much more about this love othe Lea!

here are currently 85 people in Global ea Hut romall around the world: countries like Spain, Russia, Es-tonia, Australia, New Zealand, America, Canada, USA,the U.K. and aiwan. Our accountant, Kaiya the Mag-nicent (and Merciul) says that once we get to around100-120 people all our nancial worries will vanish and

well live happily everater, orever and ever...

I any o you are interested in seeing these newslettersin color, you can read them on the Internet at the GH

website, under the link or newsletters. Some o thephotography is worth taking a peak at.

You are all welcome to visit our center in aiwan. Allclasses, as well as room and board are completely ree ocharge. We have tons going on. You can read more at:

www.teasagehut.org

We have used some o your contributions to buy anamazing 100+-year-old matcha grinder. We are experi-menting with grinding several kinds o tea or boilingand whisking. Weve ground an aged-oolong matcha soar and are doing an aged Puer next. We plan to sharesome o this magic with you all soon!

We have given out 3 scholarships or a ree year o GHto people who want in but cannot aord the cost. I youknow anyone else interested, please let us know. It is agreat joy to expand this community!

Wu De will be in Estonia this September/October! Weare doing some amazing tastings and workshops there.Come and join us i you are nearby.Contact Steve or more inormation!

Let us know about what you think o Global ea Hut soar, either by contacting us or expressing your thoughtson the new orum. We would love to hear your com-ments or criticism. We are here to serve and make thisexperience better or everyone, bringing us all closer to-gether.

www.globalteahut.orgwww.teasagehut.org

www.the-leaf.org

Be happy!

Center News 30
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Our center Expenses (essentially covered by local donations and Global Tea Hut) Food and entertainment, trips and gas for visitors who wish to see Taiwan Bowls and tea for every guest to take home A Puerh Cave on the third oor A library of vintage teas for future students to study from

A Large collection of various teawares to learn from

Future Center Mountain land (probably around 200,000-300,000 USD for the size we need) Building (expenses unknown at this point)

Gardening (both landscaping and vegetables for eating)

Publications Te Lea, ea & ao Magazine (Online and ree at:www.the-leaf.org) Translations of some Chinese texts for free distribution Printing of pamphlets and introductions for free distribution e purchase of copies of Wu Des books: Faces o the Master, ea Wisdom, Way o eaandZen & ea, One Fla-

voror ree distribution at our center

Videos

Tea Sage Hut projects

july 12 elec

Documents