The Lipton Institute of Tea has been investigating the scientific basis for traditional beliefs about the health benefits of tea, through its own internal research as well as collaboration with universities around the world. The institute has organised a series of tea science symposiums to provide experts an opportunity to share findings from new studies and discuss their clinical relevance, identify future research opportunities, and foster valuable networks and collaborative partnerships. This article includes discussions from the third annual tea science symposium organised by the Lipton Institute of Tea held in Bangkok, Thailand, early October last year.
Mega-rich export plan down to a tea
Forget about selling ice to Eskimos, how about exporting green tea to Japan? That’s the aim of an ambitious project on the Central Coast of Australia that could create a new export market worth millions of dollars a year.
What’s really happening during a tea ceremony
HIROSHIMA – by Courtney Coppernoll – There’s an unfortunate misconception going around that tea ceremony is a very serious, very rigid sort of practice. However, there’s a great deal more to the art than the formal presentation most people are familiar with.
Murin-an: A delicate balance
If you need convincing as to the benefits of the colour green, even the briefest study of the Japanese garden will reveal its importance in landscape design. Holly Kerr Forsyth from the Australian explains key elements of Japanese garden design using Murin-an garden in Kyoto as an example.
Cub Scouts participate in Japanese tea ceremony
WARWICK, NY – When Warwick resident Alicia Tate, a Den Mother with Cub Scout Pack 177, met Michael McKenna, an expert on Japanese culture, it occurred to her that her scouts might benefit from his experience.
Urasenke Holds its 2010 Hatsugama-shiki (New Year’s Tea Celebration)
Beginning on January 16 and lasting 5 days, Urasenke held its annual New Year’s Tea Celebration at Urasenke’s Tokyo Branch headquarters.
Read full article (We will post the English translation once it is available.)
Read about the 2008 Hatsugama in English (Similar utensils, scrolls, and flowers are used from year to year. This should give English readers a better understanding of Urasenke’s Hatsugama-shiki.)
Intricate Japanese tea ceremony meditative, calming
PITTSBURGH – Tea has slowed Sally Schurko down.Mrs. Schurko used to work 80-hour weeks in her job in corporate finance. Now, she spends hours performing a leisurely — almost meditative — traditional Japanese tea ceremony.”I was like a spinning top. This has calmed me down,” she said.
Mrs. Schurko and Yoko Motoyama spread that calm to a dozen eighth-graders recently when the Brookline Regional Catholic School students spent an hour at South Park Library learning the history and etiquette of a basic Japanese tea ceremony. The students branched out from their usual Spanish language class to learn some Japanese language and customs.
Float Matcha Tea Bowl
MOLO Design in Vancouver has created a modern glass version of the Japanese chawan. The bowl was designed with dimensions and proportions fitting to matcha. While you wouldn’t find someone using this in an actual tea ceremony, the bowl’s amazing presentation of the whisked green tea is quite beautiful.
Prague Tea Revolution
A wonderful article from the Czech Republic—a country with very little tea tradition—that tells the story of a group of friends that started a tea room called Dobrá čajovna in Prague. Since opening their first tea room in 1989 the business has expanded to 22 different tea rooms—including 2 in the United States. Even though their story is unique from anything you might find in Japanese tea tradition, their story still radiates with the same Spirit of Tea that we find when participating in Japanese Tea Ceremony.
Tea ceremony making comeback among men
KYODO NEWS – The tea ceremony, long a key component in premarriage training for women, is gradually drawing interest among men in search of healing after a hard day’s work, bringing yet another weapon into the Japanese war on stress.