Kiseki Matcha The Green Wonder (Paperback) - Wolfgang Jaksch

Description

Tea was discovered 2500 B.C. From the historical record it is clear that tea was first used purely as medicine, before it developed into a commonplace beverage in many cultures and societies. This is also how it's presented in the world-famous “Book of Tea” by Okakura Tenshin. Because there are many myths and controversial discussions surrounding the history of tea, www.kisekiMatcha.com explains the history from the Japanese perspective. After China, Japan is the oldest tea nation in the world. Production of the highest quality Matcha is particularly widespread in the Japanese tea culture and draws on centuries of tradition and knowledge. To this day, Matcha is also the tea of choice for what is probably the most important ritual in Japanese culture, the tea ceremony (Chanoyu).

Tea’s real breakthrough was achieved with the spread of Buddhism. In East Asia, tea and Buddhism have gone through an almost inseparable symbiosis. One of the monks who returned to Japan with tea in his luggage after studying in China, was Eichu: A sensation! The novelty aroused the interest of the emperor, the Japanese Tenno (emperor, literally “heavenly sovereign”) personally visited the monk, Eichu, in the Sufukuji temple where he was served a cup of tea. The Tenno was so impressed that he decided to cultivate tea in the imperial palace garden, interestingly not in the corner devoted to ornamental plants, but rather in the area for medical plants.

The method for preparing Matcha was developed in the 9th century. Buddhist monks in China (Chang Buddhism, which later developed into Zen Buddhism) desired to produce medicine from tea. As is usual in traditional East-Asiatic medicine, they dried tea leaves and then ground them to a fine powder in stone mills: Matcha. Warm water was poured over Matcha and it was whisked with the aid of a special bamboo whisk (chasen). In the year 1191, the abbot Eisai took tea seeds in larger quantities together with a revolutionary invention to Japan, this revolutionary invention - a stone mill - was required for the unique production of Matcha! Eisai also authored the first treatment of tea, the “Kissa Yojoki” - The Book Of Tea Drinking And Its Astonishing Effect On Health” (1211). For instance, in his book, Eisai writes: “Tea is an elixir for good health and a wonderful recepy for longevity.

Zen Buddhism developed its own serene and contemplative manner of celebrating tea. This finally gave rise to a form with strict rules and ultimately culminated in the Japanese tea ceremony (chanoyu). By 1570, Sen no Rikyu had definitively shaped the Japanese tea ceremony to such an extent that nothing has changed in it to this day.

The tea ceremony is not an elitist circle without reference to the real world. On the contrary: The ritual of drinking tea has shaped Japan to an extent that has not occurred in any other country. Religion, philosophy, poetry, architecture, floral design, painting, but also crafts such as wood carving, carpentry, and pottery are strongly influenced by tea.

Beautifully Produced 65 Pages All Color on Art Paper

Features

• Title : Kiseki Matcha The Green Wonder (Paperback) - Wolfgang Jaksch
• Author : Wolfgang Jaksch
• Publisher : MediConsult International

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