The Japanese tea ceremony is a complex ritual with a grading system for students to master. The tea served, called ma’cha, is a finely ground green tea powder with poetic names, and a Grand Tea Master can create unique blends with their own chamei.
Chamei, translated into Japanese, is “the name of tea”. The same word is spelled two different ways to refer to two different things. When a highly regarded tea plantation produces a crop or blend, it is given a specific name. Also, when a person has mastered the protocols and art of the traditional Japanese tea ceremony, he too is given a name. The host and master of a tea ceremony has a chamei and can proudly announce the tea chamei being served to his guests.
For centuries, the Japanese tea ceremony has been a complex and strictly defined ritual. Many people take years of classes to master it. A student’s progress is measured by a grading system in the form of graduate licenses to study subsequent levels of the art. Along with the philosophies and cultural significance of tea, a beginning student will be taught how to brew and distinguish two types of tea. One is usucha, a thin or light tea, and the other is koicha, a thick or dark tea.
Both are green teas, specially produced for the ceremony in powder form. Loose teas are not served in a Japanese tea ceremony. Along with technical skills like heating a pot of water to the correct temperature, the teas are prepared with the use of specialized tools like a bamboo whisk. Some students may never graduate from this first level. The higher levels are called okuden, or deep secret.
A student who completes these final levels must then apply to a governing body in Kyoto, Japan for the seal of Urasenke Oiemoto, or Grand Tea Master. If approved, the student’s license will include his new chamei, a name under which he is free to practice on his own, perhaps to teach others. Most Masters choose a one-word name, in a style not unlike the signatures of ancient Japanese woodblock artists. If pursued as a part-time hob, this can take ten years or more.
The tea that is served during a ceremony is called ma’cha. The dried green tea leaves are finely ground into a powder. Some farms in Japan that have been cultivating the plant for hundreds of years may consider a particular year’s harvest and subsequent milling worthy of a chamei, a name that defines it. The name is always poetic, often inspired by nature. Translated examples of the names of specific ceremonial teas might be “Light of a Thousand Years”, or “Joyous Pine Trees”.
A Grand Master of tea can also name teas. In a way not unlike a winery that blends grapes from different vineyard sources, the Maestro receives powdered teas from selected companies to create his unique personal blends. They are proudly given a chamei and claimed to be his konomi, or his preference. For some Grand Masters of singular reputation, it can be a significant source of annual income.
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