MORE ABOUT TEA

Greymouth Evening Star, 14 August 1933, Page 10

MORE ABOUT TEA

ancient and modern. ‘‘The essence of hospitality is a cup o f t eai ” —Confucius. Recently. Angus and Robertson, of this city, published what is really a classic, entitled “The Book of Tea,” by Okakura Kakuzo, late director of the Japanese Academy- of Art, with an appendix by Mr A. L. Sadler, M.A., the Professor of Oriental Studies at Sydney University (writes T. S. Champion in the “Sydney Morning Herald”). This most interesting book lias much to say about tea, and the Cult of the Beautiful—Teaism. It treats of times hundreds of years before tea was known in Britain, from the- time when it was regarded in China as a medicine reputed to possess the virtues of- relieving fatigue, delighting the soul, strengthening the will, and icpairing the eyesight; also in the form of a paste to alleviate rheumatic pains.

The three methods of tea preparations were: —(1) Cake-tea, which was boiled; (2) powdered tea, which was whipped; and (3) leaf-tea (the modern style), which is steeped. The author ascribes them respectively to the Tang, Sung, and Ming dynasties in China, or in terms of art to the ‘•Classic, the Romantic and the Naturalistic Schools of Tea.” In the first method the leaves were steamed, crushed in a mortar, made into a cake, and boiled, together with rice, ginger, salt, orange peel, etc. This custom obtains at the present day among the Thibetans, and various Mongolian tribes. The cake tea was roasted before the fire until it became ‘‘soft as a baby’s arm,” and then shredded into powder between pieces of fine paper. Salt was put into the first boil, the tea into the second; at the third boil a dipperful of cold water was poured into the kettle to settle it and ‘‘revivify the youth of the water.” In the second method the leaves wero ground to powder in a small stone mill, and the preparation whipped in hot water by a delicate whTsk made of splintered bamboo. The third (or present method) was not known prior to the middle of the 17th century. Japan knew all three methods through her ambassadors at the. Chinese Imperial Court. The Zens, a Buddhist sect, were the first to makd a ritual o£ tea, the monks gathering before the image of Buddha and "drinking out of a single bowl with all the profound formality of a holy sacrament.”

COMPLETE RITUAL. From this the Japanese elaborated the complete ritual of Teaism, using the tea house and contents as symbols of moral and poetic teachings. The system was evolved in the 15th century under the Shogun Yoshimasa. it became associated wfththenames It became associated with the names J aoism. As our author naively states. “a subtle philosophy lay behind it all. Teaism was Taoism in disguise.” It would take too long to follow the meanings attached to the different observances in tb<- fj nv hoil.se called the “Teawoom,” bare of al) decoration pi ( .| un . 01 .

vase of flowers (or perhaps a single if thought fitting by theFlower Master) placed on the Tokonoma, or relic of the old altar' of the Zenn monastery, with mats lying on the .floor in the prescribed places for the Distinguished Guest, the Second Guest, and so on.

The guests, no matter how distinguished, had to enter by a little low, latticed -door about three feet high, necessitating their bending low, which inculcated humility. The order of precedence was mutually agreed upon "by the guests, who waited in the little outside portico until icceiving the summons to enter. The great teachers were called the Tea-Masters. The precepts of Rikyu one of them, issued in 1584 (seven in number) show the nature-of his teachings, such as (2) With regard to the ablutions the essential thing in,the way of tea is. that the mind as well as the face am) hands be cleansed. (3) When, tlie host invites them in, the guests enter the tearoom. If on account of the host’s poverty the utensils' are not all they might be and the meal not particularly' good, and the- trees and stones in the garden just natural, those who cannot appreciate such simple things had better leave at once.

(5) It has always been the rule that both inside and outside the tearoom there should be no common gossip.

(G) It must be simply a meeting of host and guests, and there is no need for servility or flattery. Eve nin social tea-drinking of today in Japan, there is considerable ceremony, and special teachers find employment in giving instruction in the mysteries to young girl pupils in their own homes, or at the residence of the teacher. Incidentally it may be stated that tea. had become so much a part of Japanese life that phrases regarding it became idioms, as, for instance, a man who had lost his ideals was said “to have no tea ”n him,” and, on the contrary, a man of outstanding character and vision was said to be “full of tea.”

After perusing; this pasejinating book of bygone times, it seems to be a long step to the early days of Australia. Tea figures sometimes in the records, though not so frequently as rum. It was clear and, of course, not of so potent a nature as the fiery spirit m which the convicts and disappointed settlers sought to drown their sorrows. In the records of accounts paid for the quarter ended March 31, 1811, the following entry occurs:—

Air Mansell for two chests of Souchong tea for the use of the surgeon of the detachment of lI.M. 73rd Regiment, embarked on board the ships Earl Spencer, General Hewitt, and Wyndham for Ceylon, and for (he sick in the general hospital — £32.

In early newspapers storekeepers “beg to notify the public” that they have on. sale a few chests of hyson, hyson skin, imperial and gunpowder teas; in addition to other everyday requirements. The history of tea from our earliest records was briefly sketched in my former article in the “Herald” of May 20, but I thought it well to ask a traveller who has just returned from a visit to other parts of the world, M? Lambic, Director of our Tourist Bureau, to give his latpr experiences. Mir n ply j.’. as hereunder, and forms

interesting reading of up-to-date-cus-toms in tea-drinking: — OTHER LANDS, OTHER WAYS. “A tea-drinking Australian cannot avoid remarking the different habits regarding it in other countries. In Europe and in America., it is haul to get, and has to be paid for as a separate service with meals or at ‘Five O’clocks.’ This jolt makes one critical of the tea. “In Italy coffee is sold in every street corner' cafe. Occasionally the shop sign appears ‘Afternoon Tea’ in English. This is sometimes a trap for the unwary, as the tea is unsatisfactory and the price is high. “I visited some very popular ‘Five O’clock’ tea shops in Paris, and several Chinese restaurants for China tea. This was not the scented sort usually sold in Australia, but a very taint amber decoction with extreme delicacy of flavour. The Paris shops feature two ounce packets of Ceylon tea, ‘Lipton’s,’ etc. “Passing out of Germany by rail through Czechoslovakia one is struck by the immediate change of service from coffee to tea by the railway refreshment people. Porters invade the compartments selling hot tea in glass tumblers, with a slice of lemon and a cube or two of sugar. The tumbler is very hot, and cannot be handled comfortably, so the etiquette is to sip it in the teaspoon. The flavour was too delicate for my Australian palate.

“Poland also serves tea in the Russian style, and the beverage is available in Scandinavian restaurants. England, of course, serves tea everywhere, but it does not seem to suit an Australian fond of a ‘good strong cup.’ “In Canada, and the United States of America tea. is fused in little netbags, and one asks for two bags if strong tea. is needed. At a place called Medford, between Seattle and San Francisco, where I landed during an aeroplane flight, J was served with a pct of tea—two bags—and the decoction came out into the cup a pale green. The waitress apologised, slating that she had run out of ‘black tea,’ and was obliged to serve ‘green tea’ imported from Japan. The flavour was delicate and somewhat strange, but the drink was hot and suited me well on that account.

“It was not. until I joined the Aorangj at Vancouver that 1 found a. cup of tea to suit, my taste; here an Australian crew did the thing properly. and 1 thoroughly enjoyed it.”