Tea for Two

Tea Houses
Whether your goal is to drink tea or simply to sit and contemplate life, an Asian-inspired teahouse provides the ideal serene setting.
Eastern-style garden structures of all types hold appeal for their graceful proporations, skilled joinery, and curved or flared rooflines. Teahouses, CALLED CHASHITSU in Japan,are especial intriguing. Teahouses exude a tranquility that is welcome in almost any garden.
Asian-style structures work best in the proper context, which means the garden should feature consistent design elements throughout. Here a zigzag bridge (believed to thwart evil spirits) and a stone-edge pond provide the right setting for a pavilion. The structure isn't enclosed with shoji screenes like traditional teahouses, but the roof ridge and ornate wood trim clearly indicate its Eastern roots.
THE TEA CEREMONY
The formal tea ceremony is so highly ritualized that it can take years of study to learn. Still the spirit of the ceremony can be a part of your garden experience.
Although other Asian cultures have their own versions, Japanese and Chinese tea ceremonies are said to have evolved from Zen Buddest traditions. It isn't a religious experience the way churchgoers in the Western world think of religion, but it is very much a spirtual exercise.
Think of the tea ceremony as a deliberately intense experience of ordinary everyday things. Each step in the process is done with great care as if to honor and elevate mundane tasks and humble items to a sacred role. Simple utensils are carefully washed and arranged. A minimalist floral arrangement sits in a handmade ceramic vase. Water is patiently boiled, then poured over tea leaves. This focus on disciplined and reverent action is key, and the experience of being "in the present moment" is not only a central tenet of Zen traditions but a great attitude for enjoying time it your garden.
The Japanese tea ceremony is called chanoyu (茶の湯, lit. "tea hot-water") or also chadō or sadō (茶道, "the way of tea") in Japanese. It is a multifaceted traditional activity strongly influenced by Zen Buddhism, in which powdered green tea, or matcha (抹茶), is ceremonially prepared and served to others.
The get-togethers for chanoyu are called chakai (literally "tea meeting") or chaji (literally "tea function"). Usually the term chakai is used to refer to a relatively simple course of hospitality that includes the service of confections, usucha (thin tea), and perhaps tenshin (a light snack), while the term chaji refers to a more formal course of hospitality usually including a special kind of full-course meal called kaiseki (懐石) or more specifically cha-kaiseki (茶懐石), followed by confections, koicha (thick tea), and usucha (thin tea). A chaji may last up to four hours.