Geisha pouring tea - New Bedford library collection

The Japanese tea ceremony is preparing, serving, and drinking tea in a ritualistic and ceremonial way where it is used to promote wellbeing, mindfulness, and harmony. The tea itself is a powdered green tea called matcha. The purpose of the Japanese tea ceremony is to create bonding between the host and guest and also gain inner peace. The tea ceremony is very important in Japanese culture because it used to be practiced only by the elite zen monks and noble warlords for most of history.