Tea Time...

Our Japanese student, Ayano, treated us to a green tea ceremony the other day. It was a neat experience for our girls, who to my surprise enjoyed the tea! Here at home we may haul out the cute tea set but I quickly fill the kettle, dip a tea bag in and we're good to go. For this tea time we watched as Ayano brought out a neatly packed box full of all kinds of utensils for the ceremony. First she made sure everything was really clean, then she carefully measured out the powder into one container, and then re-measured it into the actual bowl/cup. She carefully mixed it with what looked like a bamboo whisk. It was quite hot at first but we all took turns sipping from the cup. My inner mom was screaming that we really all shouldn't be drinking from the same cup during this crazy flu season...but the other part of me respected that this was a custom and that we were honored guests. It was a great few minutes spent making another memory. Thanks Ayano!