Practicing the Japanese Tea Ceremony in the west is a hard but rewarding task. I first became aware of it when I saw a demonstration, by chance, while visiting a museum. The beauty and calmness of the procedure quickly captivated me. I was fascinated and intrigued by the tranquility of the host, and the silent emotional connection that seemed to occur between him and the guest.

It was 2 years after that first encounter that I made the first steps of my journey towards learning it. At first I was simply set on learning how to make tea, but my teacher opened my mind and my heart to the spirit of tea, and to the ocean of cultural and philosophical nuances associated with its practice. The way of the tea, Chado, can be fascinating, but also overwhelming, and sometimes confusing.

Advancing in Chado also means procuring different tools and accessing information about different Japanese cultural activities that are intertwined with it.   Finding the correct dogu and information about such endeavors is a tough, lengthy task. I have spent the last 7 years slowly acquiring enough knowledge and experience to help me procure tea instruments and kimonos that are appropriate to the Japanese tea ceremony and its different temaes.