Tea ceremony
The moment where hurrying ends and you begin.
Tea and I meet
It happened on 24 January 2019. That day an invitation to a tea ceremony arrived. My whole body said yes at once, without my knowing what I was saying yes to.
The space was held and I felt welcome from the very beginning. I remember vividly that feeling, sitting together with other people while silence fills the room. Simply being. Seeing others and being myself without needing to wear masks, without stories about who you are, where you come from and what you are doing here. It was a delight I had not experienced before.
It was love from the first moment.
Tea led me to the roots again and again, deeper and deeper. At first I did not even understand why. But after several months of walking with tea I realised it was for the same reason that trees which withstand a storm have their roots deep in the ground.
Out of that grew a daily morning practice. I woke at five to sit for an hour with tea in peace and silence. That was the turning point of my journey and the preparation for stepping onto the shamanic path, which I did not yet know about.
In 2020, when the world was locked down, I went deeper into the wisdom of the tea world through the Global Tea Hut online course. It opened the door to the ceremonial practices of tea that have shaped me as a tea holder.
To this day tea is my companion. I have great respect for this practice, it supports the walking of the shamanic path. In the space of tea everything unnecessary is cleansed away and you can look into yourself honestly, deeply and safely held.
My creative work always begins with drinking tea. It aligns and clears away the thoughts of the everyday. Even the meditative reflections in my blog are always born together with tea.
What a tea ceremony means
A tea ceremony is a meditative meeting with yourself through the ritual of tea. It is a conscious slowing down, where all attention gathers into the moment, into your body, your soul and your mind.
Leaves in a bowl and the sidehandle
The simplest way to prepare tea ceremonially is to place the leaves in a bowl and pour hot water over them. This is tea in its purest form, leaves, water and heat, nothing superfluous.
At ceremonies I usually use a sidehandle — a clay pot with a handle on the side, one of the oldest and most rustic ways of making tea. Clay is by nature in accord with tea, a porous material that over time absorbs the essence of the tea into itself. The longer you use one pot, the deeper and softer the taste of the tea becomes. Clay connects tea with the element of earth, it is a living material that breathes together with the tea.
The tea is drunk from small bowls that you hold in both hands. This simple gesture brings you straight into the body, you feel the warmth in your palms, the scent of the tea rises and all your attention gathers around that one sip.
Puerh
It comes from the Yunnan province of China. It is the only tea that goes through a fermentation process after processing. The leaves are pressed into cakes and left to mature, some for months, some for decades. Over time microorganisms make the tea deeper, softer and more complex. Like a good wine, puerh improves with the years.
Oolong
A partly oxidised tea, between green and black. Making it is the art of the tea master, the leaves are allowed to react with oxygen and the master decides by scent and touch when to stop the process. Lighter oolongs are floral and sweet, stronger ones more woody. An open and welcoming tea.
For whom
A tea ceremony is for you if…
- You need to stop in the middle of a fast life — a moment where nothing asks anything of you
- You want to learn to be, rather than constantly to do
- You are looking for a way to be honest and present with yourself
- Meditation feels difficult because the mind will not settle — in a tea ceremony you hold a bowl in your hands, you feel the warmth and the scent, and this physical anchor helps the mind settle naturally. The relaxation that arises gives room simply to be
- You want to experience shared silence — to be with others without masks and without stories
How a ceremony takes place
I offer tea ceremonies in three formats. All of them are safe, grounded in nature and without expectations — come exactly as you are.
1:1 TEA CEREMONY
An intimate space between you and the tea
A personal ceremony where you can be entirely in your own tempo. We sit down, I set the tea, and together we create a space where you can breathe, feel and listen.
A gathering of the community
From time to time there are public ceremonies, open to everyone who wants to experience shared silence and the presence of tea. The presence of other people carries and supports.
For friends, loved ones or colleagues
Would you like to share a tea ceremony with the people closest to you? Or bring this experience to your team? A private ceremony is a chance to create a space with a circle of your own choosing, where you slow down together.
Before the ceremony
A tea ceremony asks for no special knowledge or experience. It is enough to come with an open mind.
Clothing
Wear comfortable clothes in which you can sit freely on a cushion on the floor. Loose cuts and natural materials are preferred.
Scents
It is best not to wear perfume. The scent of tea is delicate and deep — it opens only in a room where there are no other scents. Scent is part of the experience.
Attitude
Come as you are. You do not need to know anything or be able to do anything. The only thing I ask is an open mind and a readiness to pause for a moment.
A tea ceremony at a private event
The date of the next public tea ceremony has not been chosen yet.
In the meantime a tea ceremony can come into your own event — a birthday, an anniversary, a small gathering. The space, the tea and the silence come along. Write to me and we will agree a time.
If this is calling you
Would you like to book a 1:1 or a private group tea ceremony? Do you have questions?
Write to me — we will talk and find a time that suits you.
