What is a sense of ceremony?

The Little Prince offers a wonderful explanation: A sense of ceremony makes one day different from the others, and one moment distinct from all the rest.

Life can often be mundane and banal. For those times when our inner strength wavers, we may need a touch of ceremony to refresh our spirits and stir up new ripples in our hearts.

Tea can be both elegant and commonplace. Adding a sense of ceremony to your tea time is both easy and highly effective.

In his Treatise on Tea – Chapter 4: Utensils, Lu Yu of the Tang Dynasty listed 28 types of tea utensils.

The Illustrated Treatise on Tea Utensils by Shen An, an elder from the Southern Song Dynasty, included 12 illustrations of tea utensils.

Modern tea utensils number over twenty, yet we use only a few in daily life.

Those less commonly used tea utensils are great for adding a touch of ceremony to your daily routine.

Tea Pouring Jug (Justice Cup)

A tea pouring jug might not be essential for home tea drinking, but personally, I believe it adds a strong sense of ceremony.

The tea pouring jug is used to distribute tea evenly. The tea is poured into the jug where the first and last infusions mix, ensuring a consistent flavor. When serving, each cup receives the same amount of tea, without any distinction between guests. It's very fair.

When performing the “justice,” the movement of your hand resonates with your heart, filling the act with a sense of ceremony.

Tea Tongs

Tea tongs are used to handle teacups, making the process both hygienic and heat-resistant. They can also be used to retrieve leaves from the pot for observation.

Tea tongs are frequently used in tea art but are less common in daily life.

They extend your reach, allowing you to handle the Teacup without touching it, making the action graceful and seemingly elevating your demeanor.

Tea Presentation Dish

A tea presentation dish is used to temporarily hold a small amount of dry tea for inspection. Its funnel-shaped opening makes it easy to pour the tea back.

The tea presentation dish is rarely used in daily life, as this step is not necessary for tea drinking.

Why not just look at the dry tea? You could examine it in your hand, in a cup, or in a teapot…

But placing the dry tea in a presentation dish and taking a deliberate look turns it into an act of appreciation.

Aroma Cup

In Gongfu tea, there are two types of cups: tasting cups for sipping tea and aroma cups for smelling its fragrance.

The aroma cup typically has a cylindrical shape with a narrow rim that helps retain the tea's aroma.

In daily life, you can use a smaller cup with a similar shape. This is not limited to Oolong teas; you can appreciate the fresh scent of green tea, the sweet aroma of black tea, the fresh fragrance of White Tea, the aged scent of dark tea, or the tender aroma of Yellow Tea, if you wish.

Pour the tea into the cup, bring it to your nose, inhale the aroma, and enjoy it deeply.

Tea Pet

A tea pet is a small decorative item placed on the tea table, having no real impact on the taste, color, or aroma of the tea. It doesn't enhance the flavor of the tea, but as a decorative object, it adds charm and changes the atmosphere of tea drinking.

Tea pets are usually “nourished” with tea, much like polishing beads, to imbue them with a gentle and pleasant hue.

Some people disapprove of this practice, finding it neither elegant nor clean.

If you don't like it, you don't have to do it. Choose a tea pet with meaning or a favorite trinket and place it on the corner of your tea table. During a shared tea session, it serves as a companion, and during solitary drinking, it keeps you company.

Tea Tray

A tea tray is where tea pots and cups are placed, essential in tea art but optional in daily life. However, having an elegant tea tray certainly changes the feeling.

Just as a tea table makes it convenient to drink tea, a tea tray makes the setup more formal, giving a sense of ceremony.

There are many other utensils that can enhance the sense of ceremony, such as tea needles, tea scoops, tea spoons, tea strainers, and lid rests…

In general, practical items are daily necessities, too common to feel fresh.

Those that serve little practical purpose may be the key to making life more artistic.

The seemingly useless can sometimes be most useful.