Fragrance Cup

Today's tea pour I used my Yixing (yee shing) tea pot made with a clay called Zixha Hu, also known as Purple Sand. This healing clay is rich in iron, quartz crystal, kaolin, hermatite and other trace minerals. When one makes tea in such a pot, it infuses the healing properties of the clay into the brew. Since the clay is so porous you only use one type of tea in such a pot.

So today I used Tie Kuan Yin tea, also known as Iron Goddess of Mercy. This oolong tea orginated in Anxi Fujan Province in China during the rule of Emperor Qialong during Qing Dynasty. The Wei Family were Tea Masters at the time (1735-1796) but they were also devoted Buddhists. They believed the inspiration of this oolong tea was a gift from the Bodhisattva Kuan Yin.

Oolong tea is a healing brew full polyphenolice compounds that helps control obesity. It has effects on controling free radicals and is said to help with diabetes, dark spots, wrinkles, and tooth decay. It helps with the harmful effects of smoking, stimulates the nerve centers, helps reduce heart disease and aids in digestion. "Tea began as medicine and grew into a beverage," said Katkuzo Okakura, a japanese Tea Master.

You can only imagine the health benefits drinking Iron Goddess of Mercy Tea in a tea pot made from Purple Sand.

There are four principles that create a good tea ceremony says Sen Rikyu ( Harmony, Respect, Purity and Tranquility). I would also like to add the principle of Beauty, since for me it is about creating an atmosphere that is pleasing to the eye.

Today I took a walk in the Parc du Saint Cloud and enjoyed the first feeling of the weather beginning to warm up again here in Paris. The violet leaves were poking out from the grass in the park - one of spring's early bloomers. But I could not help eyeing the virgin bower clematis. This vine grew along the fence of the park, like a great crawling dragon made up of fluffy seed heads that seem to last inspite of winter's weather. Clematis Bach Flower is used to help drifting minds return to the present moment, the perfect flower for a tea ceremony. I added some red berries to the mix and made my way back home to the warm apartment.

I began to prepare for the tea ceremony, making a miniature flower arrangement with an old Kuan Yin statue that has seen many seasons. All the Silver plating had chipped away over the years. She was simple and her weathered imperfection gave her the flavor of wabi sabi. She was placed in the center of a old clay plate that was a gift from a womans altar when I was visiting Japan. I arranged the clematis and the red berries around Kuan Yin. Everything was set for tea and I began the pour.

Today I worked with mastering the use of the Taiwaese Fragrant Cup, (Pinyin). A fragrant cup is actually two cups that fit together. One is used for drinking the tea and the other cup is used just to smell the subtle fragrance of the tea. The tea is first poured into the fragrant cup and then transfered into the drinking cup. The two cups fit together and artfully turned over, with a gentle turning and lifting the fragrant cup the tea transfers into the drinking cup. Then one takes the Fragrant cup, rolls it between the palms of the hands and smells the lingering aroma of the tea left in the cup. It is like allowing the essence of the tea to enter your nose before you take the tea in through your mouth.

Gong fu actually means to practice and learning the art of using a fragrant cup gracefully actually takes repeating the moves like well rehearsed dance steps. The more I worked with the two cups, I realized it was the dance of male and female energies. They came together in Union to contain tea. Tea has been used as a symbol of Consciousness. There is a transfer of tea between the cups and one takes the time to smell the essence of the tea. It was the fragrance of the tea had a greater symbolic meaning .

Later I researched the meaning of the Pinyin cup and it was said that it was symbolic of the Dragon and the Phoenix and their auspicious Union. These two mythical creatures are used in China to symbolize marriage partners. It is said using the Fragrance Cups in Gong Fu Tea Cermony brings the blessings of abundance, well being and happiness. The turning over of the Fragrance Cups was called "the carp turning over," another auspicious symbol in China, the double carp bringing double happiness. May Auspicious Events and Double Happiness be given to Everyone in this New Year.