Korean Tea Ceremony

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Korean Tea Ceremony Korean Tea Ceremony I recently traveled to Aberdeen, SD to visit some of my South Korean friends. While I was there they brought me along for a cultural experience that I knew nothing about. The Korean Tea Ceremony was very different to me, however it provided me with previous knowledge that I had no clue about. Tea was first discovered about 2700BC and was first cultivated around 350AD in China. The first recorded tea ceremony was held in China about 800AD but in Korea the first offering of tea to an ancestral god was believed to have been performed in the year 661. Koreans embraced tea drinking and the tea ceremony as a way of helping them find a way to spiritual enlightenment, and a way to purify their minds. At this ceremony I learned that it is still used in today’s society for Weddings, Funerals, Important business meetings, and for just occasional get-togethers of friends. When I first walked in the tea ware was laid out very neatly, on a small low tea table called a Gyo-ja-sang, and covered with a thick silk cloth. I know from my Korean friends, that Korean culture has a very graceful demeanor to it, and they treat life almost like an art of sorts. They definitely make drinking green tea an art! The rhythm and ritual of the ceremony helped my mind relax and gave me an inner calmness that I cannot explain. All movements were performed with slow grace, and in a very smooth, controlled and artful motion. I discovered that the actual process of preparing the tea is very, very methodical. First the cloth cover was removed from the top of the table and the tea ware. Next with my right hand the lid of the tea container was removed and placed on a table in front of the container, and then I removed the lid of the teapot in the same manner. Next with my left hand, I picked up the tea container, and with my right hand I used the spoon to

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