On 19th October Anna was invited by Sociedad de Estudios Asiáticos of University Francisco de Vitoria of Madrid, to give a talk about chado and matcha. 23 students of International Relations joined the event!
We started with a warm and welcoming hojicha that everyone liked. After that, a presentation about GJTea took its part. Then the main talk, that was focused on chado – Japanese tea ceremony and how an apparently simple activity came to define a unique “Japaneseness”. We talked about the history of tea in Japan, the main aspects of chado and how they reflect some very traditional and distinctive traits of Japanese culture. We could see, of course, how to prepare a matcha and everyone tasted some. As during a Japanese tea ceremony sweets are usually served before tea, we had some very nice matcha and yuzu chiffon cake that had been prepared for the event by our tea friend and pastry chef Utako Nakamori.
It was exciting to see all the enthusiasm and curiosity of the students! Hopefully, they are on their path to become Japanese tea lovers. Thank you so much for inviting us!
* Image source: Sociedad de Estudios Asiáticos