Morning Tea Ritual

First Things First: Start Your Day With Tea

By Martha Gavinksi
Market Manager – Seattle

During these uncertain times, our sense of routine has been completely upended. While the rhythms of daily life have changed, there’s still an intrinsic comfort in taking part in daily rituals. They not only provide us with structure and stability but remind us of who we are and what we value most. This sense of intention is exactly why we refer to our tea practice– it is something both constantly evolving and embedded in our day-to-day lives.

Our rituals begin as soon as we wake up– they’re our morning stretches, quick meditations, and preparation to face the day. With disruption in our schedules, there’s an opportunity to create new, powerful tea practices to increase mindfulness and positive well-being. This is where Gongfu Cha (literally, “Kung Fu Tea”) can come into play. By honoring the focus and skill required to brew Gongfu Cha artfully in vessels such as a gaiwan, kyusu, or porcelain teapot, we are sharpening our command on tea brewing and connecting more closely with the tea itself. Learn more about Gongfu Cha in depth here.

If we’re sharing space with someone, our morning practice can also be an act of kinship. It offers not just the gift of tea itself but the crafting of a shared tea experience. In traditional Japanese tea ceremony, the host takes incredible care in every detail of the service, allowing each guest a precious moment with tea. This experience anchors each guest– both environmentally and with each other. Whatever our level of formality and Gongfu skill, the opportunity to prepare tea for someone is a social unifier, a kind gesture supported by thousands of years of tradition woven into a daily routine.

So, what teas are best for a morning practice? There isn’t a single, one-size-fits-all answer. The tea we choose is deeply personal, guided by the seasons, our taste, and sensibility. That said, we are grateful to have a variety of options to inspire and expand your palate.

Genmaicha is a traditional Japanese breakfast tea. It originated centuries ago when Buddhist monks mixed green tea with browned rice stuck to the bottom of their rice cauldrons in a gesture of humility and conservation. Today, the harmony of nutty roasted sticky rice with bright, fresh green tea offers a balanced cup and light, enlivening energy.

Traditional Tea Properties and Applications

Traditionally, certain teas and ingredients are associated with different warming and cooling energies. Following the basic principals of yin and yang, we seek out teas that help balance our energy and honor the current season. Green, white, and young sheng Pu’er teas are historically associated with cooling yin energy, providing a perfect balance to summer heat.

Part of our Garden Direct line, Koga Gyokuro, evokes the classic character of the Yame region. In this selection, we taste the fresh mountain aroma as well as a unique salinity and hints of pine resin. Starting the day with a bright green tea is an excellent way to invite in brimming energy and a healthful mindset.

Widely esteemed for its delicate appearance, elegant sweetness, and noble character, Silver Needles is comprised of individually plucked tea buds harvested in the early Springtime. As a “patient tea,” you can steep Silver Needle multiple times throughout the day and experience the diversity in of each infusion

Conversely, black, deeply oxidized oolong, and shu Pu’er teas are tied to warming yang energy– why we tend to reach for comforting chai or Earl Grey during colder weather. When selecting the first tea of the day, consider the environment and check in with your senses to see where you can find balance.

In our Tulsi Chai, invigorating black Darjeeling tea offers a strong base to this tea botanical blend. The addition of Tulsi– renowned for its calming effect and support in cognitive and memory enhancement– sets the tone for a productive day..

A traditional style shu Pu’er that offers an impressive, warming robust infusion credited to vintages ranging from 2-4 years in age. Like the Silver Needle, Tuo Cha can be steeped multiple times, unlocking a new cup each time

As Selectors, Importers, and Makers we would be remiss if we didn’t spotlight some of our favorite tea-infused recipes to complement your morning practice. With its roots in food and medicine, creating culinary innovation with tea & botanicals is central to our everyday lives.

Masala Chai French Toast

Whipped Matcha Butter

Red Medicine

Wherever we are on our tea journey, getting into a routine of tea preparation can offer a solid foundation for your day, a quiet moment of reflection and certainty when all else is uncertain. It is in this ritual that we are reminded to be kind to ourselves – and one another.

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Grafting: A History and Comparison of Tea and Wine

Often, we draw comparisons between the worlds of tea and wine. From the similarities in wine varietals and tea cultivars, to tradition in preparation and processing, we find even more parallels in utilizing root stock to create heartier, healthier and more nuanced offerings from wine to tea. Though the idea of grafting is perhaps more spoken about in wine or other horticulture applications, in tea, we can utilize grafts to produce higher performing gardens.

Perhaps the most heroic story of grafting in wine comes to us from the Phylloxera epidemic of the 1860s in France. Phylloxera are almost microscopic aphid-like insects that devour the roots and leaves of grapevines responsible killing more than 70% of the vines. During the years after this epidemic, an independent group of researchers including Frenchman, Jules Émile Planchon, and American, Charles Valentine Riley, discovered that when they utilized American rootstock it stopped the tiny insect. Without chemical control, the wine community used phylloxera-resistant American rootstock to replace the roots of less-resistant European vines. With this innovative solution, many of the popular grape varietals were saved, but some were not replanted.

Carménère was one of the varietals particularly difficult to grow, so it was thought to be extinct for nearly 100 years. However, in Chile in 1994, Jean-Marie Boursiquot, a French Ampelographer, or person who studies and classifies grape varietals, and winemaker, Claude Valat found that a section of Merlot vines that seemed to be ripen significantly later than the others. Through analysis, the two realized they had actually discovered Carménère vines!

During the 19^th century cuttings of Carménère were accidentally imported from Bourdeaux by Chilean growers. Apparently, phylloxera hadn’t reached Chile and the varietal had indeed survived! In the wine world, this story is revered as a true success and illustrates the power of horticulture.

Even today, grafting is common because the rootstock does not change how the wine grapes develop. The desired genes are contained in the part of the graft called the scion, which is taken from the grapevine. Through choosing the rootstock, one can choose the adaptability to certain soils and weather, as well as overall heartiness.

The practice of grafting wine vines and tea bushes is quite similar. In tea grafting, the scion is prepared from a green tip and should contain two nodes and two leaves from the lateral bud to promote growth and likelihood to succeed in growing.

Grafting in Tea

In some of our Garden Direct offerings from Yunnan, we feature cultivars that have been grafted onto old root systems, some as old as 80 years. Instead of clear gutting forests, we are able to revitalize gardens and harness the existing rootstock to create new gardens with unique and rare cultivars.

The garden that houses our Jinggu Da Bai cultivar is one of these few tea gardens we work with featuring grafting, but it has been a successful project. The tea is vivacious with specialized aromas and high amounts of caffeine. The Garden Direct teas that harness this cultivar include Snow Buds, Silver Spear and our Silver Needles Cultivar blend.

In addition to Jinggu Da Bai, we also grafted the Da Huang Ya cultivar, or “Big Yellow Buds,” on these old roots. Da Huang Ya yields large, plump buds that provide a long-lasting sweetness and unique amino acid profile. We feature Da Huang Ya as a single cultivar Silver Needles and also added it to our Silver Needles Cultivar Blend.

We worked with our partners to revitalize a garden of 30-40 year old tea plants that had passed their prime by cutting them down nearly to the stumps and grafting Da Huang Ya cultivar plants onto the rootstock. After a few years, we are thrilled to see the results as the plants spring back with renewed vigor, channeling all that energy into this amazing cultivar.

JingGu Da Bai

Da Huang Ya

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Tokonome Clay

\nTokonome in Japan \n

Tokoname was the location of one of the Six Ancient Kilns of Japan and is also famed for Buddhist and Shinto shrine statue artisans. Tokoname is often considered to be the sister city of Yixing.

Tokoname pottery is finalized with a slip coating. Slip is a water-thinned clay applied like a paint which is referred to as being “brushed.” The raw material has special iron, quartz, and mica content, which after firing, produces a lovely color. The special function of the Tokoname pots are heat reduction speed and low porosity so we can use a wide range of teas in one pot. This pot will season very slowly. In contrast to the clay and style of firing used in Yixing teapots, which is best reserved for one type of tea due to its ability to season well because of its porosity.

Sasame vs. Obiami filters

Two different types of mesh filters in the teapot spout are common: obiami and sasame. The obiami is based on a special type of mesh before mechanization in production. In the old days, makers would use a stick or pick-like tools to create evenly distributed spout holes in the clay. Sasame filters are metal screens in place of the ceramic holes. Our Fukugata kyusu is made with a machine that uses high speed air forces through a steel mold that makes the perfect perforation and angle for the sasame clay spout filter.

The kyusu is a traditional teapot ideal for brewing pure Japanese green teas. Many kyusu teapots are fashioned in a side-handle style known as yokode, which was originally developed for preparing tea while seated on tatami mats. As with brewing any tea, finding the right balance of water temperature, infusion time and proper amount of tea is very important. The Fukugata Kyusu is made of a brushed red clay and contains a clay mesh on the inside for straining.

Morning Tea Ritual

First Things First: Start Your Day With Tea

Traditional Tea Properties and Applications

More About Tea and Ritual

MORE TO DISCOVER

Black Tea

Botanicals

Green Tea

Oolong Tea

White Tea

Tea Tasting

Tea & Health

Recipes

Education

News

Featured

Archives

Grafting: A History and Comparison of Tea and Wine

Grafting in Tea

More From Tea Education

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Recipes & Inspiration

Tea & Health

Botanicals

Green Tea

Black Tea

Matcha

White Tea

Oolong Tea

How to Brew Tea

News

Education

Archives

Tokonome Clay

\nTokonome in Japan \n

Sasame vs. Obiami filters

Explore Tea & Ritual

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Recipes & Inspiration

Tea & Health

Botanicals

Green Tea

Black Tea

Matcha

White Tea

Oolong Tea

How to Brew Tea

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Education

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Journal

Morning Tea Ritual

Grafting: A History & Comparison

Tokoname Clay

What Is Gyokuro?