Tales of Green Tea

A charming collection of essays exploring Japanese tea culture and daily life as the owner of a 300-year old tea shop in the historical city of Kyoto. At the 300-year-old Ippodo tea shop in Kyoto, time passes at the gentle pace of green tea leaves brewing in a kyusu teapot. Written by the store´s current owner, Miyako Watanabe, Tales of Green Tea offers an account of everyday life at this beloved spot, but also of the knowledge, encounters, and discoveries that come with a life steeped in tea. Through evocative, sensory snapshots across the seasons, Watanabe traces the life of tea: from the quiet patience of growing and harvesting to the meditative rituals of the ceremony. By weaving together the history of the tradition with its place in contemporary Japanese culture, this meditative and lyrical book brings to light the wisdom and endless flow of stories to be found in a simple cup of tea.