This week we were treated to a number of dishes from Brittany and Karen. We had cream of peanut soup, a peasant-style meat stew, “Olympia-style” tabouleh from Sarah, and baked leeks made from a recipe by Brian Jaques. Kotomi also led a tea tasting of matcha, which is one of my favorite teas.

I am not a big fan of stews in general, but was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed the meat stew. Perhaps it was the bacon, the sauerkraut, or the company, but I greatly enjoyed the meal. It felt good to get so many veggies in my body, and I was glad to eat a home-cooked meal.

Kotomi prepares to serve matcha using two of her handmade ceramic bowls.

Our tea tasting this week was a little bit different. Matcha is a Japanese tea generally served in a ceramic bowl, but we’ve been mostly drinking Chinese teas, using Chinese tea ceremonies, and Chinese tea ware. So, Kotomi prepared the matcha in the traditional bowls (two of which were absolutely gorgeous and handmade by the tea master herself), and then poured it into tea pots to serve in our small cups. I could sit and drink matcha all day.

It’s one of my favorite drinks hands down, and definitely my favorite tea. In fact, I think the first time I had matcha, I was two years old and in Japan. I remember enjoying the bitter grassy tea, especially when combined with the red bean cakes offered with it during a tea break from meditation at a Buddhist temple my family visited. I have so few memories from that time in my life, but the ones surrounding food are much more vivid than I would expect for being so young. The matcha had a big impact on me, and I enjoy it to this day.

The tea we drank with Kotomi had a seaweed-like flavor and. despite its hot temperature on a similarly warm day, seemed to settle and cool my mind and body. Kotomi set up her “station” with flowers, frankincense incense, crystals, and plants, and created a beautiful and serene atmosphere in which to enjoy our tea. I will very much miss getting to explore tea with such an accomplished, intuitive, and thoughtful student and teacher of the art of tea.