The Chawan Keeps Moving: A Tea Time About Passing Things Forward

There is a particular kind of luxury I've come to appreciate more and more.

It isn't necessarily about having more.

It's about having something good—and giving yourself enough time to truly experience it.

A beautiful bowl.

Exceptional tea.

Something delicious to eat.

People you love sitting nearby.

For this tea session, I prepared Jyoraku Matcha alongside a wonderfully decadent Banana Foster tart from Beyond Pastry Studio in Honolulu.

And then there was the chawan.

A Bowl With a Story

The chawan I'm using in this video is Seto-yaki (瀬戸焼), or Seto ware.

Seto, located in Aichi Prefecture, has one of Japan's most historically important ceramic traditions and is recognized as one of the country's Six Ancient Kilns (日本六古窯).

Ceramics became so synonymous with the region that the Japanese word setomono (瀬戸物)—literally "things from Seto"—came to be used more generally for pottery and ceramic ware.

But what makes this particular bowl precious to me isn't its provenance alone.

It's where it has been.

Years ago, when my mother was still a beginner in her Urasenke tea ceremony practice, one of her senpai gifted this chawan to her.

It became part of her learning.

She held it.

Practiced with it.

Prepared tea in it.

And now, many years later, we're preparing to give it to another friend who is beginning their own journey into tea.

Something about that feels incredibly right.

Beautiful Things Are Meant to Be Used

We sometimes treat precious objects as things that should be protected from life.

Don't scratch them.

Don't chip them.

Don't use them too often.

Save them for something special.

Tea has slowly taught me almost the opposite.

Use the beautiful bowl.

Whisk the good matcha.

Eat the beautiful pastry.

Invite the people you love.

There is certainly value in preserving craftsmanship, but there is also beauty in allowing an object to fulfill the purpose for which it was made.

This chawan wasn't created simply to be looked at.

It was created to hold tea.

And now its story will continue in someone else's hands.

Perhaps someday they'll pass it forward again.

The Luxury of Taking Your Time

This is what I love about a slow matcha session.

The process asks something very simple of us:

Pay attention.

Notice the weight of the chawan in your hands.

Notice the aroma when hot water meets matcha.

Notice the first bite of something sweet.

Notice how differently the tea tastes afterward.

Notice the person sitting across from you.

High-quality ingredients and beautiful craftsmanship certainly elevate the experience—but the greatest luxury might simply be having the time and presence to appreciate them.

So here's to Jyoraku Matcha.

To really good Banana Foster tarts.

To old chawans finding new hands.

To senpai who encourage beginners.

To beginners who someday become senpai themselves.

And to allowing good things—knowledge, craftsmanship, hospitality, generosity and love—to keep moving.

Some things become more valuable not because we keep them, but because we pass them on. 🍵🤍

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