House of Tea @38C3

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====== A "Tea Ritual", Really? ======

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Tea has, [[wp>Tea#Tea_culture|for thousands of years]], put people together in a setting where they feel cozy, hydrated and stimulated. Tea is more than just a beverage! 

//According to sources (tm)//, tea actually tastes better when you don't drink it alone, but share it! ;))

The House of Tea is based on principles of self-organization and DIY. You are free to come anytime and use our resources (hot water, tea leaves, tea pots, tea cups, trays, etc.) the way you like! There is no right or wrong way.

Yet, over the years, one method of sharing the tea has proven to be particularly comfortable and efficient, and contributed to giving wonderful occasions for people to discover new things about tea, enjoying relaxed and stimulating discussions, while meeting new friends.

===== The House of Tea simplified "Gong Fu Cha" ritual =====

It is a inspired by the traditional [[wp>Gongfu_tea|Chinese Gong Fu Cha]] ritual, in a much simplified version, fit for Camps and other lo-tek settings:

==== The "Tea-Sharer" ====

<WRAP box 350px round right>**Important tip:** The tea-sharer should announce to participants whether the tea served **contains cafeine or not**! Not everyone reacts the same way to the wonderful molecule... Also the cafeine content is usually higher during the first brews, so a 4th or 5th flush of a green tea can be considered //almost// as non-caffeinated...</WRAP>

  * A **tea-sharer** (or tea-host, tea-operator, etc. some of us prefer not to use the traditional term of "tea master", for obvious reasons...) prepares in order to **pour tea for an entire table** of participants and then more:
    - a tray 
    - a clean teapot
    - a tea strainer
    - their favourite type of tea leaves, from our abundant tea box
    - a bunch of clean tea cups
    - a thermo bottle filled with hot water (one boiler should deliver 80 degrees water, fit for green tea, while the other should always have close-to-100 degrees water)


  * The tea-sharer picks a table, brings the tray there, and sits there comfortably.


==== Nice Clean Cups for Everyone ====

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  * Fresh, clean cups are distributed to whoever around the table wishes to drink some tea. Some are kept for further use when new-comers will join. One is kept for tea-sharer themselves, one to receive the tea strainer once the tea has been infused. 

  * Participants are only told one thing, the only thing they need to remember: **when they are done and do not want any more tea, they should turn their cup upside-down** so it will be easy to spot the used cups and recycle (dishwash) them. In practice participants do not need to know or do anything more than that, and they can happily drink delicious tea!

  * //Optionally a tea-sharer would use another clean (and dry!) cup to deposit some of the leaves of the tea they are about to brew. This **sample can then be circulated** among participants so they can see it, smell it (and taste it! green tea can be delicious to nibble at!). It is a great conversation starter ;)//


==== The Infusion of the Tea... ====

<WRAP box right round 350px>**Tea-lover tip:** Good tea can be **infused several times** (sometimes many!) before being discarded... a delicious green tea can get a first "flash" infusion of only 30 seconds, letting some very subtle aromas become very perceptible, then on 2nd and further flushes be infused longer. Some amazing green teas can be brewed 4, 5 or more times! Some herbals (have you tried our renowned Jiaogulan?) can be infused even more times!</WRAP>

  * The tea-sharer brews their chosen tea in their favourite fashion, pouring **water from the thermo-bottle**.

  * After tasting that the infusion is to their own taste, the tea-sharer extends their arm-and-teapot around the table to **reach participants' cups and fill them**, without the need for for them to pick them up from the table (maybe move them to make them more accessible).

  * Whenever some cups are empty, the tea-sharer will **automatically re-fill them**, without even asking. The cups are small and the default (unless cups turn upside-down!) is that everyone wants more tea!


  * //Everybody chills and relaxes while enjoying delicious tea! <3 Shy people may open up. Some talk to their neighbors as new connections happen...//

  * When the teapot is empty, back to the infusion step! The tea-sharer will decide for themselves (and/or asking participant's opinion!) when it is time to renew the leaves or switch to a different tea.


\\ 

<WRAP box 400px round left>**Super-nice Guest pro-tip:** Participants or passers-by can help the tea-sharer by offering them to re-fill their thermo bottle with hot water, collect discarded cups and depose them in the pre-wash for [[dishwashing]], or bring fresh/clean cups to the table. More on [[How to help]].</WRAP>
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