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The Authentic Eclectic
The Tea Masters (1)
Steady hands transferred teaspoonfuls of dried osmanthus blossoms until the scale displayed precisely four grams. No amount was removed to achieve this.
The young man pressed the backs of his hands against his robed chest and spread them outward as if in breast stroke. He pivoted the left at the elbow, and let it slowly fall until parallel with the floor. He moved the right likewise. “Anuh,” he intoned, pouring the blossoms into the teapot.
“Anuh,” the teachers replied.
The man shook his hands loosely to discard any fell energy, then selected a pair of lacquered wooden chopsticks from the immaculately arranged tray. With dexterous twitches of the chopsticks, he searched a container of berum peel, measured his choices to an even two grams, and dropped them into the pot. He repeated the hand movements and intonation.
“Anuh,” the teachers replied again.
It was time for the most difficult part of the examinations. Professor Satou leaned forward. Any upperclassman, he thought, can time the boiling, measure the quantities, and perform the ritual motions with perfection. But can he pour the water? This was the skill acquisition that usually triggered a student to attempt the final examinations, and failure was more common than success.
