Why Do People Revere Tea with a Religious Devotion?
Tea, like coffee, is one of the most popular natural beverages in the world. However, tea enthusiasts harbor a religious-like reverence for tea. This devotion is evident in the ceremonies, tea arts, and tea culture, where people demonstrate a respectful piety unmatched by any other food or drink. Japanese Tea Ceremony Chinese Tea Art What is the tea ceremony, and what are tea arts? If you ask 100 people, 95 might say they don't know or can't explain it clearly, and the remaining 5 might offer five different answers. Some say the tea ceremony is a lifestyle, and tea arts are a form of performance. This seems reasonable but still feels vague and elusive. There are many lifestyles—drinking coffee, consuming alcohol, or following a vegetarian diet—but there is no "coffee ceremony," "wine ceremony," or "vegetarian ceremony," nor are there performance arts dedicated to these practices. A Google search for "the origin of tea" yields