We recently have been talking about getting one of those automatic hot water dispensers that people have on the side of their kitchen sinks that always has piping hot water ready for you at any time.  These things are stupid expensive.  Really.  I have made some questionable purchases over the years, but I was thinking long and hard at justifying this purchase.  The thought was that we all tend to use hot water for one beverage or another in the house and remembering to refill the tea kettle and clean up the inevitable spillage that happens on the stovetop was often getting overlooked.

In the midst of considering spending the money for a hot water dispenser my daughter Marley mentioned that she didn’t want one because it would take away from the ritual of her tea/coffee that she enjoys.

Brilliant.  She is spot-on with this notion.  I have been telling people for quite some time that part of the benefit that one gets from drinking tea every day is the actual time that it takes to make it.  This should be a time where everything else is set aside and the focus is simply on tea alone.  The time it takes to pour the water into the kettle, ignite the flame, watch and wait for the water to heat, let that water cool a bit then make your tea in the bowl from the Matcha you just measured out and sifted is as important as the tea itself.  These 5-10 minutes of time are 5-10 minutes of pure meditation on tea.  If you have 5-10 cups of tea a day, that can be an hour of meditation on tea every day.  Likewise the time that it takes to clean up after making tea and refilling the vessel for the next person is all part of the 4 lessons of tea.

I know this is a vastly simplified view of heating the water for Chanoyu, but it does in essence capture some of the same ideals.