Globus Chashitsu

In Japanese, the tea ceremony is called chanoyu (茶の湯): literally, hot water for tea. The water matters as much as the tea, and since the earliest days, tea masters have traveled to celebrated springs and carried the fresh water home for their guests.

This October, as the woods upstate turn red and gold, Yoshitsugu Nagano travels to Saratoga Springs, the most celebrated place for spring water in New York, and draws the water himself beneath the autumn leaves. He brings it back to our tea room at Globus Chashitsu in Manhattan, where it meets matcha from Kyoto in a single bowl.

When tea is made with water from a renowned spring, the host performs a special temae called meisui-date (名水点), giving thanks to the water. Nagano performs it at this gathering, and after the matcha, everyone shares the spring water on its own.

Over a seasonal kaiseki meal and a bowl of tea made with this celebrated water, come take in the autumn with us, and give thanks for tea, for water, and for the gifts of nature.

• What you will experience+
  • Meisui-date, a special temae that gives thanks to the water
  • Matcha from Kyoto, whisked with spring water drawn at Saratoga Springs
  • A tasting of the spring water on its own, after the tea
  • A seasonal kaiseki meal
  • Morning and afternoon sittings, ten guests each
• The day+
  1. 1

     Seasonal kaiseki meal

     • The meal, and an explanation of the part it plays in a formal gathering
  2. 2

     Tea ceremony

     • Meisui-date, performed with the Saratoga spring water
     • Guidance on how to receive and drink matcha
     • An individual bowl of matcha for each guest
  3. 3

     Tasting the water

     • The spring water, served on its own
     • Why tea masters traveled for their water
  4. 4

     Conversation and questions

     • The history of the Japanese tea ceremony
     • The utensils used during the gathering
     • Your questions, answered

Photographs of the tea room are from previous tea ceremonies and do not represent the exact menu or presentation of this event.