|
While for centuries western women have enjoyed afternoon tea, men listen the word “tea cup” and think of a dainty porcelain cup covered in flowers. For this reason alone, a lot of men have been turned off by tea. This came to my attention when the 14-year-old son of a friend became fascinated in tea only after being introduced to Chinese tea. He had to be bribed into coming to Chinatown for tea, sporting a pair of dark sunglasses, just in case a friend of his might see him at the teashop. But then something outstanding happened: the gaiwan appeared. A Chinese man deftly steeped and poured tea from the gaiwan into a serving vessel. “Cool,” the kid said, non-committally. By the third steeping, he was to a complete degree engaged, focused, and fascinated. Originating in Chinese tea culture, “gaiwan” means “covered bowl”, and is a three-piece set comprising a saucer, vessel, and lid. It is perchance the most ubiquitous tea ware in the world, giving careful consideration to the great number of Chinese people who prepare and sip tea with it. Gaiwans are cool, masculine even in contrast to my grandmother’s Limoges teaware. This is “real men’s” tea ware. No flowers, frills, or evidently effeminate lines. I could see Clint drinking from a gaiwan, raising his squinty-eyed, chiseled face in stoic silence through the hot steam and hissing a line as quiet and rich as the steam itself. Chinese gaiwans as well as Japanese tea bowls and Moroccan tea glasses could be put in the hands of any man without requiring the extending of a pinky, and with few exceptions, are monochrome, neutrally glazed, or covered in dragons. What guy could feel like a sissy with these in his hands? The tremendous majority of Asian tea pros are men, and in fact, the tea industry itself is known as a “gentleman’s” business. Women might drink much of the tea in the western world, but men are commonly the ones buying and retail it in the wholesale market. Winnie Yu, co-owner and chief tea buyer for Teance in Berkeley, CA, said “There are few women in the tea trade, it’s predominantly a male business, and even though I get on just fine with them, that’s because the farmers in general regard me as a niece [who] has less to prove. So it’s worked for me OK. Otherwise yes, I do get snickers from time to time.” Most persons think of a delicate Asian female serving tea when they think of the classical Japanese tea ceremony, but in truth, the most prominent Japanese tea pros are men. One of the greatest surprises at a Japanese tea ceremony class at the Urasenke Foundation in San Francisco was the male-dominant symmetry of students in the evening classes–and none of them were Asian. More and more American men are inspired and engaged by Asian tea culture, which is mutating and fusing in the landscape of the “new world”. All of this is great news for American tea culture. The influence of Asia is bringing the tradition of gender-neutral or male-leaning tea culture and tea ware to our shores, and this makes for a outstanding balance. Go to any non-British tearoom, where doilies and flowery tea ware can not be found, and you will find highly educated, well-healed, masculine men imbibing in the best of teas. Check it out. Throw off all notions of tea parties, and join in the old tea traditions finding new inroads in America. |
Category Archives: Moroccan Culture
Gender Market Moroccan Revoicing Tradition
Posted by Stewart B Johnston on April 26, 2011
None comments
Recent Comments