Thursday, April 16, 2009

San Francisco Japanese Tea Garden

So a few weeks ago I had the opportunity while in San Francisco to visit the Japanese Tea Garden. This was the first time that I had been there in a while and this was right during cherry blossom season. While this doesn't really have to deal directly with tea, it is very relative. The tea garden is quite an experience, and does in fact serve tea. The tea served is either Sencha, Genmaicha, Oolong (yes, that's as specific as it is), or Jasmine. I believe they refered to the Sencha as just Green. For 4 dollars you get a pot of tea and a small bowl of cookies and rice crackers. While the tea itself is nothing special, the location is everything in this case. Sipping on a cup of tea while watching sakura petals fall and with some of the plants in just radiant bloom is an experience unto itself. This was also an opprotunity for me to play around with my new camera lens. If you're ever in SF and have some time to relax, it's definitely worth going to the tea garden. It makes you remember that it's not all about the tea itself, but rather the experience.

1 comment:

Krystal Lane said...

I really enjoyed reading your post as well as admiring the beautiful photography. It is almost like a comparison to "stop and smell the roses." To me your post describes the epitome tea drinking experience.