Chamei

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Chamei (茶名, tea name) is a Japanese word that refers both to the name given to a particular blend of tea (usually matcha) and to the ceremonial name bestowed on an advanced practitioner of Japanese tea ceremony.

[edit] Names of tea blends

Blends of matcha are given names either by the producing plantation, shop or creator of the blend, or by the grand master of a particular tea tradition.

When a blend is named by grand tea master, it becomes known as his or her "okonomi," or favoured blend. The most well known teas today come from Koyama-en and Shorai-en, whose names were given by the grand masters of the Urasenke tradition Tantansai (14th generation), Housai (15th generation), and Zabōsai, the 16th generation and present Grand Master.^[1]

[edit] Names of tea practitioners

Practitioners of tea ceremony are also given ceremonial names, by which they are known in the tea world. The procedure and requirements vary by school, but generally only advanced students and/or those who have been awarded the rank of sensei are given tea names. The tea name is usually chosen and bestowed in a special ceremony by the school's Grand Master, or iemoto, and is recorded on a certificate.

Tea names are often poetic. They may incorporate the names of animals (crane, for example), trees or flowers, natural phenomena (seasons, wind, the moon), or personal characteristics ("quiet," "peaceful"), or may be based on Buddhist teachings. In some schools, every tea name has the same number of characters.

In most cases, every name given to a member of a given school will incorporate at least one character in common. In all of the Sansenke schools, for example, all chamei end with the character sai (斎).