Over a weekend in mid-January, I attended Hatsugama  (初釜) — the first tea ceremony of the year — hosted by my tea teacher. People often ask me why I spend years learning how to make a single bowl of tea. I smile, because for me, I’m only in my third year of practice — still a baby in the world of tea, where many measure their journey in decades. Of course, anyone can whisk matcha powder with hot water and call it a tea. But tea is something more — much more. For me, tea is no