Time for Tea

After the tram, we headed back to Lan Su Chinese Garden. The first time we visted the Chinese Garden was more for the experience of the entire facility. This time we were more focused on the teahouse in the Tower of Cosmic Reflections.

Being late in the afternoon, we also needed lunch, so we ordered some noodles and a tea ceremony. The Tower of Cosmic Reflection is very nicely built, decorated, and furnished. The warm tones of the interior really helped me reach a proper frame of mind.

During our visit, we also had the fortune of hearing an older man play a traditional Chinese instrument, which I believe might be an erhu--quite a scene.



Light and Music Entering the Teahouse


The Musician

An established Portland tea company, Tao of Tea, runs the teahouse. The noodles were surprisingly tasty and filling, and the tea, to no surprise, was very good. We actually shared a more expensive leaf which was brewed in a traditional Chinese ceremony, Gongfu Style, by a server. Timing of the steep is important. Also the tea is not simply poured into the cup, but first poured into a small and slim vessel and then transferred into the tea cup. The first vessel, the snifter, can be then raised to the nose to savor the aroma.



Sandra Enjoys a Moment of Tea

The meal and the tea combined with the atmosphere was a moment, something I can look back and enjoy, something I would like to do again if I return to Portland. Refreshed, we strolled around the garden for a little while before our journey continued.



Lotus and the Late Afternoon Light