Where: Blakes Hotel in Kensington
When:  15 and 29 January at 7pm
Early Bird:    £20 (until midnight on Friday, 11 January)
General: £25

This month we gather twice at the amazing beautiful boutique Blakes Hotel in Kensington. What can be a more perfect place to hold a tea ceremony?

“Adored by those who desire unapologetic beauty. A preciously guarded secret address in the world of fashion, film, music and art. The person who loves Blakes is as individual as the hotel. A home for the free spirit. The desire for serenity and the lust for hedonistic abandon. Blakes understands the changing mood and responds instinctively. Blakes is the understanding that a hotel is not simply a convenient place to rest. Time spent in a great hotel is the making of precious, if occasionally hazy, lifetime memories.”

Tea Ceremony is a space where magic happens. It is about slowing down and connecting - with ourselves, each other and the world around us. Through sharing tea in noble silence we are coming yet again to our centre, our hearts, our being.

Each Tea Ceremony is unique, however, there is always a sense of inner stillness and peace emerging from it. Every time we sit in ceremony and experience tea, we immerse in the dance of all our senses and elements. Tea is such a powerful yet gentle and caring Medicine Plant. She gives everyone exactly what they need, takes them to the place they need to be in and shows them things they need to see. She can lift us, ground us, inspire, heal and nourish us while at the same time holding space for us to communicate and share.

During tea ceremony, we shall focus our attention on tea, examine its colour, aroma. Tune into tea. Watch carefully how water merges with fire. Feel teaware with all our being. Feel that our body is also a precious vessel. Perform each movement with complete awareness and presence, always remembering the importance of every object, every action. "How you do anything is how you do everything," - Wu De, my teacher from Global Tea Hut constantly reminds us. Tea is a great Teacher to cultivate that.