Seven Rules of Sen No Rikyu

Saturday, May 16th, 10 a.m.

Maplewood Library, 3025 Southlawn Dr, Maplewood, MN 55109

What does it mean to live with intention? And how does it apply to tea? Cultures around the world embrace tea in different ways and incorporate tea and living with intention in their own ways. How do you embody them?

During today’s meeting we learned about the Seven Rules of Sen No Rikyu. For those unfamiliar, Sen No Rikyu carve the tea ceremony into what it is today. It did not start with him and it has since expanded into different versions, though the three that remain constant from his line are Urasenke, Omotesenke, and Mushakōjisenke. This is an incredibly rich topic so I highly suggest one to take the dive if they are interested.

Shiki Shichisoku:

1. Make a delicious bowl of tea
2. Set the charcoal properly
3. Arrange the flowers as if in a field
4. Evoke coolness in summer and warmth in the winter
5. Be prepared early
6. Prepare for rain
7. Pay attention to each guest

Open ended discussions like this are a bit difficult when there are amazing teas being consumed but perhaps it needs to be faced in a way where they both intertwine. Either way, these seven rules not only form the spine of Japanese matcha tea ceremony but continue to help us to remember to slow down in our daily lives. (I specifically put matcha in there because there are other ceremonies like Senchado as well)

Teas we consumed:

1. Asanoka Sencha, Green, Harney & Sons
2. Handroasted Karigane Hojicha, Green, Ryuoen Tea Store
3. Westlake Longjing, (Green), from Long Wu Village 2026, FatBat Puerh
4. Anxi Tieguanyin, (Oolong), Fujian Province, 2025 Autumn, FatBat Puerh
5. Sheng Puerh (maocha), 2026 Spring, Wild Banana Grove, Yunnan, Fatbat Puerh
6. Huoshan Huangya, (Yellow) Oriental Tea
7. Ishizuchi Kurocha 2022 from Ehime, Japan, (Dark), Yunomi

Side note for those wondering: We didn’t end up going outside for this meeting because the library didn’t have anything set up outside yet.

Next Meeting:

Saturday June 6th, 2026. 10 a.m. – 12 p.m.

Fairy Wren Dessert & Tea Bar. 1178 Burnsville Center Suite K106, Burnsville, MN 55306

The June meeting will be hosted for the first time at a tea business. This one will be different on many levels because it is also in a mall.

Directions: First for parking: I suggest putting Chingu Korean Fried Chicken or Kyo Matcha into your mapping software. Park. Now for walking: Head into the main mall doors to your left. From there you’ll wind your way forward and to the right. Past the escalators, to your right again and then down the stairs. At the bottom of the stairs you’ll come face to face with Fairy Wren.