Kyoto Private Tea Ceremony with Tea Master at Home

The tea ceremony is held in Aya’s home, and the tea room is beautiful. 
You’ll receive a clear explanation of the history of the tea ceremony and matcha, observe the ceremony itself (I wish I had asked more questions at the time), and have the chance to whisk your own second cup. Aya also provides a couple of recommendations on where to buy tea locally. Note that the water is not boiling—the actual temperature is around 80°C. If it’s hotter, you may ruin the tea, so keep that in mind when preparing it yourself. Many thanks Aya, 
Robin Soole

The tea ceremony was very cool, but the 5 star review is due to Aya herself. She was sweet and personable from beginning to end, and showed a real willingness to help us that went outside of the scope of duties of teaching us about tea! For example, she was helpful in giving us directions to Osaka, our next stop, and saved us money in her recommendations. She also made us aware that it is Golden Week (a long holiday weekend in Japan) and urged us to book our bullet train tickets for our trip from Osaka to Tokyo sooner rather than later. Because of her, we got tickets just in time, and were able to select the option of traveling with large luggage. If we hadn’t done that, we would have been in trouble, and couldn’t have taken our suitcases with us! She even called us a taxi after the service and waited until we got in safely. In conclusion: Aya is the best part of the tea ceremony. We loved meeting her and having tea with her. I’m sure you will, too.

My husband and I left the tea ceremony and both agreed it was probably the best thing we’ve done on our trip. It was detailed, educational and fun. It is absolutely worth it for a hands-on, true experience. I cannot recommend this enough. A hidden gem that will bring the culture of Kyoto to life!

This was the best thing I have ever done in Japan, hands down. Aya was extremely friendly, knowledgeable, and truly made our experience special. I had accidentally booked the experience for one person when it was for two people and she allowed me to pay the difference and modified the ceremony on the spot. She also gave us recommendations for food places and all of them were fantastic. We purchased her custom matcha and we are excited to make it at home. My fiancee and I agreed this was a truly incredible experience and well worth the money.

We can highly recomend this place. The tea master is originally from Kyoto. She is very knowledgeable and sympathetic. The ceremony itself was wonderful and we learned a lot.