Editing Japanese tea ceremony (section)

==Thick and thin tea==
There are two main ways of preparing {{transliteration|ja|matcha}} for tea consumption: {{nihongo|thick|濃茶|koicha}} and {{nihongo|thin|薄茶|usucha}}, with the best quality tea leaves used in preparing thick tea. Historically, the tea leaves used as packing material for the {{transliteration|ja|koicha}} leaves in the {{nihongo|tea urn|茶壺|chatsubo}} would be served as thin tea. Japanese historical documents about tea that differentiate between {{transliteration|ja|usucha}} and {{transliteration|ja|koicha}} first appear in the Tenmon era (1532–1555).<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |author=Tsuitsui Hiroichi |encyclopedia=Japanese online encyclopedia of Japanese Culture |title=Usucha |url=http://100.yahoo.co.jp/detail/%E8%96%84%E8%8C%B6 |access-date=2012-07-13 |language=ja |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160323011849/http://100.yahoo.co.jp/detail/%E8%96%84%E8%8C%B6/ |archive-date=2016-03-23 }}</ref> The first documented appearance of the term {{transliteration|ja|koicha}} is in 1575.<ref name = Koicha>{{cite encyclopedia |author=Tsuitsui Hiroichi |encyclopedia=Japanese online encyclopedia of Japanese Culture |title=Koicha |url=http://100.yahoo.co.jp/detail/%E6%BF%83%E8%8C%B6 |access-date=2012-07-13 |language=ja |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160323011853/http://100.yahoo.co.jp/detail/%E6%BF%83%E8%8C%B6/ |archive-date=2016-03-23 }}</ref>

As the terms imply, {{transliteration|ja|koicha}} is a thick blend of matcha and hot water that requires about three times as much tea to the equivalent amount of water than {{transliteration|ja|usucha}}. To prepare {{transliteration|ja|usucha}}, {{transliteration|ja|matcha}} and hot water are whipped using the {{nihongo|tea whisk|茶筅|chasen}}, while {{transliteration|ja|koicha}} is kneaded with the whisk to smoothly blend the large amount of powdered tea with the water.

The host serves thin tea to each guest in an individual bowl, while one bowl of thick tea is shared among several guests. This style of sharing a bowl of {{transliteration|ja|koicha}} first appeared in historical documents in 1586, and is a method considered to have been invented by Sen no Rikyū.<ref name=Koicha/>

The most important part of a {{transliteration|ja|chaji}} is the preparation and drinking of {{transliteration|ja|koicha}}, which is followed by {{transliteration|ja|usucha}}. A {{transliteration|ja|chakai}} may involve only the preparation and serving of thin tea (and accompanying confections), representing the more relaxed, finishing portion of a {{transliteration|ja|chaji}}.