When Noriko Morishita was 20 years old, she began to take Tea lessons with her sensei. During her long years as a student, she learned what it means to take Tea, and the subtle art and ritual that combines sitting down and making it, and enjoying it with others.

This was a delightful, gentle read that I'm so glad I picked up as I really enjoyed my time with Noriko as she told us about her Tea journey - and the peace and loveliness I felt reading really reflected some of the lessons she was passing on that she had learnt herself as a Tea student.

I knew nothing about Tea in Japan going into this, and learned quickly it's different to the type of breakfast tea that's my morning ritual. But no matter what type of hot or cold drink you prefer to have in life, I think there's a lot to take from this book as it's about appreciating the time to relax and release your worries; to go somewhere, take your shoes off at the door, and escape from everything else for a while.

One of the things that really grew for me in my reading was I can't wait to travel to Japan, and try some of the tweet treats Noriko talked about as the Japanese delicacies and the intricate design details that goes into making the sweets look like other things, sounded amazing!

I highly recommend this. I found it a really lovely read, really well translated and Noriko's voice is friendly with a touch of humour and a smile.