Voices from the Hut A Russian Tea Wedding An Interview with Katya & Denis This growing community often blows our hearts wide open. It is the reason we feel so inspired to publish these magazines, build centers and host tea ceremonies: tea family! Connection between hearts is going to heal this world, one bowl at a time... Katya & Denis are tea family to us all, and so let’s share in the occasion and be distant witnesses at their beautiful tea wedding! 茶道 ne of the things we love the imagine this continuing in so many dinner, there was a party for the Bud- O most about Global Tea Hut is beautiful ways! dhists on the tour and Denis invited the growing community, and all the We very much want to foster Katya to share some puerh with him. beautiful family we’ve made through community here, and way beyond It was the first time she’d ever tried tea. As time passes, this aspect of be- just promoting our tea tradition. It such tea, and she loved it from the ing here, sharing tea with all of you, doesn’t matter if you practice tea in first sip. Then, in 2010, Katya moved starts to grow. New branches sprout our tradition or not, we’re family—in from her birthplace in Siberia, every week, and we hear about new our love for tea, Mother Earth and Komsomolsk-na-Amure, to Moscow and amazing ways that members are each other! If any of you have any to live with Denis (her hometown is connecting to each other. More than ideas about how we can further the actually closer to Taiwan than to the just reading a magazine or learning connection we all have to each other capital of Russia). about tea, we are also sharing tea through these envelopes, we’d love to Wu De, this tradition and all with hundreds of tea brothers and hear about them! the brothers and sisters here have sisters around the world! And that In the spirit of this growing played a large role in their relation- adds a dimension to the teas we bond between us all, we would like to ship. They attended workshops drink here—they’re somehow deeper share with you the exciting news that and afterwards founded the “Tea and… well, more than they would be our brother and sister, Denis Mikhay- Hut Moscow” which meets weekly otherwise. lov and Katya Kucherenko were to share tea, organizes events, etc. In the last few months, we’ve recently married. They met through “Through these gatherings we have heard about Global Tea Hut mem- tea and their mutual love of the Leaf built a strong community and made bers drinking their tea of the month also fostered their relationship over life-long friends with some of the best together at the same time, which time. They are also big supporters of and brightest souls in Moscow—let means organizing to meet different this tradition and Global Tea Hut in alone all the wonderful people we’ve people in different time zones. Last Moscow, where they currently reside. met in Estonia and Ukraine, where month, people in Russia, the United Both have attended several of Wu we traveled last year to help serve Kingdom and Estonia shared one De’s lectures and workshops. at Wu De’s events there,” They said. such session. We’re also hearing more Katya and Denis met on “We wholeheartedly welcome any and more about members from one a big Buddhist tour across Rus- Global Tea Hut members to visit and place visiting other members: peo- sia. They actually met in a Chinese stay with us and share tea and hugs!” ple from Holland going to Estonia restaurant in a small town called There is a tradition in Russia to stay with brothers or sisters there, Blagoveshensk, which is close to the that the bridegroom comes to the Russians going to Spain, etc. We Russian/Chinese border. After the bride’s parent’s house to take her 45 to the wedding. Since Katya’s fam- June, he came back to take her to the Now, we can also look on lov- ily home is so far away, she stayed wedding. She remembered that Wu ingly, as their extended family—their in their apartment and Denis went De had said that in Chinese culture Global Tea Hut family! Katya and and stayed the night at his moth- the bride brews tea for the groom, Denis were excited to share these er’s apartment. On the twentieth of and that acceptance of the tea is an pictures with you, with the hopes acceptance of her into him. that you all would see how much A thousand, thousand blessings The bride is therefore sup- they care about you, and how much posed to brew it with all her drinking these teas together with you for this growing community! heart inside. Katya decided each month has changed their lives Great tea, peace and happiness that she would make tea and their relationship to each other. in the bowl we meet in. for Denis when he arrived. “You were all invited to our wed- There’s room for all the devas, The two had an impromptu ding!” Katya said happily. wedding tea ceremony, as bodhisattvas and Buddhas their families looked on in this small thatched Hut! lovingly. —Wu De In Chinese wedding ceremonies, the bride puts her heart into the tea and the groom accepts her into his spirit and home when he accepts the tea. .