"Water can quench your thirst and wine can drown your sorrows, but only tea can refresh your spirit."
- Lu Yu, Tang Dynasty, "The Classic of Tea", 760 CE - 780 CE
While contemporary cosmopolitan coffee shops are known for 24-hour wifi/caffeine and jolts of espresso for high-energy boosts for a better and faster life, tea houses celebrate the slowing down of things: a stepping away from sidewalk traffic into a ritual that honors that which is timeless.