Tea House

A tea house is an establishment which primarily serves tea and other light refreshments. Sometimes the meal is also called "tea". Although its function varies widely depending on the culture, tea houses often serve as centers of social interaction, like coffeehouses.

Some cultures have a variety of distinct tea-centered houses of different types, depending on the national tea culture. For example, the British or American tearoom serves afternoon tea with a variety of small cakes.

In China and Nepal, a tea house (茶館 cháguăn or 茶屋 cháwū; Standard Nepali:चिया घर) is traditionally a place which offers tea to its consumers. People gather at tea houses to chat, socialize, and enjoy tea, and young people often meet at tea houses for dates. The Guangdong (Cantonese) style tea house is particularly famous outside of China especially in Nepal's Himalayas. These tea houses, called chálou (茶樓) serve dim sum (點心), and these small plates of food are enjoyed alongside tea.

In Japanese tradition a tea house ordinarily refers to a private structure designed for holding Japanese tea ceremonies. This structure and specifically the room in it where the tea ceremony takes place is called chashitsu (茶室^?, literally "tea room"). The architectural space called chashitsu was created for aesthetic and intellectual fulfillment.

In Japan during the Edo period, the term "tea house" could also refer to a place of entertainment with geisha or as a place where couples seeking privacy could go. In this case the establishment was referred to as an ochaya (お茶屋^?), which literally meant "tea house". However, these establishments only served tea incidentally, and were instead dedicated to geisha entertainment or to providing discreet rooms for visitors. This usage is now archaic. Contemporary Japanese go to modern tearooms called kissaten on main streets to drink black or green tea as well as coffee.

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