Tag: LUXURY-RESORT-IN-SPAIN

THE TEA CEREMONY

Those of you who have already visited us at the Barceló Asia Gardens already know that we welcome you with an exquisite cup of tea brought straight from Thailand; We do not doubt that tea is another one of those common elements in Asian culture that brings about a series of traditions, rituals, typologies and cultural aspects.

Today, we would like to introduce you to something new about Japanese culture, more specifically the Tea Ritual or “Chado”.
This ritual, which includes a choreography to prepare and serve this Green tea called Matcha”, is served along with some traditional Japanese pastries to balance out the bitter taste of tea.

For us in Europe this might not make much sense, but after watching this ritual you will be short for words: it is not about drinking tea in itself, but about the ritual behind preparing it for our guests, always respectfully…with every move…every gesture, even placing each necessary utensil in its place to carry out this ceremony which must be precise, even the angle at which the guest is approached at is relevant,Shokyaku.

As we unveil the history of Japanese tea rituals, we see that it is not of Japanese origin. A Buddhist monk, who returned from the neighbouring country, introduced it in Japan. The story goes that this monk had to opportunity to prepare this delicious tea, just brought from China, for the

Emperor, who after enjoying its taste and medicinal properties, issued an imperial document demanding the tea be grown in the area.
From back then and until nowadays, this tradition of serving tea to guests in such a refined manner in sign of respect and gratitude has been taking shape. We would like you to feel this way at the Asia Gardens,and that is the reason why we offer you this delicious drink which will reach your senses and will give you an idea of the kind of relaxation that awaits you at our luxury resort.

In order to properly celebrate such a visual ritual, first of all our guests shall wash their hands and mouth and remove their shoes. The entrance to the lounge where we celebrate the Chado is often quite low, in a way that our guests must kneel down when entering; the meaning of this is merely to make everyone feel at the same level showing as much humbleness and respect for others as possible.

The host shall heat up some water and thoroughly clean each of the twelve utensils that will be used in the ceremony. These utensils are often true works of art passed on from generation to generation.
Once warm, the water and tea are mixed together with a bamboo blender. Every move of the host will have choreography and the guests will be fully immersed in this performance.

There are two traditional ways of preparing and serving Japanese tea: Koicha and Usucha, making reference to the consistency of the drink: Koichais a much more consistent and dense type of tea prepared using 3 times the amount used when preparing Usucha, which is much lighter and less intense.

Koicha is an intense type of tea served in the same bowl shared by all guests, the lighter tea, Usucha, is served individually.
In Japan, there are even many schools to teach this ritual the correct and traditional way; you may even already learn about this very visual tradition in some schools and associations in Spain. There is no doubt about Japan’s pursuit of perfection. We, in our Asian corner in the Mediterranean, try to follow lead.

At the Asia Gardens we might one day celebrate one of these ceremonies; in the meantime, we shall continue to welcome you with a cup of tea upon arrival to give you a taste of the peace that awaits you during your stay with us.

THE IMPRESSIVE ASIA GARDENS PALAPA

If you have already visited us at some point, you must know that as soon as you arrive at our luxury hotel in the Mediterranean  the first thing that amazes you is our Palapa at the entrance hall.

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For those of you who haven’t been able to visit us yet, you should know that Palapas are open homes out in nature with dry-palm-tree roofs built on simple wooden posts. Every time we see these homes in idyllic images they make us dream of a paradise somewhere far away.

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Well, in our very own paradise on the shores of the Mediterranean, the Asia Gardens, we wanted to make sure not to leave out this typical construction native to the Philippines, although it might seem to be from somewhere else. The Palapas are generally associated to Mexican paradises, but its true origin is Asia.

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The exact word is PALAPAES and it means “fleshy leaf” due to the different types of palm tree leaves used on the roof of these homes. It is peculiar that this type of home was more successful in Mexico than the typical constructions brought from Europe, the old continent; this was due to the fact that they were built to stand extreme hot temperatures, keep the lower parts cool and give shade, offering shelter from the sun in the tropics.

The  Asia Gardens Palapa  is the tallest one in Spain, 20 impressive metres high, and one of the tallest in Europe.
We wanted to make sure we to give a certain leading role to something as special as the Palapas so we decided to name one of our restaurants after them: the Palapa Restaurant.

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In this restaurant, one of the seven restaurants in our luxury resort in Alicante, you will be able to sample Mediterranean cuisine as you enjoy one of the best views of the pools and gardens in the hotel… yet another clear example of the so called Asian luxury.
We would like to make sure to share with you something quite uncanny that we have come across on the internet as we were looking up further information regarding the Palapa…Apparently, the term is fading away, and you have the chance to “sponsor” it by clicking on this link of a website that has surprised us and made us smile.

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When you come to visit us, you will not be able to avoid looking upwards… We, at the Asia Gardens, would also like to make you smile with our Palapa. There is no need to go to the Tropics in order to visit one of them…you can find them a lot closer than that: in the Mediterranean.

As always…we look forward to seeing you soon.

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