Cha kaiseki is a Japanese term for the meal served in the course of
chanoyu, the tea ceremony. It precedes the serving of the tea at a formal tea function (
chaji).
The selection of courses for a
cha kaiseki should reflect the season, and always includes rice with
ichijū sansai - "one soup, three side dishes".
Typically, it would start with rice, soup, and
mukōzuke, followed by
nimono (which is called
wanmori when served at a cha kaiseki), and
yakimono.
Hashiarai, a clear
suimono soup, would follow, with
hassun, usually two
chinmi, one "from the mountains" and one "from the sea." A final course of
kō no mono (pickles) is served with
yutō (a pitcher of hot water with slightly browned rice).
