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It is said that learning how to preform the ceremony is not difficult, but truly understanding the values of the ceremony can take a life time. The tea ceremony is able to provide the essence of impermanence due to the fact that each ceremony is unique and will never be able to be experienced the same way twice. One of the main factors that creates a different experience in each tea ceremony are the seasons. Each season impacts which types of food are prepared, the type of utensils that will be used, the flowers and artwork presented, and the apparel that will be worn by the tea master and guests.

Source: http://www.itoen.com/cultural-tea-traditions

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Order of the Ceremony: Drinking of the Tea

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Order of the Ceremony: Drinking of the Tea

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The Shokyaku walks over to the chawan, tea bowl, and picks up to place it on the dashibukusa, a fabric meant to protect the chawan from damage. The Shokyaku will then bow and apologize to the other guests for taking the first sips of the tea, then bow to the Teishu. They then stand and pick up the chawan carefully with the dashibukusa. The Shokyaku then raises the chawan and nods to the Teishu before drinking just three sips, to ensure there is enough tea for all the guests. The chawan is then placed in front of the Shokyaku so that the rim may be wiped clean with a kaishi or piece of washi paper. The kaishi is then placed in the left sleeve of the kimono. After all the guests have had tea from the chawan, the Tsume presents it back to the Shokyaku, who will look over the chawan for any damages to it before presenting it back to the Teishu. Following the initial ceremony, there is a period called Usucha where the guests are asked by the Shokyaku if they would like to drink more tea. If everyone is satisfied, the ceremony closes with the Shokyaku asking the Teishu to end the Chanoyu.
Source:
http://japanese-tea-ceremony.net/guests.html
http://aboutjapan.japansociety.org/content.cfm/the_evolution_of_the_tea_ceremony
Photo source: https://jasstl.wordpress.com/chanoyu/

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Prior to the arrival of guests, the host must take time to carefully clean the tea room. The special flooring of tatami mats must be swept with a special small broom called a houki. Once the guests arrive, the first part of the tea ceremony begins. The Teishu places the wagashi, a bowl of sweets, in front of the Shokyaku. They then bow to indicate that the wagashi is for the guests. The Shokyaku bows to answer and passes the bowl to their right. The guests are not to eat the sweets, however, until the Teishu has heated and prepared the Kama. The guests use Omagashi paper to pick up the sweets.
Source:
http://japanese-tea-ceremony.net/guests.html
Photo source: https://ukiyo-e.org/image/mfa/sc145898

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The guest etiquette of Chanoyu is somewhat hierarchical. The first or honored guest is called the Shokyaku. The Shokyaku speaks to the Teishu or host and asks questions about the tea and its preparation. There is a specific way the Shokyaku speaks to the Teishu: they must speak respectfully and be very gracious to the Teishu for answering the questions. The second guest is called the Jikyaku and the last guest, Tsume. The others are just called Kyaku.
Source:
http://japanese-tea-ceremony.net/guests.html

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Chanoyu evolved from a desire of people of other social classes to have tea gatherings as well. Initially, only members of the nobility and samurai class had "tea parties". Murata Shukou, a Zen Buddhist monk, is thought of as the founder of Chanoyu. He focused on small tea gatherings held in smaller tea rooms called kakoi. Shukou honed the tea ceremony into what it is based on today. Shukou began the tradition of serving the tea to his guests himself. Because of this and the small room, the tea ceremony was usually kept to just five or six guests.

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1. Tea was first introduced to Japan by Chinese  Buddhist Monks in the early ninth century.  This sparked a brief interest in tea in Japan that fell away quickly. At this point, tea drinking in China was well-established for its health and aesthetic properties. In the late twelfth century, another Buddhist monk from Japan was said to have brought back tea seeds to Japan from China. This monk, Eisai, is also said to be the founder of Zen Buddhism. A new style of tea preparation, tencha, which used powered matcha, was introduced.

Source:
http://aboutjapan.japansociety.org/content.cfm/the_evolution_of_the_tea_ceremony
Photo source:
http://www.zen-buddhism.net/history/history-of-zen.html

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Chakin: a cloth used to wipe the tea bowl during the preparation of the tea.

Chasen: a bamboo whisk used to mix the powdered green tea and hot water together when making usucha.

Kama (pictured below): a cast-iron kettle used for boiling water.

Kaiseki: chanoyu cuisine often consisting of rice, soup, fish, a fried dish, and a boiled dish with pickles.

Natsume: small and thin container that holds the usucha.

Mizusashi: the jug of water for the kettle and also used to rinse the tea bowls.

Chashaku: a scoop for the powdered green tea often made of bamboo, or occasionally ivory or wood.

Hishaku: a ladle used to transfer water.

Source: http://www.omotesenke.jp/english/chanoyu/glossary.html

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There are two different ways of preparing the matcha, differing in the thickness of the tea. Usucha is the thinner tea, which is whipped with a whisk and then served in individual bowls, known as chawan. The thicker of the teas is known as koicha. This version includes a larger blend of matcha and is served in a single bowl, each guest taking sips.
Source: http://www.kcpstudentlife.com/culture/tea-ceremony/

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A hana-ire, pictured below, is a flower vase, often made of bamboo or ceramics. Some of the other equipment includes kouboku, or aromatic wood that creates a soothing fragrance in the tea room, as well as dora. The latter is a copper gong which is rung by the teishu, teacher, to summon the guests.
Source: http://japanese-tea-ceremony.net/equipment.html
Photo Source: http://www.omotesenke.jp/english/chanoyu/glossary.html

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The tea equipment as a whole is called dogu, literally meaning tools. There is a wide range of different dogu that are necessary for even a basic tea ceremony.
Source: http://japanese-tea-ceremony.net/equipment.html
Photo Source: http://www.guavarose.com/2012/06/chanoyu-the-way-of-tea-part-one/

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A Daisu is a large, portable utensil display for all of the tea ceremony utensils, each of which has a special place on the daisu. One of the things placed inside this is a chabako, or a box that contains a set of utensils. Most of these are made out of ceramics, so they are often handled with extreme care.
Source: http://japanese-tea-ceremony.net/equipment.html

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1. Harmony (Wa) - This principal is used in order to express the emotion of "oneness" among those attending the ceremony with nature and the other guest regardless of there social class. Nature, no matter what the weather, is to been seen as an important aspect of the ceremony instead of inconvenient and is crucial for "understanding the evanescence of all things and the unchanging in the changing"

2. Respect (Kei) - This principal is expected to be expressed in daily life toward others as well as in there ceremony toward objects created by human effort. Ultimately, one of the main reasons for the ceremony being viewed as strict and formal is to help "internalize the spirit of respect".

3. Purity (Sei) - This principal is mainly based on the aspect of cleanliness and orderliness which are seen as the "seeds of enlightenment". Guess are expected to wash there hands and wash out there mouths before entering the ceremony in order to purify themselves of the "dust of the everyday world".

4. Tranquility (Jaku) - This principal is described to be a dynamic force of one's "innermost being" that combines the practice of tea and the significance of the Tea Ceremony. This force is described to only be able to be obtained through the constant practice of harmony, respect and purity.

Source: http://www.urasenke.org/characters/

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The Tea Ceremony is more then just a physical act of drinking tea. It is used to represent four guiding principals, which include harmony, respect, purity and tranquillity as well as teaching important qualities to those who preform it such as manners, beauty, simplicity, appreciation, discipline, humbleness and kindness. The main goal of the ceremony is not to just be viewed as a work of art, but it is performed to help implement moral values and discipline in those who perform it.

Source:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1877042813048969