We have a centuries-old fascination with tea. Tea, as an item of luxury, created an opportunity for play. There is the Japanese tea ceremony which is a choreographed presentation of tea which includes porcelain hanaire vases for flower arrangements. The rules (as in a game) were seen as too rigid, so by the 19th century, the loose-leaf grean tea sencha began to replace matcha as the preferred Japanese tea. To prepare sencha, a style of tea the Chinese had introduced centuries earlier, the leaves are briefly steamed before roasting to lend a more vegetal flavor to the brew. Because the leaves are whole rather than ground, matcha tea caddies and brewing pots were no longer necessary.

Miniature children's tea sets became fashionable in the 19th century, making an obvious association between tea and play. There were tea-time dresses, meant to be worn only from 3 pm to 6 pm, again associating dress-up with the play of tea. The ritual of tea meant that people took the time to drink tea and interact in a similar way that children take time to play on the recess yard.