Why I Love Tea
I like the taste of it and the health benefits. I like the trappings that go along with tea, the pots and pretty cups and saucers, the sugar tongs and napkins, or the elegant gaiwan cup and yixing teapot. I like the way the tea leaves expand, "the agony of the leaf." I like the aroma and the color.
But I love tea because it gently, but firmly, reminds me to be present in the moment. Whether drinking from a gaiwan or a Wedgewood cup, whether green or black or in between, I cannot rush bringing water to the boil. I cannot hasten the steeping. I can stop, breathe and listen to the tea unfold and tell its story. There is much to hear in the silence of a steeping pot of tea.
4 comments:
Dear Steph,
I am Monica, I live in Romania and I've just started a tea blog. I think is the first in my own language...
Anyway, I just want you to know that I an reading your blog and it's inspiring. Also I am discovering a new world but I am quite upset because in my country there is not a great development in this field.
But shall I not complain and relax with an herbal tea!
Best regards,
Monica
We all need more slow time with fancy accoutrements, don't we? :)
Well said Steph! I lift my teacup to you and your enjoyable blog!
Your Tea in London Friend,
Linda
I am in total agreement. I also love the process of tea. Putting the kettle on to boil, warming the pot, measuring out the tea, steeping it, preparing my cup to taste. Whenever I'm feeling a bit off-kilter, the ritual process of making tea helps focus and center me again. I've never been much for meditation techniques (I'm usually too busy and antsy to get a move-on), but I've always had tea.
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