The Oneness of Tea

Tea is one of the most consumed beverages in the world, outside of plain water, and has been around as a beverage for almost 5000 years!!  It's no accident that tea is associated with equality, compassion, intention and community.  We need only to examine the history of tea and how it arose in China and Japan, and the influence that the Zen Buddhist monks had on its popularity.

Let's examine these influences by reviewing the Japanese tea ceremony and the concepts of Wabi and Ichigo Ichie.  Together these two concepts suggest that one should make the best of their surroundings and experiences in life to optimize ones encounters and feelings of well being - not just for oneself, but for others as well.  Thereby creating a community of compassion towards oneself and also towards others.

The concept of everyone being equal is prevalent in the actual tea ceremony itself.  Firstly when the entrance way into a tea room is constructed, the entrance way is made smaller than the size of a person, so everyone MUST enter the room in a bowed position.  It is also noticed in the actual pouring of the tea where the tea is generally first dispersed into a large serving jug and then poured into the actual drinking cups, so that everyone gets tea that is brewed exactly the same as opposed to the first pour perhaps being somewhat weaker than the last pour if the cups are served directly from the brewing pot.

The tea ceremony in itself is an exercise of intention.  Every motion, every step along the way is paid the attention it deserves.  The appreciation in what is happening, in brewing the perfect cup of tea is the outcome of being present in the moment.

Now let's fast forward to 2013, and a woman that has only just been introduced to these concepts.  How does she interpret the oneness of tea in this modern era?

We use tea symbolically to offer compassion to one another in times of need.  We share our hopes and dreams over a cup of tea with friends.  We have laughed and we have cried.  We have revered beauty, and shared our differences and similarities.

It is because of all these qualities that tea has the ability to break down barriers to communication and perceived inequalities.  Tea brings people together to share their thoughts and be respectful with each other.  Tea inspires us to be better people.

There are many different kinds of teas, all unique and special in their own way.  As are human beings.  And like the tea we drink we celebrate the differences that make each of us unique and special.

This is what tea means to me. Tea opens up possibilities to a better world, we just have to follow the same principles that make tea as loved as it is.  Tea creates community, and a oneness with each other.  We are all one, we are all equal and just as tea comes from only one plant the camellia sinensis so do we all come from one species the homo sapiens.

Tea is intentional.  Tea is community.  Tea is good.

Tea builds relationships

Part of this blog is also to discuss how tea has made me more intentional, and how it has  had a positive impact on my life.  Something that I am very excited about was the communication that opened up between my partner's daughter and myself over the last month since I have started the tea course.  She is  17 years old and heading off to university this fall.  Things have never really been great, but over time I think we've both started to give each other a break and try harder to communicate and have more of a relationship.

It's really been years of miscommunication, hurt feelings and a clashing of wills that has built up.  We don't have a lot in common either, but tea is something that she took an interest in about a year ago, and it's still going strong.  I have to say that she had taken on the passion of tea before I did.  But now we have something in common.  We have something to share and talk about.

My desire to learn about tea started because of a trip I took last year to Nepal.  Yes, I drank a lot of tea while I was trekking in Nepal.  In the mountains they don't have much in the way of a good cup of java, so I relinquished the morning ritual and took on tea.  I didn't miss coffee, but I do really love to have my morning coffee, so it wasn't a change in my ritual that drove me to learn about tea.

I was really trying to think of a way that I could start a business that involved importing product from Nepal.  They grow coffee and they grow tea.  I researched and decided that tea might be a good way to go.  I'll get into all of this in another post later on.  I decided that I needed to lean about tea if I wanted to import tea and start a business involving tea.  So that is how I ended up in the Tea Sommelier course.

I've only completed the first course - I just got my marks from my exam and overall I walked away with 95.5%!!  I'm thrilled about that!!  What I've learned and read about tea fascinates me.  I love the flavours, the human connections that are created over tea, and the ability to relax and focus on the tea when I am doing my tastings, and not be interrupted by the daily stresses and interruptions that seem to be able to creep in everywhere else.  The course also has a forum where you can leave posts and have discussions with other course participants.  I have met some wonderful people here as well.  One of the girls has a Facebook page Les Thes Laha-Nia  She posts some beautiful photos, tea industry news articles etc.  Please follow the link and like her page!!  The pages main lingo is in French, but pictures need to words, most of the news links etc are in english, and you can use translator to read the posts in English.

I am so very thankful to find a common thread with my boyfriend's daughter.  It 's been just over 8 years and finally it feels like we've caught a break.  Thank you tea for nurturing this connection and allowing for it to happen!!