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The Tea Habit
August 18, 2008 - 1:13pm — Erin Blackwell
Tea is the great drink. Of course, I'm prejudiced, writing this under the influence of the beverage I praise.
Part of the pleasure of tea is the choice of cup and saucer.
A single sachet of Tazo Awake black steeps languidly in an old, Willow-pattern teapot with a gold leaf topknot and a chipped spout I rescued from the free table of my yoga teacher's apartment building up the street from the Zen Center 13 years ago.
I sip from a shallow tea cup, of blue-and-white Medway decor (line-drawn blossoms on a branch), by Alfred Meakin, England; its saucer reglued after having been broken into four equal pieces. The white cup shows me the tea's tawny color; its shallowness lets a small quantity cool to perfect sipping temperature, while the tea still in the pot stays relatively hot. There are many ways to drink tea. Each has its virtues and beauties.
Tea is calming, inducive of meditative states. Tea is revitalizing when you need a bit of a buzz. Tea can keep you up at night 12 hours after you've drunk it. Tea is variously ascribed miraculous or medicinal properties, most recently, antioxidants, those thingummies that take out free radicals which damage cells, possibly causing them to age.
Tea itself is very old, about 5,000 years. Champagne is one-tenth as old, maybe 500 years, tops. Coca-Cola is 100. Age isn't everything, but to the aging — and we're all aging, darling — there's comfort in tea's ancient power to slow the effects of time.
Tea is a mainstay in Asia where it was invented. Legend has it, a few leaves blew into the bowl of boiling water a monk was preparing, changing its color and flavor. And that's the abiding beauty of tea: its insouciant, almost accidental simplicity, linking us with our ancestors.
The one and only camellia sinensis, or tea plant.
Tea, like wine, starts from a single plant. Everything else is culture, in the truest sense of the word. From the camellia sinensis come the varieties called black, oolong, green and white; the difference among them is the time of fermentation, white having none. (The less fermentation, the more antioxidants.) Within those four main categories are a wide range of classic teas from China, Indian, Sri Lanka and Japan, along with more modern popular favorites.
The Brits, among Westerners, are synonymous with tea, because as colonizers they ruled over great plantations. Lipton tea, my grandmother's drink, used to trade on this heritage, proudly featuring Thomas J. Lipton's mustachio'd visage on every box. He's gone, as tea moves into the multi-culti, new-age, fusional present by reconnecting with precolonial traditions ripe for tweaking.
When OurChart editor Grace Moon came to San Francisco, I told her to meet me at Samovar, an oasis of high quality teas and fancy nibbles in a soothing, neo-Asian teahouse decor. They even have a working samovar serving up bottomless cups of Russian tea. Just the night before, I'd caught the opening night of Chekhov's Uncle Vanya at California Shakespeare Theater. Chekhov always writes a samovar into his plays. This seemed auspicious for a first meeting.
Samovar's ambiance never fails to incite pleasant, relaxed sociability. Moon, lithe as a cat under the requisite bed head, was pleasantly impressed and pronounced it "cute." She's a New Yorker; she's designed to condescend to anything outside the five boroughs. She expertly consumed squash dumplings with chopsticks she specifically requested, and she liked her green tea so much she asked for it to go. I didn't know you could do that at Samovar. Leave it to a New Yorker to teach us San Franciscans how to negotiate our own turf.
Part of the pleasure of tea is the choice of cup and saucer.
A single sachet of Tazo Awake black steeps languidly in an old, Willow-pattern teapot with a gold leaf topknot and a chipped spout I rescued from the free table of my yoga teacher's apartment building up the street from the Zen Center 13 years ago.
I sip from a shallow tea cup, of blue-and-white Medway decor (line-drawn blossoms on a branch), by Alfred Meakin, England; its saucer reglued after having been broken into four equal pieces. The white cup shows me the tea's tawny color; its shallowness lets a small quantity cool to perfect sipping temperature, while the tea still in the pot stays relatively hot. There are many ways to drink tea. Each has its virtues and beauties.
Tea is calming, inducive of meditative states. Tea is revitalizing when you need a bit of a buzz. Tea can keep you up at night 12 hours after you've drunk it. Tea is variously ascribed miraculous or medicinal properties, most recently, antioxidants, those thingummies that take out free radicals which damage cells, possibly causing them to age.
Tea itself is very old, about 5,000 years. Champagne is one-tenth as old, maybe 500 years, tops. Coca-Cola is 100. Age isn't everything, but to the aging — and we're all aging, darling — there's comfort in tea's ancient power to slow the effects of time.
Tea is a mainstay in Asia where it was invented. Legend has it, a few leaves blew into the bowl of boiling water a monk was preparing, changing its color and flavor. And that's the abiding beauty of tea: its insouciant, almost accidental simplicity, linking us with our ancestors.
The one and only camellia sinensis, or tea plant.
Tea, like wine, starts from a single plant. Everything else is culture, in the truest sense of the word. From the camellia sinensis come the varieties called black, oolong, green and white; the difference among them is the time of fermentation, white having none. (The less fermentation, the more antioxidants.) Within those four main categories are a wide range of classic teas from China, Indian, Sri Lanka and Japan, along with more modern popular favorites.
The Brits, among Westerners, are synonymous with tea, because as colonizers they ruled over great plantations. Lipton tea, my grandmother's drink, used to trade on this heritage, proudly featuring Thomas J. Lipton's mustachio'd visage on every box. He's gone, as tea moves into the multi-culti, new-age, fusional present by reconnecting with precolonial traditions ripe for tweaking.
When OurChart editor Grace Moon came to San Francisco, I told her to meet me at Samovar, an oasis of high quality teas and fancy nibbles in a soothing, neo-Asian teahouse decor. They even have a working samovar serving up bottomless cups of Russian tea. Just the night before, I'd caught the opening night of Chekhov's Uncle Vanya at California Shakespeare Theater. Chekhov always writes a samovar into his plays. This seemed auspicious for a first meeting.
Samovar's ambiance never fails to incite pleasant, relaxed sociability. Moon, lithe as a cat under the requisite bed head, was pleasantly impressed and pronounced it "cute." She's a New Yorker; she's designed to condescend to anything outside the five boroughs. She expertly consumed squash dumplings with chopsticks she specifically requested, and she liked her green tea so much she asked for it to go. I didn't know you could do that at Samovar. Leave it to a New Yorker to teach us San Franciscans how to negotiate our own turf.
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43 Comments
Teamorphosis!
Brilliant!
Sweet Pea soup with a tarragon green tea flan
OR
Take some green tea soba noodles and fry them into little crispy garnish bits for the top
Erin...you are a culinary muse...
Tea Tasting
Last year I did a tea tasting menu for a lovely lady named Ms. Bobbie (cute as a bugs ear I tell you)
-currant scones with farmers cheese and raspberry preserves, black tea with milk
-sweet pea soup with tarragon (theres some culinary rule about no liquid with a liquid course, sigh)
-mini roast beef, watercress and radish sandwiches with Earl Grey (I did contemplate Lady Grey)
-strawberry mint compote with shortcakes and hibiscus tea
I love little tea parties!!!!!!
mmm...yum
i'm visualizing tea aspic or tea jello...somehow tea in gelatinous cubes to bypass the liquid+liquid taboo. or possibly tea leather or tea noodles.
I've tried all the fancies
Earl Gray and Lady too, Lapsang and Orange Pekoe. I've finally allowed green tea and chai latte in to my regime and each it has its place. I like them all. But at 3pm you can't beat a good strong cuppa and it's got to be PG Tips!
dressing for tea
adds a whole other dimension
Everyday!!
Thanks Erin!
I get the strangest looks when i tell people my big mug is tea and not coffee! I drink Tazo Green tea every morning! My day does not start out as well when i am not able to partake in my morning ritual. I am a Southerner true and true--we drink it morning-noon-night!
Thanks for the node! :)
"Part of the pleasure of tea
"Part of the pleasure of tea is the choice of cup and saucer." You can also use them for practicing the fine art of juggeling, it gives a special care for avoid to drop out. it as well work with crystal glass
Have a cup of Cha
Tea is nothing but this:
first boil water
then infuse the tea
drink it properly
there is nothing else to know.
-- Sen no Rikyū, 1590
Cha wisdom
xie xie ms moon,
Your enlightened thoughts have always eclipsed many...
CM
Tea is great
99% of the time I have 2 drinks Tea or ice water. I got started on coffee while in the service and noticed after awhile I didn't feel as good and seemed to get sick more often. Could have been all in my mind - don't know. Also noticed that coffee didn't taste as good as tea and that morning coffee just isn't nearly as good as morning tea.
Now I may have 2 cups of coffee a year just to remind myself why I drink tea.
btfan2
i love my leaves...
Tea triggers my passion. The aroma arouses me. Its titilating taste invigorates me and stirs every waking moment of my day. The unbearable lightness of tea …
Tea with milk…tea with sugar…tea with scones…tea in a fancy tea cup…
I like mine bare and naked…
CM
I love my teas, too - though
I love my teas, too - though some of the herbal can be exotic at times, kind of perfummy - I tend to drink my tea black and unsweetened. But every once in awhile, I do milk and some sugar to remind me of drinking tea with my nana, as a kid.
I like doing some of the cleansing herbals from time to time. I love black tea and green tea...and array of others.
The one thing I hate is fake tea. If it's not fresh brewed or sun brewed - KEEP IT?! I don't want it.
I grew up on fresh brewed ice-t with fresh wild mint from the garden - anything less is an insult.
I still have my nana's old metal tea infuser (bag) - it's small and on a chain. It looks almost like an acorn...
I love coffee, but I love relaxing with tea
rovermom :)
Life is a 3D puzzle and everyone has a piece!
NEW! OurChart Photo Assignment and My Blog
Ginger and Chai
I too am a tea-lover. I'd definitely take it over coffee and lattes. The whole process, whether it be instant or hours long is always enjoyable, especially when I can pass it on to my nephews and nieces. I've yet to find a tea I don't like, but an infusion of ginger, cinnamon, and/or chai, is my current fave. Actually, in the past six months, just about any food/drink with chai tastes amazing to me...
the variety of spice
spices are so thrilling. sometimes i go on a ginger jag and just start hurling it into almost anything i'm moving around in a frying pan planning to consume. or nutmeg. these are truly gifts of the gods.
i was delighted my chai today was not the packaged kind, but made inhouse so it didn't come way over-pre-sweetened.
I love the stuff....
...., drink it a few times a day and unlike coffee, which leaves me feeling somewhat dehydrated, tea is far more refreshing :).
**************************************************
♥ I firmly believe that the only opinions that matter are those of people that we know, love and respect. The rest is just noise ♥
tea is splendid...
it's great to see a blog devoted to it!
& that's a lovely, somewhat archaic camellia sinensis illustration.
tea is fucking great. how
tea is fucking great. how can people not drink tea? it's not as good as coffee, but still.
My Fav
I love republic tea ginger peach and vanilla almond. I miss my pots, cups and saucers since moving to a small place a few years ago. I hope to open a tea room one day
The ritual
One of the best parts of drinking tea is the ritual of preparation, serving and sipping. I also think of it as a celebration of women, the teapot a kind of womb with steeping being a symbol for gestation. A woman I dated for awhile had oolong imported from China. When preparing it, she timed the whole process, including the cooling of the boiling water and the exact 4 minutes of steeping. That seemed a little over the top to me, but it was her way of enjoying the ritual.
Your blog stirred up a question, though. I used to consider myself a "free radical." Do you think tea is responsible for softening my edges? Could those antioxidants have worn down my inner anarchist?
Lezbeth
lol
lol
tea frees
the real you, beyond labels.
Absolutely LOVE
High Tea/Afternoon Tea! It's been a while since I have been out and enjoyed it formally with Porcelain Cups, saucers and teers of small plates offering fresh fruit, scones & tiny sandwiches sans crust...
*** ***
"Take into account that great love and great achievements involve great risk." -- Dali Lama
Tea heals
My gf and I were up to all hours two nights ago making tea - 4 hours to brew this wonderful Chinese concoction her accupuncturist gave her. It was a healing experience, leaving a smell that helped erase the remnants of our recent unfortunate kitchen calamity. I am nourished too by the thought of all that went into that life-giving tea now beginning its return to earth as compost. Thanks for your reverent tribute to the leaves!
~paz y amor siempre
2 cups daily
No milk. I love tea. Except the fruit flavours some brands carry. Pommegranate tea is somehow not fun.
hibiscus is lovely though
surprisingly refreshing, chilled. with a mint leaf.
povitica
don't think it's ever crossed my lips. i googled it for pix. looks tasty but i've kinda gone off white flour, which limits my intake of the world's finest pastries. i always make an exception for french stuff.
Chocolate chip cream cheese.......
with anything!
Nothing but love
Tex
you're uppin' the ante, Tex
CCCC... i'm not sure i'd do that now.
I'm all in .......
with the warmed chocolate chip cream cheese swirled bread!
Nothing but love
Tex
Tea!!
Everywhere I go I introduce the wonderfulness of tea to people. Most people in my life swear they hate tea but it isn't even a year before they buy boxes for themselves...
Is anyone else as picky as me? I don't drink coffee and I can't stand it when tea, or even hot water is made with a coffee pot because I can taste it!
I miss being in the UK, lots and lots of tea, and good little tea shops everywhere...
Leaves of the Gods.....
Earle Grey 'Misto' with a blueberry scone was my 'breakfast' when I went to Tiffany's while in New York.....skinny Chai is my Starbucks drink of choice....decaf green while recuperating from the flu....and regular ol' Lipton's (decaf) when making the Southern iced tea for everyday.
I drink hot tea from a clear cup to see the beauty of the liquid ....
Nothing but love
Tex
Don't forget the lady
I also love Lady Grey, along with Earl and, of course, green tea. The Grey's have to be with natural sugar, the green with honey for me :)
~paz y amor siempre
black with citrus
all the bergamots, what the french call "goût russe" or "russian taste" or maybe "taste of russia," not to be confused with smoky "russian caravan" which is usually some lapsang souchong sort of affair (also lovely in its way, at its hour).
lady grey is nice, especially in loose leaf form, with cornflowers adding blue highlights.
chinatown has so much to offer at super-reasonable price & wide range of the classics they invented. for cheap grassy green, i find salada brand hard to beat, though. i get it at (eek) target.
Ah, yes, the honey.......
One of my first purchases, when I reach a traveling destination, is the honey from the region.......
Nothing but love
Tex
Tea = LOVE!
Speaking as a serious stereotypical british tea guzzeler i truly believe there is no greater drink! My day doesn't begin till i've had a cup, and its a dead cert that i'll have drunk many more before finally hitting the sack!
Thankyou for this blog: a blog in full celebration of tea...thats my kind of blog! LOL
On a side note i'd like to add that i have quit having sugar in my tea (i used to have two in every cup...now factoring in the quantity of cups i drink everyday that is a pretty large amount of sugar!) and it is no less enjoyable! In fact it's even better... long live tea! lmao <3
Nah i still gotta have milk
Nah i still gotta have milk in it...i guess i'm way more english than i thought! lol
I mean yeah the whole concept of putting milk and sugar into water and then drinking it has always struck me as kinda strange but for years that was the only way i could drink it! i guess it was my way of weaning myself onto 'adult' drink...who knows, give me a few years and maybe i'll be a sucker for black coffee... i doubt it though :D
I do admit that green tea is pretty darn good too though, and sooooo good for ya!
no milk, either
i did just drink some chai, outside an indian resto, with milk'n'honey, but usually i take my tea "nature" as the french say, unadulterated.
years ago, for years, i drank it the brit way, with a ton of milk in strong black tea. a meal in a cup. that was before i discovered green.
I've always thought it was
I've always thought it was weird to put milk and sugar in tea. My sister puts two sugars even in green tea. Bizarro.
I love tea, though. Jasmine-green is my particular favorite, sometimes a little oolong in there is nice, too, like "Chinese Restaurant Tea." It's sort of a tradition with the women in my family, when something auspicious is looming on the horizon, like a baby, or a wedding, or even Mother's Day, to go to a fancy schmancy tearoom and have high tea. Or to do a tea social at someone's home. I thought it would be hokey before I ever experienced an actual tea party, but there's something delightful about the ritual of it. Plus, yanno, the food. Gods, the food! So good.
tea parties
i threw a few tea parties whilst inhabiting an edwardian in the mission district. i served several different types of tea & finger foods & after an hour or so the place starts BUZZING. folks get REALLY HIGH off tea. it's such fun experiencing everyone getting really wound up. the conversation flies.
Oh...
... to be a fly on the wall at one of your tea parties...
cake stand
will be your perch
Samovar...
Aww. I miss that place. I loved the apple, cheese, and honey plate, among other things. Otherwise, I drink decaf, iced green tea with lemon all day long. My thingummies should be okay, right?
judging by your photo
your thingummies are raring to go.