Tuesday June 5, 2007 | 6 comments
We lead such hectic lives these days, and it seems like we never have time to stop and “smell the roses,” so to speak. I had an experience yesterday that made me curious as to which part of the tea ritual has the ability to get us to stop and be fully in the present, even if just for a moment.
I am currently traveling on the east coast for business. Michelle and I have been rushing around all week going from one meeting to another. We barely have time to catch our breaths just long enough before collapsing into our beds at night, feeling totally exhausted.
On one of the evenings after a meeting and other related errands during the day, we stopped by to visit a contributor to our website who lives in Manhattan. Soon after arriving, they offered us tea, which we enthusiastically welcomed. It was a sencha that our kind host had brought back from her trip to Japan.
After the tea was poured, I held the pot, removed the lid, stuck my big nose into the opening and inhaled deeply several times. It was heavenly! During those few moments of inhaling the aroma of the tea leaves, I was forcefully catapulted back to the present. I realized, after the fact and upon further reflection, that of all the different aspects of my tea ritual, for me, nothing seems to remove me from the frenetic pace of the day and bring me more powerfully into the present than the fragrance of tea. At times it can be the visual beauty of the dry leaves or the ballet of the bubbles in the pot. And certainly, the delicious taste of the tea does it often as well. But as I reflect back, I realize that nothing else brings me so quickly, so powerfully and so consistently into the present, blocking out all other stimuli from my environment, like the aroma of tea can. No matter what I may be doing or where my head may be at the time, it’s always that first scent of tea that brings me back to the here and now.
What I would like to know from the community is what does it for you? What aspect of your tea ritual ushers you most powerfully and most consistently back to the present?
When hot water splashes on me or when I accidentally burn my fingers while holding my Yixing…those usually bring me back to the present most powerfully :)
Kidding aside, each step of gongfu brewing method requires a presence of mind and careful attention. The most rewarding part of the ritual — I agree with you Sandy — is during the smelling and tasting of the tea and the leaves, especially when it’s brewed right.
I agree with you Sandy that the aroma is probably the most intensively experienced sensation of tea. To me personally, it doesn’t bring me back to the present but rather stimulates my imagination and takes me away from the (too often drab) present. The aroma of sencha has a special effect on me as well. It is probably the most concentrated aroma of any tea (but this subjective impression is perhaps due to the “sharpness” of the smell) and I love it very much.
I think the power of tea aroma to have such a strong effect on our consciousness is closely related to the role that the human sense of smell plays in our emotional life. While childhood photos can bring back a faint memory of a situation (and maybe some memory of feelings, too), certain smells can transport me instantly into my mother’s kitchen during my childhood. This feeling is much more immediate than a memory and has an almost physical aspect to it.
Thank you for stimulating our reflection about tea appreciation with your article. All too often, we read about facts related to subjects we’re interested in, but our emotional involvement is not often investigated.
Well said, Jo!
Yes, Jo. Scientifically it relates to the fact that despite all of us (or at least most of us) having a neocortex that provides much higher brain function and more analytical abilities, we all still possess that original, primitive part of our brains. This old brain, also known as the rhinencephalon (smell brain) still has powerful roots to the importance of smell for survival purposes. Although we have long ago lost much of our sensitivity and need for survival functions, it still has the ability to create and store very powerful smell memories that can literally catapult us somewhere else as you had suggested.
When I referred to how the aroma brings me back to the present, I was referring only to the fact that although I can carry on multiple tasks when drinking tea and be more caught up in the task than the tea, the aroma somehow stops everything else and all I am aware of in that moment is the wonderful assault on my olfactory sense.
Well, this Old Man is a novice to all this discovery process, and literally to the product itself. I’ll let you intellectuals carry on the philosophical and clinical treatise on tea. Telling you only of my recent (about 3 months ago) discovery of Shou Mei “sowmee” China White. I look forward each time to preparing and steeping this product so. I keep it as a special treat. To me it’s what true appreciation of the “leaf” has become. That and reading this wonderful blog each day. Both relax me and brings me to (as you say Sandy) the “present”. Thank You All, most especially you today Sandy, for making us think about what is most important. Focus, pacing ourselves, and enjoyment of our favorite beverage….PJF
The scent of tea is very powerful for me also – the dry leaf as well as the brewed. First thing when I receive tea in the mail, I have to smell it…and that is what captures my whole attention for that moment in time. In much the same way, before I brew any tea, I smell the dry leaves. The teas I truly enjoy and focus on are those that catch my attention with that first whiff out of the package…if it’s not aromatic before I brew it, I never seem to get “into†the drinking quite as much either.
But I’ve been known to be completely distracted at work by the scent of a wonderful tea…definitely puts me in that “tea mind†state to relax and escape, if only for a minute.