When I settled into my new cubicle in the West Los Angeles branch of AXA Equitable seven weeks ago, I felt a little like a fish out of water.  For the first time in my life, other than during short summer stints during college working at the SPCA and in a flower shop, I was not sitting among IT folks – you know, programmers, testers, integrators, and technicians.  Instead, I was the lone IT person in a sea of financial advisors and their support staff.  Not that I am complaining.  For me, it just meant that forging relationships would require a bit more creativity.  And that is where tea, once again, came to my rescue.

Little by little, I made the rounds, trying to catch folks when they were in their offices, not on the phone, and not meeting with clients.  Not an easy task.  For my fellow early birds, morning seemed to be the best time to stop by, introduce myself, and make small talk.  Turns out, I started with the branch manager, himself an early riser.  The first time I met him, he was sitting quietly at his desk, sipping a cup of – you guessed it – tea!  He welcomed me warmly and our conversation quickly turned to the wonderful world of tea – its health benefits and delicious variety.  Before long, he opened his desk drawer and handed me a small cake of what I assumed was Pu-erh.  He explained that it had been a gift, but he had no idea how to prepare it.  I promised I would find out.  I had my first assignment, and it was related to tea!

Not having had much experience with Pu-erh and its proper preparation, I turned to T Ching’s own SandyBushberg, who provided me with step-by-step instructions.  The resulting tea was strong, clean, and slightly earthy.  Both the branch manager and I enjoyed it.  We have since discovered we have other things in common, including a connection to Turkey, but it was our love of tea that started our relationship off on the right foot.

Thankfully, there are no Lipton tea bags in the kitchen at work and the only coffee available is the caffeinated kind, which I always avoid.  So I keep several loose-leaf teas at my desk, along with all the necessary steeping paraphernalia, and make a point of preparing myself a cup of tea at least twice a day.  Now, other folks around the office are beginning to notice.  I have been pleasantly surprised by how interested people are in my daily tea ritual and how many folks have announced to me that they themselves are strictly tea people.  Needless to say, I am thrilled.  My next step?  Perhaps I’ll start a once-a-week tea day, offering a couple of teas to sample.  As always with tea, the possibilities are limitless.

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