12.08.09
Tea times
posted by Rebecca Doverspike | 7 comments
As crucial as the herbs and spices that create a flavorful tea are the circumstances that surround its consumption. Tea steeps the stories that are created while we drink it, and allows us to recollect those stories the next time we taste it.
Once, my friend Alex put googly eyes on various objects in her kitchen, breathing a sort of magical realism into them. The microwave was animated; the cupboards suddenly had a soul. We made up stories about her two tea kettles, their eyes facing each other on the stove top, while we waited for the water to heat. One of them - silver and old - shook with age as the water reached the boiling point and steam whistled through the kitchen, while the other remained calm as the water shifted temperatures. They were in love; one stood by the other, even as its joints and bones trembled. The one that remained polished felt charmed by the other’s rust, knowing it was a gathering of experience in its body. Despite its faltering hips, its voice still rose in a pitch that brought to mind the nostalgia of a distant train at dusk. In the warm light of the kitchen, we knew we would someday feel nostalgic for those very moments as we absorbed them; that time seeped into us for all time as we drank lemon, chamomile, and Earl Grey teas. The warm, smooth, and colorful flavors of the teas blended with those worn and polished voices to breathe new life into us with each drink.
Once, after my heart was broken, my friend Katrina took me to a tea house. She listened to the cluster of dried and fragmented words falling from my voice. We ordered Chai and I recollected the nasal voice of a man strolling the aisles of a train in India droning “chai chai coffee chai” throughout the trip. This tea - full of strong, aromatic, and subtle spices - was served with honey and warm milk in a quaint saucer with a tiny lip to pour. The cloves, cardamom, and ginger, combined with the soft silky texture of warm milk and thick honey, filled my heart. With each sip, I felt as if I were drinking in a whole landscape, not just tea contained in one cup. The voices of the people I’d met in the Himalayan Mountains came back to me as when one reads a long loved poem aloud. The presence of Katrina’s heart and the full-bodied embrace of that Chai quieted me as I basked in its all-encompassing deliciousness.
December 8th, 2009 at 12:12 pm
I have found that many wonderful occasion have paired with a delicious cup of tea. These associations can be brought back with a visual cue or a familiar scent in the same way that an old song can deliver me to the era when I first heard it playing. I love that tea can do that for me.
My favorite recollection from my childhood was the scent of burning leaves in the fall. That smell transports me to my youth in New Jersey where leaf burning was a ritual that will never be forgotten - hot chocolate was sure to follow - this obviously predated my transition into tea. I suspect my daughter will hold fondly our cozy sunday morning’s in front of the fire with a cup of tea in hand.
December 8th, 2009 at 5:49 pm
Ummmm, the smell of burning leaves, what an aroma!
December 11th, 2009 at 12:25 pm
Tea is not just a beverage, it is an experience - a way of being in the world. Your article paints this for us.
December 11th, 2009 at 3:25 pm
Michelle,
Yes, I love that the visual cue or familiar scent of tea can do that as well! I, too, love the smell of burning leaves in the fall. I’ve only experienced it from WI, rather than New Jersey, but I can understand the depth of that memory (and transportation to it…) I bet your daughter will fondly recollect those sunday mornings with tea by the fire. What kind of tea does she like at this time in her life? It’s interesting how we feel nostalgia for certain past times in our lives… but also experience the present knowing we’ll feel a deep nostalgia for it in the future. I feel like that realization deepens the experience of the present, actually. You write about your memory so well; it was wonderful to read. Thank you for sharing.
December 11th, 2009 at 3:26 pm
Evorio,
Indeed. : )
December 11th, 2009 at 3:32 pm
Jennifer loves white tea and her current favorite is a tisane of licorice mint.
December 27th, 2009 at 12:00 pm
very sharp and small story… ’sipping the tea estate’ — superb.. god has blessed you with beautiful heart that sees more than your eyes do.
wonderful writing