How many years did I drink bad coffee, then good coffee, until I finally learned about the beauty of a good cup of tea?
When I was little, my grandmother would make me “coffee” to drink while we watched Lassie. I think it was actually 80 percent milk with a few drops of coffee, and a lot of sugar, but when drunk out of a pewter cup while watching my favorite show with one of my favorite people, it seemed divine.
Years later, in my last semester of high school, I started to imbibe the instant “international” coffees, which probably give America a reputation for internationally bad taste in food and drink. This lasted until I found organic shade-grown coffee that I graduated to my first few years in college, which gave me the stamina to complete all those inconsequential critiques of other people’s work.
Once I became pregnant, I began to feel that my six to eight cups of coffee a day would not suffice for establishing fetal health. I needed to cease my habit, quickly. I did so, I am proud to say, cold turkey. It did not help, however, that all my classes were located above a cafeteria and a small snack shop from which the scent of percolating coffee was omnipresent. That smell permeated my entire day whenever I had to be in that building.
At some point, I realized that I needed to replace this strong hot beverage with something else I could enjoy if not equally, than at least similarly. Remembering my mom’s stash of Celestial Seasonings samplers in her kitchen at home, I put them on our grocery list. Hmmm. Caffeine-free for the most part, very tasty, especially with honey, tea seemed to be a good start.
However, to make it the way I’d learned (heating a mug-full of water on HIGH in the microwave for one minute, with teabag inserted, then adding honey after removing) seemed slightly dangerous to me early in my pregnancy. We had a microwave, but using it did not appeal to me… it simply freaked me out. I preferred not to use or stand next to them, and have rarely used one since.
So, it was probably six to nine months later, once we moved to our next house west of the Boulevard in Richmond, complete with my own microwave-free kitchen, that I began to master the art of tea.
First, have an abundance of excellent dried leaves, either organic loose-leaf tea, or a good bagged tea made with organic and fair-trade ingredients. Best yet, an assembly of potted or planted herbs good for drinking.
Some of our favorite teas were Yogi Tea‘s Cocoa Spice, or Vanilla Hazelnut, or Celestial Seasoning’s English Breakfast Tea. For growing, I prefer chocolate mint, anise hyssop, peppermint, or lemon grass.
Heat one cup of water for every tea bag or tea spoonful of fried herb that you plan to use. Add an extra spoonful or two for the pot, if you are doing a pot’s worth instead of individual tea bags and cups’ worth.
Before putting he lid on, breathe in deeply the aroma of the freshly steaming herbs, give thanks and bless the tea so that it will nourish you and those around you.
If you do individual tea cups, pour the water over the herbs and top each cup with a small saucer to all the taste to fully permeate the entire cup. Wait three minutes, adding 1-2 teaspoons of honey if so desired, but try the tea first to see if it’s really necessary. Good herbs usually negate the need for anything beyond a grateful and receptive heart.
Stir with a teaspoon clockwise twelve times, then counter-clockwise just three to oxygenate and infuse the tea with a loving vibe; whether the cup is for a friend, or for yourself, and enjoy deeply. Try to speak as little as possible when drinking the tea , or to speak of good things, like dreams and love. This is tea time, not happy hour…share heavy stuff on some other occasion.
Tea time is, or can be, a meditation on how the day is going, and how it can go, and one of the nicest and simplest luxuries you can offer yourself is to brew a cup, and drink often. And if you find your tea habit is beginning to cost you, invest in a few good mints and balms for the garden, and you won’t be disappointed. You will be asking soon, with absolutely no apprehension: “Anyone care for some tea?”