Time for Tea

  5 Minute Read | Taking tea gives us a moment of repose. Make it a beautiful moment.

Pour yourself a cup of tea and relax with our meditations. Learn about tea lore. Explore the history and medicinal uses for tea. Learn to follow your inner divine guidance and try your hand at the ancient art of tea leaf reading. Participate in an ancient Japanese tea ritual. Relax and enjoy! Cheers!

The Importance of The Moment  — Time for Tea

Stopping in for tea during our busy lives is important. We often forget ways to relax and contemplate life. We would benefit from reevaluating our priorities and incorporating ways to relax. The good news is this is happening more and more. We are seeing Eastern methods of relaxation techniques with yoga and tai chi as well as all the tea offered in conjunction with the abundant coffee shops. Hopefully this is a reflection that we are trying to become more Zen-like. 

Tea for Two and Two for Tea ...

When sharing tea with friends we share the day's lovely or sad moments, laugh and perhaps shed a tear or two. Tea and sympathy. 

Tea time can enhance intimacy and communication between couples, providing a dedicated moment to connect and share experiences. This ritual fosters a sense of closeness and can strengthen relationships over time. Let's take a lesson from our British, Russian, Asian and Indian friends and take time for tea; I mean really do it - take tea. Let us not lose another precious moment.

Tea Accoutrements

There is a burgeoning tea market with beautiful, incredible teas from around the world, plus tea cozies, pots and accessories ... even teacup candles. Don't forget the ever-important delectable edible teatime accessories - delicious Cucumber Flower Canapés, Strawberry–Chicken Salad Tea Sandwiches, Ambrosia Scones, Lime Petits Fours, Chocolate-Pecan Derby Tartlets, French Rose Macarons, cookies and breads; jellies, curds, and clotted creams. Yum!

One lump or two? – Mrs. Euphegenia Doubtfire There is a great deal of poetry and fine sentiment in a chest of tea. – Emerson Remember the tea kettle - its always up to its neck in hot water, yet it still sings! – Anon A little Princess ... it's always teatime. – Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland There's alot to be said for a tea tray in bed. – Spinelli Tea. Earl Grey. Hot. – Jean-Luc Picard, Star Trek Next Gen Picture you, upon my knee, Just tea for two and two for tea. – Irving Caesar Doing nothing is respectable at tea. – Sasaki Sanmi You can discuss anything over tea and crumpets. – Michael Capp A true warrior, like tea, shows his strength in hot water. – Chinese Proverb

  Just Take Five  — Mini Meditations and Healthy Calmatives

Take Five Minutes and R-e-l-a-x, from Sipping Tea to Conscious Breathing, These Tips Can Create Calm

Healthy Tea

Let us also remember the many health benefits of drinking tea. Herbal, black and green teas are Mother Nature's remedy for our maladies. A soothing cup of tea neutralizes 'free radical' agents, which can damage cells and lead to disease. Flavonoids, (contained in tea) also have a role in preventing heart disease by lowering cholesterol. And some property in tea appears to help the brain 're-deploy' from one task to another refreshing the parts even caffeine cannot.

Tea Leaf Divination  — Tasseography

Ahh, now ... you have savoured your cup of darjeeling tea, nibbled a lemon curd-dipped cranberry walnut scone, and have taken a moment to contemplate life. Hmm.

To complete the moment, consider the ancient art of tea leaf reading. Like identifying shapes in an azure blue sky's clouds, tea divination gives us a chance to gaze into our emptied cup with our thoughts focused on a single question.

Tasseography is a divination or fortune-telling method that interprets patterns in tea leaves, coffee grounds, or wine sediments

As you go through our step-by-step guide, remember to "Broaden your minds, my dears, and allow your eyes to see past the mundane!" — Professor Sibyll Trelawney, Divination, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

1. Allow for one spoonful of tea and sediment at the cup's bottom
2. Think of your question
3. Swirl your cup gently
4. Tip over onto saucer
5. Right the cup and whatever is nearer you is your immediate future, toward the bottom of the cup is further into the future

Do you see a symbolic answer in your cup? Tasseography Symbol Chart  

In my own hands I hold a bowl of tea; I see all of nature represented in its green color. Closing my eyes I find green mountains and pure water within my own heart. Silently sitting alone and drinking tea, I feel these become a part of me.
- Soshitsu Sen, Grandmaster XIV, Urasenke School of Tea

Chado  — Japanese Tea Ceremony

At the center of the Upper East Side town house where the Urasenke tea school is located, there is a garden surrounded by tearooms. A skylight creates the impression that it is outside — and a world away from the city streets. One of the innovations made by Sen Rikyu was requiring all visitors to the teahouse to enter from the garden through a small crawl space — making everyone equal, whether a shogun or a peasant.

The ceremony features intricate performances as the tea is prepared, and a thick tea ceremony can last as long as four hours. During a thick tea ceremony, there is silence. At a thin tea ceremony, talking is permitted, but only about the ceremony itself.

“There is no politics,” Mr. Yamada said. “No talk about who will be president in America or prime minister in Japan.”

While a tea ceremony might seem out of step with the pace of modern life, the Urasenke school has a waiting list for students. “Once you begin the study of tea, it becomes a lifetime thing,” he said. As for those who think they are too busy to make time for tea, “You discover that you are not as busy as you think you are.” - Hisashi Yamada, certified tea master Source | Visit the school