Terry

The JOY of Tea-and More

A Beginning

In 1980, on a cruise aboard Auf Wiedersehen to “Little Norway” (Poulsbo, Washington), I found a pretty blue pottery tea pot at the hardware store-it was my “first”. I knew nothing about tea-I had experimented some herbals, but Lipton was my idea of tea. I found (on the top of Queen Anne Hill) a small tea shop, Tea Cup, and my first guru, Frederic. So started “a rest of my life” affair with this fantastic leaf.

An Education

In the 20’teens, I traveled the country getting an education and earned Certified Tea Specialist (CTS) certification. Having a Tea Room and Store, I had the opportunity to give presentations and classes around the Boise area for a few years-I certainly ENJOYED being the center of attention.

What is Tea?

When I (we, in the tea world) say “tea” I am referring to the leaf of Camellia Sinensis ( a cousin of our garden camellia bushes)-NOT chamomile, mint, cinnamon etc.. In our country, we have a tenacity to call anything we soak in hot water “tea”-these are tisanes, herbal teas, infusions or other drinks. Tea contains caffeine-not actually a dirty word (although much less than coffee in quantity). The leaf of Camellia Sinensis contains many compounds that help our JOY, L-Theanine is one of the most powerful (among the benefits of this is increased mind functioning). We say that “Tea energizes and relaxes you”. Hmm.

Camellia Sinensis is native to China and was carried to Eurasia overland on the backs of camels and to Europe on the Clipper Ships. The British brought tea production to India and Ceylon.

There are five types of tea:

White, not oxidized
Green, slightly oxidized
Oolong, partially oxidized
Black, fully oxidized
Pu Ehr, dry fermented (no alcohol) and aged

All types come from this one tree, which has only two varieties- Camellia Sinensis and Camellia Assamica. Pretty COOL!

Purchasing tea in the stores or online-there are basically three quite different styles:

RTD-Ready to Drink (all those bottles and cans), more than 60% of sales
Tea Bags-Everyone knows these, 20-30% of sales
Loose Leaf-Harder to find and my personal daily drinkers, less than 3% of sales

I am a black tea person- 3 pots most days.

This is not the place to launch a discussion of the benefits of tea on the human body-I do promote the benefits of tea on the human “situation” (AKA Mind and Spirit).

Drinking Tea-Customs, Rituals and Ceremonies

I am strongly of the opinion that each person should explore different ways to ENJOY this wonderful lifestyle (it could become more than a beverage, it is to me). I believe that there is no “right or wrong” way-as they sometimes say “whatever floats your boat…” is just what you should do. I, personally, “do” the English style-china tea pots and cups and saucers (two pots after awakening and one pot in mid to late afternoon).

If you are looking for an ENJOYABLE moment in your life, you might explore this experience!