Tea is a love affair and for me it properly took off when I was fifteen. Prior to that, I used to be addicted to coffee but over the years my coffee consumption has become something of an annual engagement. Do not get me wrong, I don’t particularly dislike coffee but its hold on my heart has waned. So now for me drinking it is like a nostalgic exercise.
Tea on the other hand for me is almost a sacred experience and I prefer to share my tea-moment with someone who doesn’t cloud my ‘aura’ as probably Phoebe from FRIENDS would put it.
Tea is obviously not a new fascination. It revolutionised trade and became suddenly the past time that everyone in the west wanted to indulge in. It even gave competition to the coffee houses of England.
Each community and culture has its own way of approaching tea. Most have raised it to an art form and have stylised ways of appreciating it. For instance, in Japan, the ceremony for drinking tea is already known. The thing is, while it is stylised, it is also a humble and philosophical experience. The ceremony is called sadou – way of the tea. It implies that tea will bring you to a better understanding of self or maybe even a dismissal of self.
I believe every tea has a story and sometimes it is the story that comes up between the tea and the drinker of the tea. So I want to tell you stories about tea, its history, and my recipes of perfect brews. I also want to discover new teas and share them with you. I have my preference for non-milk tea but I’m going to explore even the so-called scorned territory of milk tea.
So let’s embark on this journey, for the love of tea.
This is a blog. I write it. 