My Story About Tea (WIMTM 8)

If I had to come up with a food or drink that needs to have a WIMTM post, it would have be tea (provided potatoes could not be reached for comment). In just the past several years, I have gone from a ‘tea-totaller” (clever, huh?) to someone who drinks nearly every day.

Age of Discovery

When I was a kid, my family didn’t have any morning drink rituals. My dad didn’t drink any coffee at all until nearly the time I moved out of the house, and my mother has never drunk a hot beverage, aside from a requisite hot chocolate around the holidays.

In November 2005, I made it to Ireland for the first time, to the wedding of one of my wife’s many cousins there. We had the good fortune to stay just outside of Dublin at the home of one of her uncle’s, one of my father-in-law’s many brothers.

While we stayed at their house, and during the wedding a number of Irish traditions were pushed in my direction: Tayto, King Crisp (which seems to be partnered with Tayto in some mind-blowing potato chip empire), blood pudding, Tesco, a restaurant by Bono, which I’d thought was called Edun, but doesn’t seem to pan out in the research today, and more candy bar types than I could ever imagine consuming in a week’s time.

Among the at-home variety were breakfasts of fancy sausage, and a pile of fries in a newspaper, my kind of dining. My wife’s aunt forced some bagged tea upon me, and I was not a fan, but I did my part as she informed me that there was no way around it, if I was in Ireland.

Within a few years, I got into bagged grocery-store tisanes with whimsical names like Sleepytime and Serene Moments. At this point, Camellia sinensis was still quite unwelcome on my palate. These herbal “teas” got me in a habit, at least, of drinking warm drinks, enjoying the feel of a hot glass on my hands, and calming myself in the morning. It coincided with a period of years during which my well-being had its share of ups and downs. This morning ritual, a tea bag dug from a small tupperware labeled “Ricky’s Tea”, helped to ground me.

I can’t remember what my first loose leaf purchase was, or whether it may have been a gift. Unfortunately, that element to the story must be left out. Suffice it to say, however, that at some point during this period, I ended up with some loose leaf tea and a single-serving Ingenuitea tea pot from Amazon. Around the same time, my wife and I bought a multiple cup Bodum tea press for home use together. Early on, I burned everything. I was forever trying to answer the related questions of how long? how much? and how hot? It seemed impossible. Recent historical Facebook statuses of mine, lovingly supplied to me daily by Timehop Abe, attest to the fact that I was forever ruining batches of tea five years ago this spring. I was very much into green tea initially, finding the blacks to be too bitter for my taste (I know now that I was using too much, and steeping too long). I’d frequently burn my green tea at home, and steep it too long at work. But, the delicate balance was all part of the adventure. And each achievement was a milestone.

World of Exploration

Along the way, there were so many exciting discoveries.

When I first discovered jasmine pearls, I was blown away by their artful “design”. The way they unfolded in the pot, the subtle flavor they protected. It was amazing. I burned a ton of it back in the day, but over time, I became a master. I enjoyed Adagio‘s, and eventually fell in love with a few batches I bought from the Tea Trekker of Northampton, Massachusetts. On one of my first visits, I bought the Tea Trekker’s handbook and things finally started to come into place. I learned immediately that each variety of tea has its own peculiarities, and that each requires a different brewing technique. That was a game-changer.

I remember another time, when I was at a training day at Adobe in Waltham, Massachusetts, and made certain that I tried everything free that was on offer. Among the biscuits and sodas, I steeped a bag of African Nectar by Mighty Leaf. It was like nothing I’d ever tasted in my life, because it was nothing I’d ever tasted in my life. I had to perform quite a bit of research, and learned that I had drunk my first cups of rooibos tea that afternoon. I love it for its ability to steep all day without burning or getting bitter. This past Christmas, my sister-in-law gave me one of the sweetest gifts: a double-barreled glass travel mug, complete with strainer, all the better for a long brew of any of my favorite rooibos flavors.

There was another time, when a student employee of mine, knowing my interest, gave me a gift of lapsang souchong that he’d grown up on in his home town in Connecticut. At first I couldn’t imagine how anyone would be able to palate such a strong, smoky drink. Surely I’d get lung cancer just from smelling it! But over time, and a fair amount of curious research into the manner in which it’s prepared, I’ve come to love it as one of my favorites, and I have been drinking a batch nearly every morning for months.

Each times someone approaches me and we begin to talk tea, I learn something, and I teach something. There’s a joy in having a common ground.

All told, we’re looking at five years of grand memories. I feel like tea actually makes me a better person. And it most certainly helps me enjoy life more.

One of my most cherished traditions now is the drinking of a flowering tea ball on special days like my birthday and anniversary. This past week, Timehop showed me four different years’ worth of photos of my flowering birthday tea.

As with so many other things in life, tea stirs in me a variety of personal feelings. Pride to be a member of my wife’s family, where I first tasted tea. Joy in solitude. Celebratory moments. Memories of friends. New friends, like Jenny and Eo at Virtuous Teas in Newton, Massachusetts. In each case, I feel comfort in knowing how my life can change in such a short period of time. Just five years ago, I could barely stand to taste tea. I’d only recently drunk my first few cups, out of politeness, and now, things are so different. A life can change when you least expect it.