Spot of Tea

I started diving more deeply into tea (types, brewing, practice, etc.) a year or two ago, and it’s really offered me a lot. Initially, it offered me a cool little hobby thing I did on my own. Later on, it offered me online and in-person community. It offers me another way to connect with my partner and something we can do to drop in together. The wares are cool, the teas taste good, the body effects can sometimes be surprising and profound alterations of our default state; there’s a lot to be said for tea as something to include in my life. I’ve been trying to reflect on how all of the shitty things I make habits of are manifested in my tea habits as well. Consumerism re: wares and teas, “hype” or “FOMO” attitudes towards releases by popular vendors, know-it-all-ness around tea specifics or quality, luxury posturing (trying to appear wealthy, cultured, etc.) based on a niche interest, indulgence in mindless media scrolling (earlier IG, then Discord) that feeds all of these… it’s an unfortunately large list, and this one is by no means comprehensive. Nothing about the tea is bad; all of these things that I do, more or less “about” the tea really suck for me, and they can make stuff suck for those around me. Removing myself from most of the online community around it has helped significantly. I am trying to drink the tea I have and simply enjoy that experience, and share it with people I care about whenever it makes sense to do so. I find that meditative tea sessions alone anymore are few and far between; I tried one this morning and couldn’t sit for it nearly as easily as I would have some time ago. Hopefully that’s something that can come back with practice.