Dear sweet common people, pour yourselves a cup of tea, and lend a hopeful ear to my wisdom. I wish to educate you a bit.

Have you heard of William E. Gladstone? He was Prime Minister of England in the late nineteenth century. You Americans were off on your own by then, doing your own thing, but I’m sure you kept tabs on your Homeland. Gladstone, known as the “Grand Old Man,” was known for championing the Home Rule Bill, which would have given Ireland self-rule, and has been cited by such great statesmen as Winston Chruchill as an inspiration. But I tell you about WIlliam Gladstone because of another reason. 

These words he spoke in 1865, and with them I could not possibly agree more:

If you are cold, tea will warm you. If you are too heated, it will cool you.  If you are depressed, it will cheer you.  If you are excited, it will calm you.

This, dear commoners, is how I feel about tea. I hope you do as well. It soothes the soul. It warms the heart. It is everything you need. Liquid wisdom, the Chinese call it. And as you continue your walk though life, I hope you have a cup of tea by your side. Because the answers you are always seeking — to the questions you don’t even know to ask — are at the bottom of that cup.

Tea apprentices;

As you are no doubt aware, this day is not special to every single part of the world except the United States. And no one celebrates it in any other countries except the American who happen to be there, nevertheless, as my American tea students have begged and begged, they will not be meditating on the tiny molecules of tea permeating their tea cup today. They will instead be eating and talking about the things they are thankful for.

And while as far as my students are concerned, this is just an excuse not to study and train, to you I will admit this one thing: it is not altogether an unfruitful practice to remember the things which make one happy, and to acknowledge their existence and your gratitude for it. And in that spirit, let me tell you something for which I am thankful: a little bit of peace and quiet.

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Hey guys!

Jetting home to see the fam in just a bit. I’ve packed all my important stuff — changes of clothes, jacket, my favorite kinds of tea that I just can’t live without, and my favorite teapot (cause it’s just not tea if it’s not coming from my favorite pot!) But as I sit here sipping my last cup of yerba mate before I head to the airport, I t thought I would take a minute to take a deep breath and remember what the holiday is all about.

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The sexy world of tea.

Hello again, lovers of tea. We meet again.

As this uniquely American holiday creeps closer, and I try to decide where I will brew my Thanksgiving morning tea (i of course have many invitations), I thought I might allow myself to get a bit more in the spirit by professing unto you the thing that I am most thankful for.

Of course I am most thankful for tea. That is obvious, and would not even be worth writing to tell you. You would assume this. So barring my extreme love of all things tea related, here is what I will be thanking the Puritans for this Thursday.

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Hi Loves,

Ahhhh, My Morning Cup of Tea

I just had a great conversation with Mr. GTD over IM (Hey, I’m a 21st Century kind of girl.) about tea. I know, you’re all so surprised.

But over the course of the conversation (which took place when I should have been doing work, but oh well), he said the perfect cup of tea was small cup of perfectly brewed green tea, savored while meditating. With all the health benefits of green tea and how much better he felt after a few minutes of meditating over the steaming cup it was like a mental makeover, he said.

Sure, that sounds nice, I said, but far from perfect to me. The perfect cup of tea, in my mind, is a strong cup of black hot tea, like classic Earl Grey, with a spoon full of honey. With a little boost of caffeine to get me going and a bunch of antioxidants to keep me going, that, I said, was a cup of perfection. Read full entry! »

Hi Loves,

Oh man, I’ve got it bad. And there’s only one thing that can cure my aching crush. My favorite tea ritual.

So, you remember how Mr. Great Tea Date didn’t call for so long? And then he did? And now we’re going out this weekend, on Saturday? Well, now you’re caught up. All this week we’ve been emailing and texting and talking on the phone (and some how getting work done, too) and as a result, I’ve totally got a major crush on him.

When this happens, my brain goes haywire. All I can do is ask a million questions. What’s going to happen? Does he like me back? Are we soul mates? What should I wear?

But I have to play it cool. And the best way I know how to relax, is to brew a pot of tea. Here’s what I do.

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Hi Loves,

So, if you haven’t been keeping up, I went on a great date last weekend. (He loves tea, too!) But he was very slow in calling me back. Of course that sent my mind racing. What is he thinking? Is he going to call ever? Did he have a good time, too?

But I’m happy to say he called!!! (Finally, the dork.) Of course, I was all cool on the phone with him. It went something like this:

“Oh hi, Mr. Tea.”

“Hi Tia. How are you?”

“Oh great. Busy, busy, busy! I’ve hardly had time to think since this weekend!”

“I hope I’m not bothering you.”

“Not at all, just sitting down with a nice cup of Lemon and Roses Rooibos Tea.”

“Sounds good,” he said…

(And I promise, it got much more interesting after that.)

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Hi Loves,

While I wait around for The Great Tea Date to call (and if he doesn’t call soon, he’s lost his chance with me!), I’ve been thinking about what it is that attracts two people together. Is it chemical? Is it physical? Is it chance?

I’m no biochemist or psychologist, but I’ve certainly had my share of hot-blooded and stone-cold moments. If you really like a guy, what can you do to keep the spark alive? I’m also not a witch doctor, so I’m not concocting any love potions in my kitchen. But I have been thinking about the aphrodisiac qualities of herbal tea. Could they really work?

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Hi Loves,

You know, tea has gotten me quite a few dates. No, really.

A few months ago, I was shopping at my local farmers’ market, stocking up on beautiful vegetables, spring flowers, and of course, my favorite local organic tea. It was a particularly crowded Saturday, and you know how I am about being patient. I calmly, and with a smile, elbowed my way into my friendly organic tea vendor’s booth and reached for the last box of this special blend of organic loose tea. But it wouldn’t budge! Someone else was trying to grab that last box. MY last box.

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Hullo common tea lovers. I’ve once again idly thought of a reason to tarry with you once again. As I was verbally abusing my servant for making hot tea when it’s still quite warm outside and iced tea would be much more pleasant (don’t worry about him, he’s used to it, it’s for his own good), I noticed that the telly was advertising for a new film.

It seems to be called “The Duchess,” and it purports to be about Georgina Cavendish–a close personal friend of mine from way back, as I’m sure I don’t have to tell you. If there’s one thing you ex-colonists can’t get enough of, it’s British History, am I right?

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