A tea bag. Used for making tea. For which we should all be grateful.

Greetings and salutations, unwashed masses of tea admirers.

As your quaint tradition of being thankful comes ever closer, I thought you might perhaps enjoy an amusing story about something I know all tea drinkers consider quite precious, and of which they are ever grateful: tea bags.

Now many people say that loose leaf tea is the superior way to make tea. But even they must admit that it’s much more convenient to carry a bunch of tea bags than it is to always be cleaning out your tea infuser all the time. But did you know how tea bags came to be? It’s a bit of a funny story, actually.

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Tea Students.

I was not always a tea master. I once was a young tea student. I once lived only on pizza and thought I never needed sleep. I wanted to rebel against the Man. I was not concerned with my health, thinking I could live forever (even without the health benefits of green tea and the rest of the teas).  I once had to make tea with the loose leaves that I picked myself, because I could not afford to buy them. So I know what it is like to be low on funds.

I know times are hard economically right now. Many of my students cannot afford to buy new tea every day. I will share with you the piece of tea advice that I share with them when times are hard. Are you ready to gain some tea wisdom?

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Hi Loves,

You’ll never guess what got delivered to my door yesterday. A bouquet of tea! What’s that, you ask? Who sent it? Well, let me tell you.

Actually, I’ll keep you in suspense for now about who sent it, just for fun. But a certain mystery someone sent me the most beautiful box of colorful tea bags arranged like a bouquet. And the strings were tied together as if you could hold it. It was laid out in this gorgeously wrapped box. And then I noticed that each of the tea bag tags said what kind of tea it was on one side, and the health benefits of the flowers and herbs it contained on the other–hand written!

Here’s a sample of what was inside:

Beautiful Roses. Exquisite Tea.

Rose Garden White Tea: Besides the fact that roses are my favorite flower and there’s no denying that things that make you happy have a huge effect on your mental health, White teas have more polyphenols, a supercharged antioxidant that can help fight cancer causing cells, among other great health benefits.

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Hi Loves,

Is it Friday yet? No? Why Not? Let’s just say that Ms. Tia is anxious for the weekend to get here already because she has big plans with Mr. Great Tea Date! Surprise, surprise: it involves tea.

Friday night, Mr. GTD is coming over so I can show off my grand culinary talents. I love to cook, especially using organic vegetables and meats. I’m thankful everyday that we have such a wonderful farmers’ market nearby. So I asked my local organic tea vendor how I could use tea in more edible, as opposed to drinkable, ways. You won’t believe what he had to say!

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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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Do you love tea? Look deep into yourself, and see—is a nice cup of hot tea right there in your heart? Do you think of herbal tea as a nice way to relax and become one with the universe, at peace? Only you know the answer to this for sure. Only you can see into yourself.

It is said, “Better to be deprived of food for three days, than tea for one.” It is an old Chinese proverb. It probably has some deeper meaning. Search your soul for it if you want to know it. I am uninterested in that. I, Master Amanzi, have communed with the Great Tea Being in the sky. I have read the tea leaves, and I know the Way of Tea. I am a Tea Master.

Today I will teach you the very first step of the Way of the Tea Master. It is not the way of the Tea Bag. Beware, for down that path lies bitterness. No, for a truly good cup of tea, one must follow the Way of the Loose Leaf.

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