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 Students;

You have all grown so much in these past few months under my Tea tutelage. I am quite proud of how far you’ve come. When I first met you, you didn’t know a tea leaf from a bay leaf, or the difference between loose tea and a loose knot. Why, you still thought tea was just a letter in the alphabet! Ha! We laugh about it now. But it was quite pathetic.

I wanted to tell you about an old expression relating to tea, that you will perhaps find enlightening. It is quite deep. And it has come into the popular spotlight quite recently, so now is a good time to enlighten you.

Read full entry! »