A Ritual of Tea
It all started when I was very small.
“What’s this, Mom?” I asked one day.
“Oh,
that was a wedding gift from your dad’s and my Tae Kwon Do instructor,
Mr. Han. He and his wife gave that to me and your dad many years ago,
and I kept it when we divorced.”
From that day forward, I was
transfixed. What had caught my attention, in this case, was a
beautiful jade green and gold tea set. It was small, round, and the
pot itself was a marbleized jade with gold accents, and a gold filigree
dragon on one side. The matching teacups were simple cylinders in
shape, made of a double layer of ceramic folded over itself and baked
so that there was a space in between the layers. The top layer had a
heart cut out of one side of each teacup, and the dark space in between
set each heart off so that it couldn’t be missed. It was simple, it
was elegant, and it was bold. At the time, I’d never seen a cup or mug
for a hot beverage that didn’t have a handle. These teacups begged to
be nestled in the drinker’s hands, emphasizing the communal experience
of a special cup of tea with friends or family.
Whether this was how my mother saw this tea set as well, I can’t say.
However, she did only bring it out for very special occasions. If
either of us wanted tea on a regular day, we’d put the kettle on, put
some tea in a strainer (or soak a bag, if in a hurry), and brew it in
any one of the many mismatched hodgepodge of coffee mugs my mom had
collected over the years.
From childhood, I was always a bigger tea-drinker than my mother. She
much preferred coffee, and had been known (in her prime) to drink whole
pots of the stuff on a daily basis, all on her own. While I do adore
the smell and taste of various coffees of the world, the sheer variety
and complexity of the world of tea had me completely beguiled from an
early age. Around the same time as I discovered my mom’s treasured
jade green and gold dragon tea set, I found her small square metal tins
of loose tea in the back of a cabinet. They taught me my very first
(and most important) lesson in tea:
- Loose tea, with few exceptions, is always
better than bagged. This is less true now than it used to
be, as the rise of more and more boutique brands and blends of tea has
climbed over the years. The main reason for this is that the tea
that’s used to fill most tea bags is leftover ground-up bits of tea
leaves that are little more than powder. In some cases, there’s more
substance to be found in a pencil sharpener after heavy use. With
loose tea, the leaves are generally bigger, of higher quality, and more
flavorful than what’s commonly found in most teabags. There are
notable exceptions, of course; you may have a favorite specialist tea
shop near you that carries very high quality tea that’s been bagged for
your convenience. There are also widely available brands such as Tazo
and Numi who bag a decent product as well. But even now, one advantage
that loose tea will always have over bagged tea is that it’s as
customizable as you’d like it to be. Do you (or do your guests) like
your tea especially strong? Experiment with your favorite tea by
adding more or less than the suggested amount until you find the taste
that you like. With loose tea, you can do this in increments, whereas
with bags, you’re stuck with doubling up whatever amount is in each bag
if you decide a single one just isn’t strong enough for your taste.
You can also be more adventurous with loose tea, finding several that
you like and mixing the leaves together to create your own special
blends. As a professional cook, this last option may be more appealing
to me than it might be to some, but it’s worth trying if you’ve got a
particular tea taste in mind that’s continually eluding you. You might
even consider experimenting with essential oils—I’m a huge fan of
Earl Grey, but it’s rare that I find a readimade blend that I’m
consistently happy with because there’s usually either too much or too
little bergamot oil in most for my taste.
Back to the story, however: this tea I found at the back of my mom’s
cabinet? It was absolutely ancient—probably about as old as I was.
Even though I was fairly young at the time, probably 11 or so, that’s a
long time as far as tea is concerned. There were three kinds on offer:
a jasmine green tea blend, a cinnamon and spice blend, and a tin of
loose Bigelow’s Constant Comment. Upon reflection, it was then that I
learned my second most important lesson about tea:
- Tea, like spices, should be used or
discarded on a regular basis to stay at peak flavor. Some of
you might be groaning at this revelation, and thinking about how it
might affect your wallet. If you’re an inveterate fan of tea like I
am, you won’t find this to be a problem. You may even find yourself
with an entire cabinet in your kitchen set aside just for teas, so that
you have one on hand to suit just about every mood and/or occasion you
find yourself confronted with. If this sounds like a likely
eventuality for you, the only thing you need to worry about is
constantly drinking the stuff. And having friends/family/housemates
who drink it as well. For those of you who bake and cook, get creative
with it! One of my favorite things to do when making desserts is to
try to incorporate some sort of coffee or tea into them, whether it’s
by making an Earl Grey chocolate mousse (try it, you’ll never go back)
or whipping up a Thai coffee trifle.
Those two lessons weren’t immediately evident, but upon reflection
years later, I realized the true value of what I’d learned.
Unfortunately, tea can be seen as intimidating by some, and pretentious
by others. As with many things, the world of tea need only been as
pretentious and/or intimidating as you’d like it to be—though I feel
I must add that if you’ve only ever had a bag of Lipton in a restaurant
and think that’s what I’m talking about, I hope you’ll try something
better and reconsider. It’s like Nescafe—it has its uses, but anyone
who’s a serious fan of coffee knows it doesn’t really
count. 
Janaki
on July 26th, 2009 at 6:44 pm
I enjoyed your story about my tea service (I still have it). Yes, Hon, I do remember how much you admired it. I’m glad it has happy memories for you as it does for me. Keep on with your wonderful work as a master cook! I love reading your blogs!
Mom