I loved watching ‘Teahouse of the August Moon’. The elaborate ritual of tea drinking. The careful planning of the tea house. The delicate tea cups, as pretty as the conversation they inspire.There is something so whimsical about sitting and drinking tea in a tea room. With the sound of water somewhere in the background. The movie was an absolute treat to watch and I recommend it.
What I find very interesting is how as a society, we seem to use drink to slow time. Whether it be black or green tea, a hot cup of filter coffee, wine, or simply a glass of sweet lassi while sitting on the footpath.Liquid seems to slowly stretch time. And I am not sure why. Maybe, time has become more unyielding than it used to be. And once in a while needs to borrow some fluidity from a glass of colored liquid.
I have always been one to slowly eat food but gulp down drinks. I think this happened because I used to hate drinking my daily glass of milk as a kid, and so learnt to drink it as quickly as I could. I do love the idea of slowly nursing a glass of wine. But I am not much of a wine-drinker. I have never liked tea- especially the milky sugary Indian variety. I remember, my first taste of tea, which probably has a lot to do with that. We were on a class trip in middle school and stopped at one of those dingy wayside hotels. I ordered a cup of chai. It was watery and weak-bodied and I decided, when I was 11 that tea just wasn’t my kind of drink. On the way back I ordered coffee and decided then and there,that this is what I was going to drink when I ‘grew up’. And so my fate was decided by a 11 year old, whose thought process was often strange in retrospect. I never drank tea much, after that.
Coffee and I have a tumultous relationship. I love the aroma of freshly brewed coffee. I started drinking coffee to keep awake during my high school board exams. The coffee would be set beside me- piping hot. I would burn my lip with the first sip. Once bitten, twice shy- I would let several minutes pass before even attempting another sip. By the time I actually remembered that there was something waiting to wake me up, two possible things would have occurred. One, a layer of cream would have formed on the coffee, in which case I would either throw the coffee or, strain it and then gulp it down, lest another layer of cream form. Two, the coffee would have gotten cold, and I would gulp it down before the layer of cream could form. So you see, I have an unfortunate history of gulping drinks which strongly re-asserts the authority of time.
After coming to the U.S, I fell in love with coffee shops. But American coffee loves me not. A relationship with it comes with its own set of preconditions: no coffee without food (stomach feels strange), not more than 5-6 sips of coffee (too much nervous energy) and so on.
Yet, the thought of sitting on a porch/balcony and sipping chai/filter coffee, while watching the sunrise, is incredibly romantic. Maybe I should just brew a cup of the jasmine green tea that has been languishing in my cupboard. A perfumed tea still tempts me. Maybe I will try. Tomorrow.
Photo Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/emueses/ / CC BY-ND 2.0
oh i loved this post!! i am a tea-aholic :) although i do love me some coffee too. if you would be interested in trying out different teas, i am hosting a tea trade. all the details are on my blog here.
Thanks, Melita! I did see the post about the tea trade. It looks so exciting! However, I don’t own any ‘bag’ teas. The only tea currently in my possession is the loose jasmine tea that I mentioned. Pity- it does sound like fun! Maybe , by the next time you host a tea trade, I’ll have enough tea to participate..:)
So true that we use beverages to slow time – I had never thought of it, but it is so true :)
:)
I began drinking coffee during the board exams as well and hopped on tot he tea bandwagon only Much later. (Have always slowly sipped my drinks though; as i seem to have everything in life!)
Try brewing a Kahwah – a kashmiri green tea brewed with herbs topped with honey to taste and sliced almonds. You might just develop a taste for it.
Yeah, I used to drink stuff veeryy slowly- but my dislike for complan got the better of me..lol.
Kahwah sounds very nice! Need to get my hands on some.
I hear you. Complan scars a child for life. Enough said.
Here’s a Kahwa recipe you could begin with : http://www.indobase.com/recipes/details/kahwa.php
It smells and tastes particular lovely on a wet rainy day. :)
Nomi, Thank you for the recipe! I do like the taste of green tea and this sounds just lovely. Now all I need is a wet rainy day. (I miss the Bangalore rainy days).
Oooo, I can’t wait to find this movie. It was relaxing just to read your description of it :)
There’s a tea room a couple towns away from me that I might try this weekend thanks to your lovely post!
I hope you find it! (Let me know if you don’t).
A tea room sounds soo lovely. I am looking forward to some vicarious tea-sipping..:)
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