In Tibet, there is actually a length of distance called a “cup of tea” defined as how far one can walk with a cup of hot tea in one’s hand before it cools down enough to drink.
Throughout the world tea is an essential aspect of everyday life. By the time of Confucius (500 BCE) tea was already a popular drink in China and after the publication of Ch’a Ching (The Book of Tea ) by the eighth century scholar Lu Yu it continued to grow in cultural significance. Eight hundred years later, tea-master Sen Rikyu popularized tea in Japan by developing the tea ceremony and tradition of wabi-cha, emphasizing simplicity.
According to San Francisco tea-maven James Norwood Pratt, author of New Tea Lovers Treasury, one of the most interesting aspects of world tea-culture is its focus on the "applied" arts which involve “not just what you behold but what you hold”. These arts teach an “intimacy with objects” that helps to both focus one's attention and deepen one's sensual appreciation.
Cultivated attention is at the essence of all artistry but in the art of tea this pursuit is particularly nuanced. Jennifer Leigh Sauer, in her local guide to San Francisco tea culture, The Way to Tea, explains that the Chinese symbol for drinking tea is three mouths, reminding us that one tastes tea in three steps: first, by paying attention to the tip of the tongue to judge sweetness; then to the middle of the tongue to focus on tartness; and finally to the back of the tongue to observe bitterness. Experienced tea-drinkers also enjoy fine tea for its “return flavor” which is experienced a half minute or so after sipping when the active but subtle elements in the tea have had time to become perceptible as taste.
According to Winnie Yu, owner of Teance tea shop in Berkeley, “there is more than we know about tea than we think we know.” Winnie explains that her own appreciation of tea often feels to her like a "cellular memory”. When she drinks tea she feels as if she can look “behind her shoulder” at thousands of years of tea tradition.
Esoterica notwithstanding, Winnie also extols tea's daily practical value. “The object of learning about tea” says Winnie, “is to learn to adapt it easily into our contemporary needs as a people. We all have the same needs. Tea heightens our creativity and calms our spirit.”
Most tea mavens agree that much of the “calming influence” of preparing and enjoying a cup of tea comes from its capacity to help us suspend the incessant motion of our mind and refocus our attention on the present moment. In this sense tea drinking and meditation are identical. The deepest level of the art say tea-masters, is in learning to prepare oneself for a cup of tea, rather than vica versa.
By steeping ourselves gently and attentively in each moment we deepen our appreciation of life. Drinking tea is certainly beneficial to the body but its most nourishing aspect is the opportunity it affords us to cultivate a quiet daily ritual of both sensual and spiritual attention.
