Tea
"There is a subtle charm in the taste of tea which makes it irresistible," wrote Kakuzo Okakura in The Book of Tea. For the past several hundred years, the world has agreed with him.
And for most of that time, the world has argued with itself about whether its fascination with tea is good or bad. The Chinese and Japanese made tea into the pinnacle of culture and the flower of medicine; Europeans called tea dangerous, pernicious, a threat to the health of the nation. A mad king sentenced two condemned prisoners to live under the care of physicians and drink nothing but tea or coffee, expecting that both would die shortly—he was mainly interested in whether the tea-drinking prisoner or the coffee-drinking prisoner would die first.
In fact, both prisoners outlived the king and all of their physicians. Medical science is now confirming what many people suspected all along: Tea is good for you. It contains antioxidants, micronutrients, compounds that act as vasoconstrictors and—oh hell, does it really matter? They'll all change their mind next year anyway and say tea is good for some completely different reason. Just nod, smile, and indulge without guilt. Tea is one of the most wholesome vices there is.
The Seven Cups of Tea
The first cup caresses my dry lips and throat.
The second shatters the walls of my lonely sadness.
The third searches the dry rivulets of my soul to find the stories of five thousand scrolls.
With the fourth the pain of life’s grievances evaporates through my pores.
The fifth relaxes my muscles and bones become light.
With the sixth I find the path that leads to the immortal ancestors.
Oh the seventh cup! Better not take it! If I had it the only feeling
Is the fresh wind blowing through my wings,
As I make my way to Penglai.
Lu Tong, C.E. 798-835
Fresh and New
The Ultimate Tea Diet
Find out about the hot new diet from Mark "Dr. Tea" Ukra.
The Book of Tea
Kakuzo Okakura's beautiful and lyrical meditation on tea in Japan.
Telling Fortunes by Tea Leaves
The Twenties classic by Cicely Kent.
