Lessons learned from Chinese Tea
First the tea leaves – 红, 绿或白 (Red, green or white), placed carefully in the clay pot.
Then the 水 (water), covering the leaves and filling the pot until it overflows.
姑姑 (the Aunt) takes the lid and meticulously wipes off the top layer of water as if she were painting a canvas. Placing the lid on, water runs down the outside of the clay teapot– only adding another layer of “seasoning” to the pottery. A good teapot is one worn with time.
With one motion she has already poured four cups of tea and now places them in front of us for us to drink.
谢谢, we say.
Seeing us take the first sip, 姑姑 begins to 泡 (pour) the next four 杯子(cups). We will be drinking tea for hours, 一边喝茶，一边谈话。
This is the tea culture of China, and one I found appropriate to experience as I began a new year: 2019. In drinking tea, there are lessons of patience, of simplicity and of groundedness. Even a culture as fast-paced as China, is finding time to 坐一会儿 (sit a while).
Sip of tea in, deep breath out.
“For young girls like you, I suggest drinking 红茶 (Red tea) or 白茶 (White tea),” 姑姑said. “And most importantly, drink it hot. The warm water will provide balance for your stomach, especially for when you bear children.”
She smiled, remembering how I had just mentioned my love for 冰水 (ice water).
But I’m slowly warming up (J) to the idea of 热水，开水 – the connection it makes with you and your body.
This past weekend in 济南(Jinan, China), I spent many a few hours sitting and drinking tea with 姑姑, a Chinese friend and three Romanian students. We would sit and watch as the tea was prepared in a matter of minutes, a process appeared to be so seamlessly mastered. I learned how to prepare tea for myself, for a group of ten people, how to properly hold the teacup, etc.
I also learned that the flavor of tea comes with time. For one who doesn’t often drink tea, the flavors could all very well seem 差不多 (nearly the same). But drink tea on a regular basis and one type of 红茶 steeped for 10 seconds or 15 will taste entirely different.
If you don’t awaken the sense, how will you ever taste the flavor.
As I sat drinking my who-knows-what-number cup of tea in Jinan, I thought about how something as simple as tea leaves, handpicked by a field worker in Yunnan Province, reaches far beyond its humble beginnings.
Each time I venture out to my internship at 直面, I greet 王老师 (Teacher Wang) with his cup of 绿茶 already in hand. As he listens to the challenges of parents and children, he almost always holds that white teacup in his hand, every so often taking a big sip, swishing it around and then swallowing. When his glass is empty, there is always someone nearby who fills his glass again.
By the end of the day, the clients have left, but the tea keeps on coming. 王老师 too starts and ends his day with tea, a humble beginning.
再来一杯 (Another cup).
At 姑姑’s tea shop, the evening continues on and old friends and acquaintances wander in bringing their own teacup. They sit for that last few hours together in each other’s company drinking tea, ending the day as it was begun.
Sip of tea in, deep breath out.
And so, it’s 2019. Only halfway through this year in China, it doesn’t quite feel like a new beginning, but rather a continuation of this journey that I am on.
Yet, that feels okay.
I’m not thirsty for drastic changes or new resolutions, but rather for more groundedness in the place where I am right now. I’m thirsty for more 茶 (tea) – the image it brings of slowing down, of patience and of humble beginnings.
If it’s not tea you fancy, no problem. But find your humble beginning this new year. Start your day with it – whether it be meditation, prayer, a brisk walk, a cup of coffee – and be present to its simplicity.