First thing in the morning.
There is something eminently satisfying about a good, strong cup of tea. Part of it, for me, is the ritual. Warming the pot, measuring the leaves, pouring the hissing frothing water over them; and then the wait. Anticipation, while the leaves steep and the water undergoes a change that reaches far beyond a shift in colour.Fragrances released by the heat waft up to fill the senses and start the process of refreshment. At last the lips approach and cling to the smooth warmth of the cup's rim, part slightly to inhale then, with a quick tilt, the heat, the slightly bitter taste, both swirl across the tongue.
Too eager means too hot and leaves a tongue that will taste nothing, subtle or broad until the scald heals. Just right is bliss that fills the mouth, caresses down the throat, and warms the stomach while caffeine feeds the minor craving hopping foot to foot somewhere in the background; headache recedes, unnoticed till it's gone.
I used to drink coffee which has its own layers of ritual and pleasure, and there is no restaurant in New York that can make a decent cup of tea. Well, perhaps the Russian Tea Room, but that is not a place I would trek to daily when good coffee flowed in every diner. Here, in Barbados, the light astringence of tea seems more satisfying, less heavy in the throat. Perhaps imagination. Perhaps not. I drink more tea than coffee now.
Comments (3)
like an oasis in a desert BB
Thanks
Just think....for all these years I NEVER thought of a cup of tea like you have just described it. Now, I promise to savor my cup of tea in the manner in which you have just poured it.
And, by the way, you're right about the Russian Tea Room. I went there with my Mom, many years ago. It was a delightful experience.
Fondly,
Judy