Saturday, October 13, 2007

Simply Tea and where it is Best



The hills of darjeeling


For tea lovers who understand the importance of a good cup of tea: the Frugal Traveler from the New York Times traveled to Darjeeling in Nepal. (And not even a mention of Mount Everest *sniff*)

Where the egos of the tea barons are as big as their fortunes.



"First Flush"- the first crop of tea leaves, said to be superior to later harvests.

I have drunk tea brewed by the women who picked it
At the end of their day and the start of my night.
I have drunk tea after birth and it tasted like nectar.
I have had tea with milk, sugar, jasmine and Mary.
I have drunk Ceylon in Ceylon, and Darjeeling in Darjeeling.
I have had it green, black, white, red and golden.
I have drunk it from porcelain, bamboo and clay.
I have cried into it and had my future read from it.
I have drunk it when I haven’t wanted it, and when I’m desperate for one.
I’ve drunk it with Russian sailors, Shivas, divas, grandmothers, vicars, lovers, friends.
In my dreams I’ve had a nice cup of tea with the Queen, Attilla the Hun, Elvis, Nelson Mandela.
I’ve had it hot, iced and spiced.
I’ve drunk it in the air, up a mountain, on an elephant, in a train, and tea at sea.
Tea, tea, tea, will you share a cup with me?

Annamaria Murphy

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

I too love tea, and have been enjoying between 1-4 cups a day thusfar at college. I really enjoyed the post; the pictures and poem were so beautiful. However, I can't claim to have had tea with anything special on the side, though

I've drunk tea with Traditionalist brother and sister religious;

I prefer my tea strong, straight, and black!

Anonymous said...

Ah, yes, I've been there, to Darjeeling, more than once; but it is not in Nepal. Rather, Darjeeling is in the north of the state of West Bengal, India. And the view from there is not so much of Mt. Everest, but of Kanchenjunga, the third highest peak in the world, after Everest and K2. And the tea is the best in the world.

Fr. Ray Williams

Anonymous said...

I miss our morning visits and cups of tea. Not nearly enough people in our circle here enjoy a good cup of tea, though (thankfully) I have recently met a few women who love it as much as I do. It's probably just a coincendence, but all the women that I've met that love tea also tend to love the Latin Mass. Which is a wonderful thing since our tea visits end up in great conversation.

Hope you are all well.