A Cup Of Tea

Mary Ann

When I would come home from school and was upset on the newest playground kerfuffle, my mother would say, “go make a cup a tea.”  I would go in the kitchen, heat a kettle of water, wait for it to boil, find a tea bag, and get the milk and sugar ready to make the perfect cup of tea.    It wasn’t that the tea held a magic potion to solve my problems.  It was the process of making of the tea that slowed everything down, and it would give me time to settle my ire and just breath.  The first sip of the tea immediately relaxed my body, and my attention then focused on enjoying the tea rather than my problems. 

There must have been a whole branch of English on our family tree, because we all were tea drinkers rather than traditional America coffee drinkers. We always had Lipton tea with milk adding a little of sugar to sweeten it.  Often, we would have tea and toast for breakfast.  Tea was a constant in my family’s life. 

Growing up, I was not a fancy tea drinker, but as I matured, I became a tea connoisseur.  It is such a treat to try different blends of tea, and there are endless varieties on the market today.  My favorite tea is Paris by Harney & Sons. It is a family run New York City company.  They offer 300 teas to sample.  Paris is fruity (currents) black tea that features vanilla and caramel flavors with a hint of bergamot.  The loose-leaf tea comes in silk sachets. To get the best taste use hot water, not boiled, and seep for 4 to 5 minutes.  I do less time, but the tea must have a rich brown color.  The Harney & Sons website is full of information about all their teas with instructions for a perfect cup.  You can purchase the tea there, or of course, you can get it on Amazon and can use their subscription service to have tea delivered regularly to your home. 

Last Christmas, a friend gave me a tin of Harney & Sons Hot Cinnamon Spice tea.  This is their most popular tea world-wide.  It is perfect for a cold, winter’s day – a great cup of tea to imbibe by the fire.  Another new discovery is Provence that has captured the region with apricot, lavender, and lemon.  I like this tea all by itself – no cream, no sugar.  It has a wonderful aroma. There are so many yummy teas from Harney & Sons that I have years of possibilities.  Though, I tend to keep enjoying my favorites.

I also love to go to a tea shop and enjoy a high tea with all the little sandwiches and pastries.  A fond memory was having tea at the Brown’s Hotel in London.  The room was filled with chintz sofas and chairs nestled around fireplaces.  The tea is slowly paced so you can enjoy every morsel and savor the delicious tea.  We should all start doing afternoon tea – a special way to end the day! 

However, the best cup of tea I ever had was on the same trip.  I had it a non-descript restaurant on the way to see Stonehenge.  It was not a fancy place, but the cream they used was clotted cream which turned the tea into a masterpiece. I have tried to recreate the cup of tea but to no avail.  It is close, but it is not that magical cup.  I would probably never find the little restaurant again. It is just a lovely memory.

I still make a cup of tea when I am troubled. The ritual is calming and by the time I finish drinking it, I gain a new perspective on life.  Maybe I need to learn how to read tea leaves to determine the outcome of my worries or just make another cup! 

Note: The English have a tea ritual called Cream Tea that is tea served with scones, jam, and clotted cream.  The order you put the jam and clotted cream on the scone determine if is Devon or Devonshire Cream (cream first then jam) or if is Cornish Cream (jam first then cream). Read more about Cream Tea on the Internet!  Who knew?