How Did I Get Here?

Mid-August, I was lucky enough to go on a last-minute vacation with my mom, sister, and daughter to Niagara Falls, Canada. I was experimenting with how minimalist I could travel with tea. (Answer: not THIS minimalist! I usually travel with tea gear, as I have written about.)

I didn’t pack any teacups this time. Instantly, I regretted it for multiple reasons. I made the “mistake” of telling my family that. With a teacup, I sighed, I could avoiding drinking out of a paper cup at the hotel and maybe get a tea photo by the waterfall. Then, still thinking out loud, I said: “Maybe we could find one in a thrift shop.”

The Thrift Shop in Niagara Falls

I wasn’t beholden to this idea. And, when the time came to stop at a thrift shop, I said: “It’s not necessary. Let’s just skip it.”

They weren’t having it.

We went to the thrift shop. Actually, it was an antique shop (Coach Stop Antiques in Niagara-on-the-Lake) with lots of gorgeous and expensive teacups. (I had to use A LOT of willpower not to buy more teacups!) The salesperson was very nice and helpful—even though I said I wanted an inexpensive cup. He cheerfully helped me find one. That’s how I bought this Niagara Falls white teacup and saucer with the pink roses and green leaves in the photos.

Heading Down to Horseshoe Falls

When we got back to the hotel on our last afternoon of the trip with the teacup, I didn’t want to walk down to the falls again.

They weren’t having it.

When we got down to the falls, it was windy, misty, and raining—sometimes lightly, sometimes more heavily. I wanted to back out of standing in the wind and rain to get the photo. (I’m not exaggerating! I had to wipe the water off my glasses before the photo…lol.)

You already know their response! They. Weren’t. Having. It.

Tea Friends: I was reminded of something powerful. Namely, if my mom, sister, and daughter think I have a dream—or even know something I want to do—they are going to support me (and nudge me) ALL THE WAY. They weren’t going to let me talk myself out of doing what I needed to do to make it happen.

Tea and Family

A loving and supportive family that supports your tea nerdery: that’s a wonderful gift. I’m so lucky! And, this little Niagara Falls teacup holds that experience, in addition to my tea. I’ll always treasure that photo of me, taken by my sister. It and the photo of the teacup, taken by me, will always remind me of this story.

To be completely honest, I also realized that I have to be careful what I tell those ladies about what I want to do!

Story of this Teacup

I shared this story of the Niagara Falls teacup recently at my annual charity fundraiser, Story of a Teacup 2025. It was my fourth annual chariTEA fundraiser. This time, ALL proceeds went directly to World Central Kitchen. This wonderful non-profit feeds people in disasters and war zones around the world.

Together, the storytellers who donated their time and skills to participate and all the folks who generously donated to Story of a Teacup 2025 raised $875 for World Central Kitchen. I am proud of what we did to spread empathy through this online storytelling event. It’s wonderful how the communiTEA came together to support the important work World Central Kitchen does.

The post Story of the Niagara Falls Teacup appeared first on Tea Infusiast.

Why I Signed Up

When I signed up, I never imagined myself actually teaching or running workshops with tea. I had taken many tea classes and workshop over the years, but never an eight-month comprehensive program about teaching with tea.

I joined because I admired Sooz, love tea, and enjoy thinking about teaching. I’m a tea-loving university professor, after all! In short, I thought the class would be fun and interesting.

I was right! But, it was that and so much more. (Nearby photo: Sooz Hammond wearing a Being Tea t-shirt and teaching online.)

Tea Teacher Inspiration Strikes

I did not expect how the training would inspire me to start teaching with tea! In fact, I was only a few months into the eight-month program when I could no longer resist offering a tea event. This training really inspired me and offered me tools to succeed.

I offered my first online tea-focused event, Story of a Teacup. Since then, I’ve offered many online and in-person tea events and workshops.

I still offer Story of a Teacup, too! This tea-and-empathy-building event has become an annual charity fundraiser. (My fourth annual Story of a Teacup online event will take place in November 2025.)

Tea Teacher Training Experience

Being Tea’s Tea Teacher Training was inclusive, informative, and fun. Sooz practices what she teaches, too! For example, payment for the program is on a sliding scale for accessibility. It’s also paid monthly over one year (not up front). Sooz’s example has inspired me to offer sliding-scale pricing for my tea offerings when I can.

Additionally, Sooz fostered a wonderful sense of community among class participants. Despite having taught, thought about, and taken many workshops about teaching in my decades working in Higher Ed, I learned so much about teaching!

Sooz designed and leads a dynamic and practical curriculum. Sooz drew on decades of a wide-range of tea experience to really help us understand what we needed to think about in terms of tea equipment, class pacing, group dynamics, and being inclusive. We also learned important and fascinating information about the physiology and psychology of stress and presence: a critical consideration for teachers and students!

More Unexpected Benefits

In addition to how I’ve applied what I learned to offer my own tea events, I’ve used the insights from Tea Teacher Training in my university teaching. It has helped me think more compassionately and creatively about my students’ range of personalities, stress- and comfort-levels. I do more to give students choices about how they participate in class, for example. I also regularly build small breaks into my longer classes largely thanks to thinking through accessibility with Sooz. (Long classes, I’ve found, are so rejuvenated by a break!) And, to my delight, I have even served tea to my university students and led a tea meditation on my campus. (I’m also trained as a meditation teacher.)

Don’t get the wrong idea! You don’t have to be a university professor to learn a great deal about teaching and teaching with tea. Sooz makes Tea Teacher Training accessible. My point is that despite having considerable background in “non-tea” teaching, I learned so much about teaching from the program.

Photo: set-up for tea meditation that I led on my campus

Tea Teacher Training Connections

What’s more, Sooz was a pleasure to work with–supporting everyone in the training with their trademark compassion, curiosity, and humor. The program encourages and fosters student interaction. The other students come from a wide-range of personal and professional backgrounds, enriching the the experience. Sooz and students give each other feedback and work through ideas and challenges together in the class.

I made new and deeper friends with folks in my cohort. I’ve also collaborated with a student in my cohort. (In the nearby photo: an image promoting an International Women’s Day event co-hosted by Taniya Gupta from Yoga, Tea, Poetry and me)

This class is practical, too! To graduate, students build on what they learned in Tea Teacher Training to create and teach a class. Sooz attends online. Other cohort members and previous graduates are invited, too. After the graduate finishes teaching their class, when the non-Tea Teacher folks leave the Zoom, Sooz offers feedback and invites the cohort and graduates to provide feedback, too.

Besides teaching my own class as part of my graduation, I’ve attended a number of these graduate sessions. Teaching feedback is always nurturing AND constructive. The graduate classes, like Sooz, continue to inspire and teach me. And, it’s another layer of community. Graduates can meet each other and see the newbies at these events. Sooz also offers online gatherings for all graduates from time-to-time as well.

Closing Thoughts about the Training

I looked forward to every meeting and every assignment of Being Tea’s Tea Teacher Training! I’m nostalgic about the entire experience. I’m grateful for what I learned there, the mentoring Sooz continues to provide, and how the experience enlarged my community.

I never imaged offering tea-related events, but now I can’t imagine my life without them. This program really set me on a path to do something I love with skill and confidence. For that, and everything else, I will be forever grateful.

As I type this in early July 2025, Sooz told me there are a few spots left for the 2025-2026 cohort. [Update: There were still a couple of spots left as of early August.] I wholeheartedly recommend this training.

Interested in more about me? I’ve also written about My Experience with Meditation Teacher Training.

The post Great Experience with Tea Teacher Training appeared first on Tea Infusiast.

Last weekend, I had a profound experience attending a two-day retreat. Adelphi University, near me, organized a program on its campus with monastics from Blue Cliff Monastery. The monastery “is a mindfulness practice center and monastic training center founded by the Vietnamese Buddhist monk, author, and peace activist…Thich Nhat Hanh.”

Tea Was My Gateway

Tea was pivotal in bringing me to this incredible experience. One of my teachers, Sooz Hammond of Being Tea, honors Thich Nhat Hanh (AKA Thay) as their root teacher.

Because of quotes that Sooz has shared, I started reading the works of Thay some years ago. I also sought out some of his dharma talks and guided meditations online. It’s particularly lovely to me, as a tea lover, how Thay brings tea into his stories and advice for mindfulness.

(The journal that says “drink your tea” in the nearby photo, by the way, was sold by Blue Cliff at the retreat.)

Although my first meditation teacher training is in another tradition, I’m very interested in engaged Buddhism. I’ve thought about visiting Blue Cliff a number of times. But, distance and fear of the unknown–I’ve never visited a Buddhist monastery–kept me back. So, when is saw the Deep Listening and Loving Action Mindfulness Retreat so close to me, with monastics from the tradition of Thay, I immediately signed up.

The Mindfulness Retreat

I’m still processing this wonderful experience. I almost wanted to write it was like being in an alternate universe. But, that isn’t quite right. It was exactly like being in THIS universe and intensely aware of the beauty, serenity, and community you can find here and now. I deeply felt the famous saying of Thich Nhat Hanh: “Present Moment, Beautiful Moment.”

I participated in some lovely sitting meditations and singing meditations. We explored eating mindfully in noble silence. Some of the monastics also led a large group of participants on mindfulness walks. The fall foliage and blue skies certainly added to the experience.

(The card that says “mindfulness” and has the dried leaf and flowers, in the photo above, was sold by Blue Cliff at the retreat to raise funds for the monastery.)

We also practiced deep relaxation. Additionally, we soaked in some wonderful dharma talks, and participated in dharma sharing. Each of these experiences–and the totality of them–made me feel like I was a happy bee on a summer’s day sipping nectar. The experience was so profound that it’s more than my words or metaphors can fully do justice to. And, my joy at this retreat hasn’t yet covered my wonderful opportunity to have tea with a Buddhist Sister.

I enjoyed an absolutely magical experience over tea. I worked up the nerve to approach one of the Buddhist monastics, Sister Spiritual Discernment. We started talking about her personal tea practice–which begins at 5 am–and the formal, ceremonial teas that are rarer. (I’ll probably write more about that later.)

Tea with a Buddhist Sister

I was surprised and delighted when she spontaneously asked me if I would like to have tea with her. We walked to the edge of the designated eating space. She filled her thermos with hot water from the nearby dispenser. And, we sat together on the floor.

She pulled out a clay teapot and a cannister of Vietnamese tea. The sister had a glass teacup with her. I had brought one of my ceramic ones to the retreat–a beloved teacup with maple leaves from Soocha Tea. A handy clothe napkin was in my bag. We placed our tea things on it. (I didn’t get any photos from the retreat, but this photo shows the teacup I had with me.)

The sister served us a green oolong. She was sure to pour back and forth between the two cups so we each had an equally flavorful brew. I’m not sure exactly which tea it was as I speak no Vietnamese and Sister Spiritual Discernment wasn’t sure of the name in English. It reminded me of a silky and fresh Bao Zhong.

I’ll never forget her generosity and how spontaneously Sister Spiritual Discernment offered to share what she had with me. The smiles we exchanged and the connection we shared were priceless.

While we shared tea, Sister Spiritual Discernment generously answered my questions about the formal tea ceremony the monastics participate in from time to time. I told her about how I try to pack an extra cup when I plan outdoor tea in public spaces. As I’ve previously shared on the blog, I’m always hoping for the opportunity to share tea with a stranger. Little did I expect that I’d be having tea indoors, on the floor at a retreat, with someone I had never met before.

We are strangers no more, of course. My heart was deeply moved. I’ll never forget having tea with Sister Spiritual Discernment.

Love Connecting over Tea?

If you read this post before November 17, 2024 and would enjoy connecting in community over tea, I’m offering an online event for tea lovers. Tickets for this event–all sales–go to a nonprofit that works to prevent suicide.

Find out more about my Story of a Teacup event by tapping the button below.

The post Tea with a Buddhist Sister appeared first on Tea Infusiast.

I grew up drinking malty black tea with milk. I still really enjoy it from time to time—even more so when the weather gets colder.

Recently, I tried a tea that I *love* and have never had with milk. It was delicious. BUT—did you notice the color in the photo above?

My Disappointed Eyes

The tea looks much lighter than the color of my favorite ratio of milk to tea in the teas that I grew up drinking. (No judgment for how light or dark anyone likes their tea with milk. Absolutely not trying to judge anyone for whom this looks like their perfect cup of tea!)

I could acknowledge the tea tasted very good—much stronger, in fact, than the appearance led me to believe. (I had the regular quantity of tea for me, brewed a long time.) I’m not naming the tea because it isn’t an issue with the tea.

But the tea looked like a disappointing cup of tea the way I grew up drinking tea with milk. I was surprised how much this impacted my experience. I even felt a bit guilty—like I was being superficial because I drink tea with my eyes first.

Remembering Tea Is More Than Taste

This experience reminded me: how I relate to tea is based on my experience, my expectations, and many senses beyond taste. And, I really can’t ignore how the appearance of my tea relates to my experience. I drink tea with my eyes, too, after all.

I don’t know if I’ll try this tea with milk again; however, I’m grateful that tea, once again, has provided me with new insight.

Other Lessons from Tea

Interested in other lessons that tea has taught me? If so, check out these posts that I’ve shared on this topic:

• Lessons from My Tea Pet
• Lessons about Authenticity from the Online Tea Community
• A Lesson about Beauty from Tea Life

The post I Drink Tea With My Eyes appeared first on Tea Infusiast.

My Tea Pet’s Backstory

Bonsai is my tiny turtle tea pet. She’s slightly smaller than a quarter. If you aren’t familiar with tea pets, they are used by some people who drink tea in a style where they pour out the first rinse of certain teas. My previous post on tea pets could be helpful to understand more.

Michell Hovey made Bonsai (and other clay tea turtles). She is a tea lover brimming with kindness and affection for small things. Many of us first learned about the sweet clay tea pets she made through the Instagram tea community by following Herb the Traveling Tea Turtle. (Find out more about Michell and Herb in this earlier post.) You can also follow Herb on Instagram.

Bonsai Shares Lessons

Bonsai is smaller than Herb and his siblings (except one other microturtle). Michell absolutely delighted me in the summer of 2022 by sending me Bonsai, her “birth certificate,” a sweet card, and some tea. According to her birth certificate, Bonsai came out of the kiln on July 23, 2022. Hence, she’s two years old the day I’m publishing this post. (You might have noticed that the white shell Bonsai arrived with–in the top photo in this post–is now a lovely brown from all the tea poured over it, as shown in the last photo in this post. The photo with the sunflower shows Bonsai’s shell on her first birthday.)

Bonsai has taught me many things. In honor of her second birthday, she said I could share a few of these lessons.

Lessons from my tea pet:

• Little things can bring so much joy. Make sure to pause to appreciate them.
• CommuniTEA is powerful, far reaching, and meaningful.
• What you do colors your shell–I mean, your life. So, take care what you immerse yourself in.
• Tea time can be a cozy and restorative sanctuary if infused with presence. Be there with your tea when you sip it.

One more important lesson: don’t forget sharing is caring. Share tea with a friend when you can.

The post Lessons from My Tea Pet appeared first on Tea Infusiast.

As I have mentioned in earlier posts, I’ve had to cut back my tea consumption. These days, I’m usually only drinking tea in the morning. The process of reducing my tea intake has made me confront one way I used tea that was denying me the fuller rest I need.

Tea Can Give Us Restful Pauses

Before I share this insight, I would like to emphasize that I regularly incorporate short, mindful tea breaks into my days. They feel gentle, affirming, and restorative. A day with these tea-and-rest pauses is so much better than a day without them. I still interact with tea this way almost every morning. I used to integrate afternoon tea pauses into my day, too.

My experiences with tea have shown its generosity as a gateway to rest and mindfulness. That’s one reason why, for example, I’ve offered tea and rest experiences. Registration, in fact, is open for my online Spring Rest Kit for Tea Lovers. (It’s my second online Rest Kit. Alas, I accidentally overwrote the post about the first rest kit.) But, I do want to share some limitations, in my opinion, of *only* using tea as a rest practice.

Tea Can Be Misused to Deny Us Additional Rest

After cutting back on tea and dropping the afternoon tea session, however, I realized I was often leaning on a small rest PLUS caffeine to help me power through work instead of resting the amount I truly needed.

When I am tired mid-to-late afternoon, it’s lovely to enjoy tea when I can. But, to be honest, I realize I often need deeper, mid-day rest.

I am not as consistent as I would like yet. But when I add a 20-minute yoga nidra session into my afternoons, it has been incredibly helpful. (Yoga nidra is a kind of embodied practice of rest and relaxation.) Instead of pushing myself through or caffeinating when I’m tired in the afternoon, I now try rest my mind and body more deeply. (Check out this short overview and amazing yoga nidra practice by Tracee Stanley.)

Bottom line: restorative tea breaks are incredibly helpful. But, they shouldn’t keep us from making time for deeper rest when we need it.

If I could drink more tea, I would! I miss being able to enjoy tea more often. But, even if and when I can add back daily afternoon tea session, I will keep scheduling yoga nidra. I think the the trap of time scarcity, about which I’ve written, distracted me from incorporating both practices before.

Your Thoughts?

How often do you schedule restful tea breaks? What other kinds of rest practices do you used? Let us know in the comments.

The post Tea Shares Another Lesson About Rest appeared first on Tea Infusiast.

A dear friend and I were brainstorming ideas for a collaborative blog post. That friend–Taniya of YogaTeaPoetry–suggested we experiment by spending 30 minutes of our non-working hours every day consciously “not having any input,” and then write about it. In our initial conversation, she abbreviated this practice as “30 minutes, no input” and, subsequently, “information rest.” Completing this experiment meant we were agreeing not to read a book, scroll on the internet, listen to an audiobook, play music, do a guided meditation, etc., for at least one 30-minute block every day for 21 days. 

Maybe you already spend large portions of your non-working day not reading or listening to anything, so this challenge doesn’t seem so difficult. But, that was not my case. I knew this challenge would require me to change my daily habits. My instincts also told me it might be fruitful.

Before we knew it, our three-week experiment turned into months. And, we have continued this practice. You can see Taniya’s reflections on her experience in “Information Rest: Taniya’s Perspective.” I’m sharing mine here. This exercise delivered a number of insights that surprised me! Notably, it highlighted some of my limiting ideas about place and time, my relentless urge to multitask, and the liberatory side effects of not adding input to every mundane activity.

Limiting Ideas about Place and Time

The first few days of this no-input experiment were deceptively easy for me. I started on a weekend. Each morning, I spent thirty minutes sitting at my breakfast table, fixing tea, and sipping it without reading, scrolling, or listening to something. Easy!

Then, the first weekdays of the challenge arrived. Not so easy anymore! Not at all. I wanted to do some guided meditations (oops–that’s “input”…argh!). Doing the guided meditations that were calling to me and also doing “30 minutes, no input” seemed undoable. Time scarcity was telling me that I didn’t have the ability to do both. So, I nixed the guided meditation. That felt uncomfortable. 

The next day, I did the guided meditation in the morning and told myself I’d do 30 minutes at the end of my work day before coming home. But, colleagues kept coming by my office. Very nice colleagues. I love chatting with them! But, “30 minutes, no input” did not happen as planned. I had to make myself do it that evening. And–I’ll level with you–I felt salty about it! That’s when I started to fully realize how much I was using audiobooks and podcasts to distract me from the stress of the day. (Note: distraction can be good! But, not done to the point that it comes at the cost of processing the day.)

Without time in the early morning sitting at my kitchen table, it was a struggle. The no-input experiment was a chore for the next few days. I had to keep figuring out how and where to work in the 30 minutes. 

Releasing the Urge to Multitask through Extra Input

Then, something shifted about two weeks in. I got up one morning and spent time checking on my plants and watering them. I thought about putting on an audio book or listening to a podcast, but I didn’t. Then, I emptied the dishwasher and put away the clean dishes. Again, I almost reflexively reached to turn on the radio, but I resisted. Before long, I realized I had gone 30 minutes with no input. I briefly wondered if this might be “cheating.” Thinking about how many times I had to resist turning on the news or listening to something, I realized it wasn’t. Although the thought to add input kept arising, it was somehow easy to bat it away each time.

From that point on in the experiment, I often consciously choose not to listen to anything as I puttered around my house in the morning before tea and meditation time. Then, I also started seeing other opportunities when I could choose “no input.” I started opting not to turn on the news or a podcast during some of my commutes. Like Taniya, I took more of my daily walks without listening to anything.

It occurred to me that prior to this experiment, almost every time that I was doing any “chore” or activity that didn’t require lots of concentration, I had been unconsciously trying to “be productive” and “multitask” by listening to the news or a podcast, etc. Although I still enjoy doing these things, I realized I could allow myself time to just do what I needed to do, without layering on other “productive” tasks. Sometimes, I still listen to a podcast while folding laundry. Other times, it feels spacious and calming to just fold laundry or put away dishes. I started making conscious choices.

Contentment in the Mundane

Cause and effect are difficult to pin down sometimes. I’m not sure if it was this no-input experiment, the cumulative effect of what I have been doing, or coincidence that led to some interesting changes. Before starting this challenge, I had been meditating consistently for a few years. And, I was setting aside quiet and mindful time with my tea every day, almost always twice a day. (I even started the Virtual Tea Table series as a way to share this practice in community.) Still, as I increasingly carved out spaces with no extra inputs, a few interesting things happened.

When I kept my focus on chores or mundane tasks, I was more often contentedly present in the moment. I remembered that a book I read and loved, Tracee Stanley’s Radiant Rest, discusses the idea of “weaving” mindfulness practice in your daily life as the “householder’s flow.” (Stanley has written about the householder’s flow here, too.) When I read those words before this experience, I didn’t connect them fully to my life. The pieces finally fell into place as I committed to “30 minutes, no input.” This new understanding led me to revisit Stanley’s suggestions for other ways to integrate mindfulness into my days.

More Time to Process and Enjoy Pauses

Other times during this no-input experiment, when I stopped multitasking, I had seemingly out-of-the-blue insights about some emotional tangles. I believe I was finally giving my body and mind the time to process some of them. I even spontaneously remembered a dream over an hour after waking up one day–something I don’t think has ever happened to me!

There were other surprising developments, too. I read a quote by Thich Nhat Hahn some time ago about red traffic lights. In How to Relax, he suggests embracing them as an opportunity to pause and do some mindful breathing. He declares: “[N]ow we know the red light is our friend, helping us to resist rushing and calling us to return to the present moment, where we can meet with life and peace.” 

I didn’t absorb that idea as a real possibility the first time I read it. (Traffic can be intense where I live!) I actually chuckled when I read that passage. A few weeks into this experiment, however, I remembered that quote and started to enjoy red lights. I’m being serious! No one is more surprised than I was. I can’t say I embrace every red light. Almost daily, however, I find myself thinking I’m lucky to have this pause when I stop at a red light.

Final Thoughts on the Experiment

I don’t think I fully appreciated how much I was layering and cramming into my days. I have been intentional about scheduling and taking breaks, as I shared in “Making Time to Pause, Especially When Busy.” I’m embarrassed to admit, however, that I was approaching my days as blocks of time that were either “break time” or “multitasking time” with not much in between. I didn’t realize some of the ways that this binary thinking about my time was contributing to the cult of productivity. The approach was pushing me into unhealthy behaviors. Don’t get me wrong: I still love my podcasts, books, audiobooks, and music. But, I’m retraining myself not to reach for them just because I could add more to what I am doing. Less is often better. 

Also, another important insight was reinforced by the experiment: Taniya has great ideas! I am grateful she suggested this no-input experiment. If you didn’t already, you might want to check out her perspective on this experience at the post “Information Rest.”

The post No Input Experiment: Traci’s Perspective appeared first on Tea Infusiast.

In this post, I share how my tea practice helped me realize the source of my reluctance to use a very practical tea accessory that is also beautiful.

A Beautiful Birthday Gift

I carry teaware around with me a lot–to take on walks and hikes, when I travel for work, and when we go on vacation. It can be tricky finding safe ways to transport teapots, teacups, fairness pitchers, etc.

For over a year I had been admiring handmade tea travel bags made by Care for Teaware. So, when my spouse asked me what I might like for my birthday, one of their tea travel bags was at the top of my list. I was delighted to receive it. Little did I know that I was inviting in yet another lesson from tea life!

The tea travel bag is even more beautiful in person than can be captured in the photos. And, a close examination reveals how beautifully and lovingly it is constructed. So much skill went into designing and creating this bag to transport fragile teaware!

I Avoid the Birthday Gift for Months

So, given how much I wanted this tea travel bag, how beautiful and practical it is, and how often I transport teaware, you might be surprised to learn that I didn’t use it for over two months! I know! My avoidance surprised me, too.

I sat this beauty in a place where I could admire it every day. And, I did, indeed admire it. At the same time, I was transporting teaware regularly but not using the travel bag made expressly for this purpose!

Slowing down and being more mindful has taught me that when I start avoiding something, I will usually learn a lesson if I investigate why. Another lesson from tea life, it appears, was ready for me…again.

The Source of My Reluctance

I asked myself why I wasn’t using this long-wanted, deeply appreciated, and very practical travel bag. I realized I was afraid of marring its beauty. The fact that this beautiful cloth bag with its decorative ribbon could be stained was keeping me for using it.

Lots of ways I might “ruin” the travel bag were running around my mind.

• It might get dusty when I sat in on the floor of my car.
• The trails, logs, and mossy rocks on my hikes might get it dirty.
• Wet teaware that needed to go back into the bag might stain the cloth.

My worrying brain was thinking of more ways, too! But, I’ll end that list of possible calamities there.

Tea Life Lesson Delivered…Again

Just like I had to come to terms with the fact that I could accidentally crack beloved teacups, I had to accept that this beautiful item could get dirty or stained. Was I not going to use it to protect it from wear? Would I keep using something I liked less so that I wouldn’t be sad if the more beautiful object were damaged?

Life is messy. There’s no use pretending it isn’t. Avoiding to use something practical because it also happens to be lovely is nonsensical. My fear was keeping me from the pleasure (and practicality!) of using the tea travel bag.

Carefully packing my teaware in it brings joy. Carrying the travel bag by the tied handle is so satisfying. The bag’s proximity during traveling tea sessions brings comfort from home. And, it’s SUCH a pleasure to admire!

Although I will treat it with care, I will use this travel bag regularly. Indeed, I have used it often in the months since I asked that question and learned this tea life lesson. After all, a little dirt and a few tea stains will only be a testament to tea travels and tea time on the trail. It will show how it was lovingly used.

Tea Life Goes On

In case you were wondering, this bag is really practical. It is very well cushioned. A gongfu teapot (or even a small western-style teapot) can fit in the center. Up to four small cups (or a small fairness pitcher instead of a cup) can slide in the padded pockets that surround the teapot space, too.

Have you ever struggle with a reluctance to drink special teas or use special tea things? How did you overcome it? I’d love to hear from you!

If you are interested in reading about other lessons that tea life has taught me, here are a couple of others:

“Lessons about Authenticity from the Online Tea Community”

“Embrace Your Tea Path”

Also, you can learn about and sign up for our monthly newsletter, Tea Infusiast News.

The post A Lesson about Beauty from Tea Life appeared first on Tea Infusiast.

Here is one deep lesson that I have learned about myself: while I tend not to do things simply to please people, I realize that too often I stop myself from doing things that I would like to do so I won’t displease others. (That’s why I included that second and third line in my authenticity mantra, in the photo above.) My experience as tea blogger and content creator (particularly on Instagram) offer me regular challenges to being authentic.

Lesson from Blog Post Length

First, let’s talk about blogging. There are lots of lessons about authenticity embedded there. Did you ever wonder why so many blog posts and recipes on the internet include really long–and often irrelevant–stories? I think we are most aware of this tendency on recipe posts because we tend go to those sites to specifically see the recipe. So, it’s very obvious when it is buried beneath extraneous text and photos. Google analytics create this issue: they incentivize people to write more than they want or need to. Since it rates longer posts higher, those posts will do better in Google searches.

I have empathy for content creators who are writing more than they might have because they are trying to earn money or maximize the audience for their work. Ignoring those analytics makes it harder to reach their goals. I, too, have felt the push to write more. Although I am not monetizing my blog, who wouldn’t like their work to be shared with a larger audience? Since I value concision in writing, however, I have decided not to add words just to satisfy the algorithm. That’s one way I choose to stay authentic in my blog. (Check out my Tisane Recommendations to Match Your Tea Mood post, for example. My SEO analyzer keeps telling me that post is “too short.”)

Lesson from Delaying a Blog Post

My tea blog recently taught me another lesson about authenticity and my challenges around it. I wrote a heartfelt post about my take on The Problem with Afternoon Tea. It languished in my drafts folder for weeks–and discouraged me from writing other blog posts–because I was worried it would rub people the wrong way! I am laughing at myself now. But, it took me a whole month to realize not publishing that post was from an unhealthy desire not to displease anyone. I know this is a small thing. (That’s why it’s so funny to me now that I got hung up on it.) I firmly believe, however, that noticing and addressing the small things help me exercise my authenticity muscle so I can do bigger things.

Another Lesson from Likes, Saves, and Shares

If you are on any social media, including Instagram, you have probably felt the pressure to take certain kinds of photos, write certain kinds of posts, make the fancy reel, etc. It’s hard not to notice when your followers (and/or the platform!) really reward or ignore certain things. There are some challenging lessons about authenticity there.

I remember when my Instagram account was new, many years ago now. I posted a photo of a panda bear teapot that I bought my daughter. We were preparing an herbal tea in it for our tea time together. It received more likes than the other photos I had posted at that time. (I never knew how large and enthusiastic panda bear appreciators were before then!) I joked with my family that we had to use that teapot at least once a week so I could photograph it. But, I realized I didn’t want change our mother-daughter tea parties to please Instagram or my followers. So I resisted despite the very real temptation.

Another example: Instagram is being heavy-handed in pushing reels. When I clicked to make a post the other day, for example, a message popped up asking me if I wouldn’t prefer to make a reel. It noted that more people would see it. The underlying message was that Instagram would show my post to more people if I made a reel instead of a regular video post! I decided to use the camera angle and video size I wanted. (If I use a reel, I have to change my camera angle or I’ll show viewers my feet and my camera stand. Riveting content, to be sure!) I used a post and not a reel. I knew it meant Instagram wouldn’t show it to as many people. Reels can be fun. But, I want to use them when I want to use them.

Closing Thoughts on Lessons about Authenticity (for today)

I am by no means always good at applying what I have learned from these lessons about authenticity. I remember, for example, fretting over whether I was posting too many photos of tea with milk. Would the tea purists be turned off, I wondered? I even stopped taking and posting photos on some tea-with-milk days when I would have liked to. It took time but I got over that. I don’t want to change my tea drinking or tea photo practice to please more people or displease fewer people. I want to consistently choose to be and show up as me.

Being a part of the online tea community, like life in general, offers constant choices between authentic and inauthentic paths. Like tea drinking and meditation, it’s a daily practice to tread the authentic trail. I hope I become better and more consistent at choosing to be my whole self instead of distorting or contracting based on what I think others would prefer. I wish the same for you. Let’s all strive for #authenticiTEA in the #communiTEA. And, in life!

The words inside the teacup in the image at the top of this post shares my authenticity mantra, again. (And, shoutout to Dr. Brené Brown. Her books Daring Greatly and The Power of Vulnerability helped me think through and do better on these issues. My mantra is even inspired by one she shares!) I realized I have to be authentic to be wholehearted.

Do you have a mantra, guiding questions, or other helpful ways that empower you to choose authenticity? I invite you to share them, or any other things on your mind, in the comments.

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