by Pastor Ken
Among the many beverages, tea is my favorite. When I was young, I focused on efficiency in everything, trying to save time. As an example, as a student, I grabbed every minute to study and finish homework. As I grew older, time was so precious for me to work, make friends, and develop new hobbies. So, tea bags, for the sake of convenience and efficiency, used to be my choice when I wanted to drink tea.
Later, I realized that not everything in life has to achieve efficiency. In fact, efficiency is not the same as effectiveness. Efficiency is more about the process, and effectiveness is the end goal.
For example, when painting a house, I can quickly finish the four walls in a room. However, after the paint dries, I find out it isn’t the color I originally desired. Thus, I have to start all over. Focusing on the process, I may know how to use the best method to complete the job in the shortest time. However, a mistake in choosing the color prevents me from achieving my goal. After realizing that the process is as important as the goal, I have learned an important life lesson.
When it comes to drinking tea, using a tea bag is so convenient. Just add hot water and wait for a few minutes, and you have a cup of tea. Nowadays, you can even buy bottled tea from the supermarket.
However, drinking tea is not just to quench thirst. If you are thirsty, drinking water is preferred. Drinking tea is to add pleasure to your life—that should be the goal. Using a variety of tea leaves, tea sets, and brewing methods, whether you drink alone or drink tea with two or three friends, you do feel the difference.
The Japanese tea ceremony is world-famous for its attention to the environment, etiquette, tea sets, and tea powder… Some people who don’t appreciate it often question why wasting an hour just to make half a cup of tea. So inefficient. They miss the point that the goal of the tea ceremony is about the participant’s state of mind. When we participate in a tea ceremony, it’s important to have peace in our minds. The tranquil interaction between the guests and the host will then lead to mutual trust and respect, a better state of mind
The Chinese tea ceremony is relatively simple and it takes about 10 minutes (for details, come back next week to read Part 2). The principle is the same. The purpose of drinking tea is to add a little pleasure to life. I’m not a tea expert. I can’t tell the difference between two types of tea by one sip, and I don’t believe expensive tea is necessarily good tea. But I know that, as long as the tea is grown naturally, processed without chemicals and artificial colors, and hygienic from harvest to packaging, then it is fine with me. If the taste is what I like, it must be a good tea.
After years of collecting tea-related objects including gifts from relatives and friends, I have thirty-plus teapots in various sizes. Their materials include pottery, porcelain, glass, wood, and iron. I also have more than ten kinds of tea leaves from various regions of the world. I have developed a habit of brewing one type of tea using one designated pot. If the focus is on the tea, it does not matter which teapot to use. However, when I put in some thoughts about matching a teapot and cups with a particular tea, the whole process becomes interesting. Tea drinking has indeed added pleasure to my life.
