Here’s how tea can reduce the world’s problems

It’s official. I’ve turned my husband Dan into a Chai tea snob.

 

Photo by Nathan Dumlao on Unsplash

We have a daily Chai tea break mid-morning at home.

 

His and hers Chai tea

And we never leave town—road trip, hiking, snowshoeing—without a thermos of homemade Chai tea.

 

His and hers Chai tea. again. still.
Our 2020 mountainside Thanksgiving feast featured Chai tea. of course.

As we’ve had opportunity to sample a variety of Chai teas, Dan can now rate them on a scale of 1-10. And he does a pretty good job.

Hence, a snob.

Consider this thought from Mma Ramotswe, the fictitious heroine of the No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency books:

Most problems could be diminished by the drinking of tea and the thinking through of things that could be done while tea was being drunk.

In my humble opinion, truer words were never spoken.

I have solved many of the world’s problems with tea keeping me company. Well. Maybe it was more like life’s challenges. But still … there was the tea.

Why the heck does any of this matter, you ask.

It’s really not about the tea. It’s about sitting still long enough to savor a cup of tea.

It’s about taking a few deep breaths, and relaxing our shoulders, and reflecting on the goodness falling down all around us. Because you know there’s a whole lot of goodness even as we walk through this earth’s heartbreaks and challenges and trauma.

Be still and know that I am God. — Psalm 46:10

The original Hebrew for the word still can be translated as, “cease, idle, be still.”

That’s counter-intuitive for our American culture. We earn the badges that confirm our value by being overly-busy, and overly-worked, and overly-exhausted.

No one earns a badge from sitting idle with a cup of tea and contemplating the good things in our lives.

Good things like, one more day in which I can see, and hear, and smell, and taste, and feel the strong arms of my husband holding me. One more day with a roof over my head, one more day of provision. I will probably not go hungry this day. One more day of no enemy bombs dropping from the skies. One more day with people to love and people who love me. One more day of Chai tea. One more day of … well, you get the picture.

Go ahead. Brew a cup of tea … OK, OK, coffee works, too. Sit idle with your brew and savor each sip.

Someone named Thich Nhat Hanh wrote:

Drink your tea slowly and reverently, as if it is the axis on which the earth revolves – slowly, evenly, without rushing toward the future. Live the actual moment. Only this moment is life.

Now there’s a unique concept — living this actual moment of life.

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12 Comments

  1. Allison McCormick

    Marlys, thank you for this beautiful reminder to take time to “be.” Be present, be still, be in awe of the blessings that surround us. And thank you for another great excuse to drink Chai tea! Not that I really needed an excuse… ????

  2. Sharon Brorson

    Thank you Marlys for the “calming reminder” to enjoy our hot tea (or coffee) everyday. Your photo with Dan is just great. I love the smiling faces and sweet relationship you two have. My mid-morning hot tea is enjoyed by me as I walk around our yard and discover what just started blooming. I am always excited to see the flowers and just love the warmer weather and lovely Spring air…I breathe deeply and give thanks to God for the change of seasons.

  3. Nancy E Whitlatch

    Happy that you got Dan to join the Chia Tea group. I’ve been a snob for a while now myself. One of my sons got me into it.

  4. I too enjoy tea daily! Chai is my favorite also! My favorite is Vaniall Chai by Bigelow with a close 2nd of Pukka’s decaf chai. Would love to hear your top 10 from your husband! My husband bought us a milk frother so now I can make chai tea lattes at home with TAZO syrup or Oregon Chai powder…like Starbucks at home!

    • A milk frother?! Starbucks in your kitchen?! Your husband is a keeper, Jennifer. My husband’s favorite Chai (the only one that’s scored a “10” so far) is a concentrate from Metolius Artisan Tea, a local Bend, Oregon business. It’s all organic, and the ingredients are black tea, water, cane sugar, fresh ginger, cardamom, black pepper, cinnamon, and cayenne. It’s spendy for a bottle of the concentrate, but it’s approx 1/8 cup per 1 cup of steamed milk, so it goes a long way. It’s delicious if you like spicy!

  5. I read this while drinking my morning coffee. ???? The truth is something I grapple with daily, even as a retired person. Maybe more so. The voices in my head say I need to accomplish in order to justify my existence. I struggle with the need for purpose and the need to “be still and know that I am God.”
    Thank you for this.

    • This sentence stands out: “I need to accomplish in order to justify my existence.” How many of us fall for this lie? So well said, Ann. Thank you.

  6. Penny

    What a pleasant and much needed break in my afternoon….. I’m dealing with e-mails for the past 6 days…..
    Never realized I needed so much attention ….( yeah right ????????)….. as I was sipping coffee I started your e-mail
    I got to the line of solving the worlds problems, I very unladylike spit out my coffee!! Was glad no one else was here with me to witness this! We are sometimes so serious, we need to lighten up!! I rejoice in your happiness….. can’t wait for your next article…… hugs to you and your hubby…….PJ

    • Sorry, but I love the picture that came to mind of you spitting out your coffee! Unladylike! Thank you for your kind words, Penny.

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