Tea And Company [Migrated Post]

Don’t know about you, but I grew up preferring having my cup of tea alone. Warm matcha with dark chocolate bits have been my most loyal and trustworthy companion ever since my high school days, to soothe me in the late afternoons of crying over boys and lift me up during the boring bits of trashy novels. Throughout those years I’ve grown this intimate relationship with the entire process of preparing tea. So to say the beverage is a non-living thing is almost a sin. Much more than it is a beverage to be drunk, it’s a sensation to be felt, and nothing else in the world can compare to experiencing tea at its essence.

Of the many factors that affect the volatile essence (and consequently taste) of tea, the presence of company is one that fascinates me the most. Two commentaries from the wide array of tea books published during the Ming Dynasty 明朝 took note of this almost sacred solitary act of brewing and steeping tea, both mentioned in Chapter 4, ‘The Taste of Tea’, of Warren Peltier’s The Ancient Art of Tea: Wisdom From the Old Chinese Tea Masters. Calligrapher-painter Chen Ji Ru 陈继儒 described in his Majestic Affairs on Cliff Couch:

In tasting tea, one person can taste tea’s essence;
two people can taste tea’s delight;
three people can taste tea’s flavor;
but six or seven people together can only be called
using (drinking) tea.

Scholar Zhang Yuan 张源 further elaborated on this commentary in Record of Tea later on, stating:

Drinking tea is most valued when there are few guests;
where there is a multitude of people there is clamor;
when there is clamor tasteful interest is lacking!
Solitary sipping is called peaceful;
two guests are called elegant;
three to four people are called a delight;
five to six people are called common;
seven to eight people are called depraved.

I find these commentaries to be very true – even three is sometimes a crowd when it comes to tea, as if with every additional company, its full flavor, color, and aroma gets diluted.

There is healing when you listen to waters ripple as they flow to your teacup; there is pleasure even just watching the tea leaves expand during steeping. But as I grow older, I found that the best tea experience is when you’re having the jade nectar with your favorite tea-loving friend, immersed deep in the most intimate conversations over a leisurely cup of delight.

What about you? Do you enjoy tea more during your private hours or with a friend?



Love, Stace