Tea Time Tales

I thought I'd share with you'll what it was about a cup of tea that I take delight in. Actually coming to think of it, tea has been an expression of different feelings and emotions, at different points in my life.

Authentic Moroccan tea glasses add glamour and an exotic touch to my teatime.

While growing up, we were not allowed to have tea - milk it was. It was the forbidden fruit that we had seen the grown up's enjoy, when it was teatime. The ban was finally lifted when I was in college. It was not so much the tea that I enjoyed then but it was the feeling of being all grown up that gave me a high (haven't heard that  before I guess, being high on tea??). And then when it was exam time and we needed a break from all that studying, it was a tea break that came to our rescue. So tea was a reason to break away from the monotony of studying and rejoice in the teatime gatherings with my family while I felt all grown up.

When I started working, as much as I wanted to be left out of the office grapevine, come teatime and tea was served with a daily dose of office gossip.There was also the budding popularity of cafes like Coffee Day and Barista that fueled the cool hangout place concept. So after a hectic week at work, my friends and I would often spend our weekends in a cafe, reminiscing about college life and trying to hold on to the college bonds that we had made. But as time would tell, we all got busy with our lives and priorities got the better of us. Connecting with college friends over tea is truly missed to date.

Dancing steam putting on a show. 

Then I was engaged to be married and most of my evenings were spent with my fiance in a coffee shop, talking all evening over a cup of tea. At this point, it did not matter even if a cup of hot water had been placed in front of me and I had to sip it all evening. The only exception being that I had to have my love to share it with me. As we lost track of time, we'd get a curfew call from mom saying that it was way passed teatime and we had to make it on time for dinner. So at this juncture, tea was an excuse to meet my love and spend some quality time with him. 

Then as newly marrieds, we had to move to a different continent because of my husbands work and the menacing winters, just made having a cuppa more of a need than a want. The whole feeling of holding a hot cup in your hand and sipping the hot liquid as it soothed your throat and warmed your insides was a wonderful feeling. In a new country, tea became more of a seasonal indulgence.

Tea time is also a time to catch up on my favorite stack of design books.

And then came the MOMMY stage. A time in your life, when not a single minute of your time is yours. You work 24/7 relentlessly for a little boss demanding all you can give, with paychecks being paid with drooling kisses. So teatime vanished completely, as any 5 minutes that I got to myself was spent in the shower  or to finish any unfinished business before the little boss woke up. Being a new mommy, I felt guilty if I took some time out for myself. It was long before I understood that I needed to feel rested and happy myself before I can make everyone else around me happy and content. And that's when I decided to reserve a few peaceful moments for myself and enjoy the simplest of all pleasures - tea. I began to savor everything about it. Selecting the cup, brewing the tea, watching the steam dance as it escaped the cup, to discovering new blends or simply just enjoying tea for what it is..... and the ritual of "Me-time" continues to date. 

I 'd love to know what is it about teatime that makes YOU enjoy it so much. You have a wonderful day!!!!

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