It's 3pm on a Friday. And the daily reminder just popped up on my Microsoft Outlook that it's tea time. Why did I set this reminder? A few reasons.... I'm not English, so I don't have an internal clock that says, "It's 4pm. Time for tea." And..... I realized I get engrossed in my work and don't take breaks. And when I did take breaks, I was EATING... and really I just need to find some other fixation than the free bagels and cream cheese in the kitchen here at work.
When I was in college, I worked in Walt Disney World on the College Program, where I was paired up with 5 other girls to live in an apartment. I lived there for three semesters... so count 'em up, yes... that's 15 roommates in about a year's time. One of those roommates was from Scotland - Tracy. (She had an internal clock for tea.) She would ask me some afternoons if I wanted to try a "wee cup of tea". I gave it a go, and for about 6 years - until I finished college - I thought that Lipton tea was just lovely. Now I know better. Lipton is only acceptable when we're in the middle of the woods camping and we were packing to please everyone.
I'm no longer a poor college student, and I can afford to make good trips to interesting places, so I have become a self-proclaimed tea snob. (The photo on today's posting is one I took of a tea field on the side of a road in Hangzhou, China. I literally had to said, "STOP! I want that photo." It was raining, the cabbie pulled over, I took the shot, and jumped back int he car.) I live in New York City now, and there is plenty of multi-cultural stuff going on here. When I'm not traveling and buying tea for trip souvenirs, I can go tea shopping here too. I get tea for gifts and I think it's fun to get all the accessories too. But honestly, I don't use all of that crap unless the tea requires it. I use the same tea mug every day at my desk for tea. But I've got loads of loose tea of all price ranges sitting here on my desk.
When I can take the time, and sit down with my cup of tea at my desk, I'm going to take a break... let you know what kind of tea I'm drinking, how I made it, where I bought it, whether it's good or not... and I'll spill whatever kind of stories that day's tea break conjures up in my head too. So grab a cup of tea and enjoy.
