No, this isn’t about current politics.

For the last two years of posting articles to this blog I’ve been guided by the question, What is it about tea that inspires art?

In asking the question, there is an assumption that it is the spiritual aspects of the leaf that inspire. I’ve mentioned books of that theme; Spirit of Tea by Frank Hadley Murphy, Tea Here Now by Donna Fellman, Meaning of Tea by Scott Chamberlin Hoyt and Philip Cousineau, Cha Dao by Solala Towler and Three Cups of Tea by Greg Morteson and David Oliver Relin. But in almost every tea book, there is the element of spirit steeped into an ancient and profound history. They’re filled with beautiful stories and powerful images. I delight in the pretty side of tea. The elegance. The beauty. Since I write for and most often speak to children about tea, they fit well into my presentations.

But, last week I spoke to a horticultural society about tea, the plant. Questions about the health benefits came up. One man asked, “How many cups a day should we drink?” Issues with caffeine. Concerns about importing. “How do we know what’s true?”

That’s when I saw the elephant.

The pretty stories sell tea and books about tea. Knowledge of health benefits sell tea. Tea can sound so good that we can create an illusion that, the more the better. If one cuppa is good for us, does it follow that 8 per day is better? More consumers are asking questions about the real health benefits and quality control.

There’s no question about the importance of tea in the world. But, is there a problem with steering the public concept of tea to something innocent and benign? In doing so, do we erode the power of the ancient spirit of tea?

I’m reminded of the comic strip, Rose Is A Rose by Pat Brady and Don Wimmer. Rose is a gentle mother who has an inner motorcycle-riding, black leather wearing wild woman. They coexist. Her son, Pasquale, is guarded by a sweet angel who morphs into a titan if the situation requires. Pasquale needs both aspects of his angel. Rose needs her alter-ego, Vicky The Bike Rider to jump in with force.

I’ve come to think of the spirit of tea like this. The elegance and beauty and healing thrive on the power of those little leaves. In the last post to this blog, I cited the stories of two old Chinese men for whom a cup of tea was precious. Will making tea more innocent make it less precious? If we drink 8 cups a day, will each cup seem less important? In making it more convenient, do we make it seem less rare?

Where’s The Elephant?

Now, we’re a month away from Expo. There will probably be more than 5000 tea people gathering in Las Vegas to drink and talk about tea. But it’s also about selling more tea. More people drinking more tea is a good thing. Adding tea to more products is a good thing. Right? It’s in chewing gum and chocolate bars. I love it! There will be samples of hundreds of teas and amazing new concepts. When attendees enter the exhibition hall the will be almost lifted off the floor by the fragrance. Classes with experts in all aspects of tea will be filled with people who need to know the best and latest to build their businesses. And schmoozing. Networking. Discussing weather conditions in China and new production in Africa.

Within the convention center will be a blend of all things tea. Technical, whimsical, historic, authentic, playful, and scientific. If it were not all part of the blend, would tea be the inspiration that it is today; the muse of painters and poets, icon of novelists and filmmakers?

My imaginary elephant looks a bit like Disney’s Dumbo with his unusually big ears making him rare and lofty.

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