Another art in the world of tea is the art of telling a story. From the 5000 years of history to the unique inspiration of every tea business owner, our stories are powerful tools of the trade. Our stories help sell the beverage and help us share the spirit of the leaf.

I had the great pleasure of spending the day at An Afternoon To Remember, a tearoom in Newcastle, CA with Norwood Pratt. Owner, Amy Lawrence had made arrangements to have him present a tea tasting and talk about tea to her customers. The house was packed. As I watched the attendees, many of them new to tea, I realized that it was the stories keeping them on the edge of their seats. Norwood Pratt is well-known for his storytelling expertise. I’ve heard him speak many times and never fail to be inspired as he speaks so eloquently and passionately about tea - and the people who produce it. But on this day he said something new and spoke to a concern that I’ve had since I began my life in tea.

We do not have our own unique cultural tea story. I’ve sometimes felt like a voyeur, imitating the gestures and ceremony of other ancient tea traditions. I’ve wondered if people from other countries look at us as frauds when we imitate - or if they appreciate us honoring their stories. As we drink the teas, we share the culture and history of people around the world. We are able to taste that history filtered through the fresh leaves of ancient plants. We appreciate the women who picked by hand and the men who craft the finished leaf. We savor the magical legends. In the tea cultures, it is consumed at such a young age and accepted as such an integral part of daily life, that the choice is not made to be a tea drinker or not. Who in the tea producing cultures remembers the first time they tasted tea?

People are hungry for stories. It’s part of our very being.   Storytelling is a form of history, of immortality too. It goes from one generation to another.        - Studs Terkel

Our storytelling tradition in the United States is developing much differently.

Amy Lawrence began the  tea tasting by telling her own personal story. That is what we all do. How did you come to tea? When did you first discover the joy of beautiful, artisan teas? What was your experience with the leaf that ignited this passion? Amy told of the first time she heard Norwood speak at one of the early Expos. And it was an experience she and I shared. Norwood Pratt’s courage to share his passion for tea has inspired thousands of us. Have you noticed that when tea professionals gather, we tend to share memories from past Expos when we first met the growers and the importers face-to-face - or - when we toured the plantations together - or - when we attended other kinds of hosted events.

We have been discovering specialty tea as adults. So our stories are based on relatively recent personal experience. Norwood mentioned that one of the real treasures of tea in the US is that we do embrace and celebrate the worldwide culture of tea. Because we lack that single identity, we enjoy a greater freedom to explore. We share the memories of our first loose leaf experience, but also the inspiration that led us to become a tea professional. And now I delight in the fact that my relationship with tea was not the product of habit. When we introduce newcomers to tea we are storytellers. I suggest that it is a skill everyone in the business should develop. It may be the ability to tell the story of tea and our own personal stories of how we are inspired by it that become our greatest asset in this difficult financial time. And it is in gatherings of other tea people that we learn to tell our stories with skill. Whether we are importers, retailers, educators, sales reps, tour planners, sommeliers or serve some other role in the business world of tea, we are all storytellers. 

People have forgotten how to tell a story. Stories don’t have a middle or an end anymore. They usually have a beginning that never stops beginning.       -  Steven Spielberg

In George Jage’s last WTN Blog he spoke about the tea industry remaining strong through recession. We have stories of this being true during the world’s previous wars - political and economic. The tales of our grandmother’s teapots serving up a spot of comfort in the afternoon are bringing people back to tea. It is an affordable memory we can create with our children when we are forced to eliminate other attractions. It may be our stories that keep our industry viable when others fail. 

What happened at An Afternoon To Remember last week is something that is happening in tearooms across the country and could be happening more as more tea professionals become storytellers. As the popularity of tea grows, new consumers are using the online search tools and directories to fine tea experiences. They want to be guided through this maze of information. They want to be inspired by our stories. Some might say that we owe it to the spirit of tea to become good stewards of its message.

I can hear the groans of overworked tearoom owners - no, not something else! But if it was the stories that lured us all to the world of tea isn’t that what also sustains us? Was it the stories we read in books or the ones told in person that we most remember?

There is no agony like bearing an untold story inside of you.     -  Maya Angelou

Learning to tell a good story isn’t difficult. Much of it is imitation and the rest is practice. For instance, when we gather at tea events like the World Tea Expo we may be shopping for new products and good deals but we are also learning how to re-create the experience for our customers. In tastings, workshops, in the exhibit hall and informally as we gather, we are soaking up the stories that will become tea events for the folks back home. 

We are blessed to have many talented storytellers who are passionate about tea. But I believe that everyone has a great personal story to tell - and a growing collection of tea history stories to tell.

One of my newest stories is “The Puppy Tea Party”.

But that’s an blog for a different day.

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It might be said that the art of tea is the craftsmanship which transports the leaf from the field to the cup. And the spirit of tea is the poetry that we experience and are able to share it with a world vastly beyond ourselves.

Frank Hadley Murphy has written a book, The Spirit of Tea. When I spoke with him he said that he wanted to write a different kind of tea book. He has succeeded. It is poetry, history, science, memoir, and storytelling. He has put on paper some of the thoughts many of us reach for as we consider the way tea touches something deep within us. Beyond the health benefits and the business, we feel something . . . more. Or, as Frank Murphy begins his book,

“Science may be able to quantify tea’s effects on our bodies but it cannot quantify its effects on our souls and that’s exactly where tea shares with us her deepest mysteries. Her sobering humility resonates with our own original nature. Her subtle beauty reminds us of the beauty of our own perfection.  . . . Tea calls to our deepest selves and invites us to celebrate with it.”

We celebrate tea in many ways, almost all of which connect us in some way to our history. It is reassuring that thousands of years of tea and its migration around the world remind us that some of the worst times were a phase. We survived them. Our grandparents tell of the comfort they found in an afternoon cuppa when the world was at war and luxuries were scarce. We celebrate survival from the worst of times and are reminded that the best of times are equally as fragile.

If it were nothing else, the spirit of tea is enduring.

I believe it is the spirit of tea which continues to inspire artists to paint, sculpt, write plays, poetry, books and music in its honor. There are so few things which can become part of our daily lives that have such deep resonance. As Frank Murphy says, science cannot quantify this aspect of tea’s healthful benefits. There is no yardstick to compare the quality of the experience of tea 5000 years in our past. And dare we consider what tea might be 5000 years into the future.

I believe it is the spirit of tea that serves as a yardstick to measure the quality of communication in the Pakistani culture which Greg Mortenson discovers and describes in his bestselling book, Three Cups of Tea. The subtitle of the book is “One man’s mission to promote peace . . . one school at a time.”

I had the privilege to meet him at a recent reception and lecture in San Francisco. During the lecture he explained the inspiration of his title: sharing the first cup of tea we become acquainted, sharing the second cup of tea we become friends but it is when we share the third cup of tea that we are joined as a family. Over the third cup of tea we have the opportunity to share the peace of our own spirit with others.

I want to believe that humanity will still be celebrating life and tea in another 5000 years - that we will solve our current environmental, financial and political crises as we have in the past and leap forward through perpetual undulations of history. I credit the spirit of tea for allowing me to believe that peace is possible. If not in my lifetime, certainly it is possible in the lifetime of the plantations where our finest leaves are grown. When I think of what tea has survived so far, it does not seem unreasonable to dream.

“Tea has a way of softening us, making us vulnerable and receptive. If we take the time and continue to sit quietly in our chairs, savoring the taste and the moment, we may remember not only where we mislaid our spectacles but also where we have mislaid our dreams.” . . . Frank H. Murphy from his book, The Spirit of Tea.

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As I write this, a cup of silver needle inspiring my morning, I imagine that many of us are feeling anxious about current events - seeking simple solace with a fine tea. I intentionally allowed some of the leaves to escape the gaiwan lid hoping for them to leave a message in the bottom of my cup. This morning I also reached for a ceramic cup that was a gift from my friend Catherine. She is a ceramic artist. Most of her work is sculptural but she is a fine potter. I loved watching her at the wheel. For her, centering seemed effortless and her porcelain cylinders emerged like dancers from the mound of raw clay. When her hands touched clay, she could separate herself from the chatter of the surrounding room and enter her creative zone.

There is a concept in pottery called centering. It is what a potter must do to the mound of clay before he can proceed. But the real act of centering happens first within the mind and body of the artist. Of all the elements that must be controlled, the most difficult is the synchronization of mind and body. The other elements are air, water, texture, force and speed. There are some parallels to crafting and brewing tea.

The potter must select the proper clay and wedge it (like kneading bread) to remove pockets of air and to soften it to the right consistency for wheel work. The wheel must rotate at a comfortable and consistent speed. The addition of water during the process is usually necessary but must be managed with care. The actual act of centering happens when the potter moves the clay on the center of the wheel into an unwobbling pivot. And for the remainder of the work on the piece, the “center” must be maintained. As the interior well is deepened and the walls are raised, the potter must keep a focus of mind coordinated with body. Throwing clay is a whole mind and body experience. But for ceramic artists, achieving that peacefulness is a much greater accomplishment and reward than the final product.

We who enjoy specialty teas - loose leaf teas - come to enjoy the ritual of controlling the quality and temperature of the water. Most of us have a collection of pots, cups and assorted devices which add pleasure and intrigue to the experience. But, like the focused centering that the potter establishes with the clay, it is possible to experience a relaxation and clarity of mind when we stop to savor a rare, carefully prepared tea.

As I continue asking why tea has inspired art and spiritual pursuits for so many centuries, one of the most obvious answers is that it can help us experience something like the creative zone. It is true beyond the arts to many other artistic and spiritual practices. But it is the potter who uses the spinning as part of the process. The centrifugal force is managed and becomes useful.

We use many techniques to manage the feeling that we are spinning out of control. Some of us focus on preparing and enjoying tea. The events of the last few weeks have left us all feeling like things around us are spinning without center. We are wobbling and unsettled. It is a time to focus on the preparation and pleasure of tea.

The message of the leaves?

Even after the second infusion, the silver needles remain unopened, settled in a clump. I pull the leaves apart, all three still whole and fastened to the bit of stem. I see no message of either doom or prosperity. But I am reminded that we can all hold beauty in the palm of our hand - one tiny bud or one gentle teacup at a time.

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For many of us it was learning the song and rhyme, “I’m A Little Teapot”.

But there are many other literary experiences that help children develop preconceptions about tea even before they taste their first cup.

Pooh’s Little Instruction Book . . . by A.A. Milne

“A Proper Tea is much nicer than a Very Nearly Tea, which is one you forget about afterwards.”

And a “proper” tea in the world of Christopher Robin, Pooh Bear, Piglet, Tigger and all the inhabitants of the Hundred Acre Wood is based on tea being a part of every day of life.

I’ve been blogging about the phenomenon of tea deeply touching our souls. Whether it is the leaf, the beverage, the history or the ceremony, we continue to express some of the passion inspired by tea via the arts. Through art and literature we are introduced to the spirit of tea at a very young age. Children’s literature is richly flavored with references to tea. And they have become classics; some of the most popular books shared between adults and children. They are the stories that remain dear to our hearts.

Beatrix Potter gives us Peter Rabbit. But her animal world is filled with characters who enjoy the same daily pleasures of the human world surrounding them. Tea is comforting. Tea is healing. Sharing these special times of day are important.

The Tale of Peter Rabbit  . . . by Beatrix Potter

Peter was not very well during the evening.
His mother put him to bed,
and made some chamomile tea:
‘One table-spoonful to be taken at bed-time.’

Lewis Carroll’s “Alice In Wonderland” offers one of the most popular fictional illustrations of the tea party. The Mad Hatter’s Tea Party is one of the most memorable chapters in this 1864 adventure.

Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland . . . by Lewis Carroll

 ”Take some more tea,” the March Hare said to Alice very earnestly.
“I’ve had nothin yet,” Alice replied in an offended tone, “so I can’t take more.”

Mary Poppin’s . . . A 1964 Disney Classic

We learned to make the challenges of live a little sweeter by a change of attitude and a spoonful of sugar, “…it changes bread and water into tea and cakes…”.

Tea is special.

Tea is fun.

Teatime is a reward for a job well done.

Don’t some of these early experiences still make you smile?

I’m A Little Teapot . . . by George Sanders & Clarence Kelly

But the first tea poem we experienced as children was probably the nursery rhyme and song, “I’m A Little Teapot”, written by George Sanders and Clarence Kelly in 1939. We may take exception with the accuracy of the lyrics - we don’t boil the water in the teapot. And I’m ashamed to admit that I was an adult before I realized the fundamental problem.

What are we teaching our children?

We acted out the lyrics and became teapots to the delight of our friends with silly antics. And judging from the number of videos on YouTube, it is a favorite song for many ages. I found 250 offerings in a quick search. Click on the above image for one family’s version.

I’m a little teapot, short and stout
Here is my handle [one hand on hip], here is my spout [other arm out straight]
When I get all steamed up, hear me shout
Just tip me over and pour me out!
[as song ends, lean over and tip arm out like a spout]I’m a clever teapot, yes it’s true
Here’s an example of what I can do
I can change my handle to my spout [switch arm positions and repeat tipping motion]
Just tip me over and pour me out.

With almost 5000 years of tea history that has inspired health, art and celebration, it may be relatively recent that it crept into children’s literature - just the last couple of hundred years or so - in nursery rhymes and songs.

It keeps the question - WHY - alive but still unanswered.

What is it about tea?

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There are four basic components of the teapot: the body, the lid, the handle and the spout.

The body is formed by making a well in the center of a mound of clay, pulling the walls up into a cylinder until it reaches the desired height and thinness, then rounding the walls to close in at the top. The opening for the lid is designed to hold the lid snugly and the base is usually trimmed to create an attractive curve down to the foot of the piece.

The lid is thrown as a separate piece. And, because of the shrinkage of the clay, the lid should be thrown and measured for fit as quickly as possible. The other two elements, the spout and the handle, are also separate elements that must be made to match the body and should be allowed to dry at the same rate. Spouts are usually thrown and handles are “pulled” but there are options to both of these techniques.

If function were the only challenge, making a vessel to prepare tea, were the only consideration, the teapot is still a very difficult form to produce. But the ceramic artist also wants to make the form pleasing to the eye. The artist lives with the personal challenge to make the teapot both useful and beautiful. And the artist must hold an image in his mind of the finished piece during the process. It is not until completion, when the teapot is removed from the final glaze firing, that the potter knows if he has achieved his goal.

There are two sensory aspects of the craft that are essential to the artist during the wet clay stage. Centering and timing. And it is during the wet clay stage of making a teapot that I see similarities with the craftsmanship of artisan teas. Centering the clay is an act of bringing your entire body into a focused harmony with the clay. The plantation manager lives in a similar environmental balance with his plants and the decision of when and how much to pick seem reminiscent of the potters judgment about the proper hydration of the clay prior to joinery.

The separate pieces must dry until they are leather heard before joining them together. But at some time prior to this, the spout must be cut at an angle and the seam for joinery must be traced and the holes for the strainer must be cut into the body. Care must be taken in the handling of the pieces during the assembly. If this is done prematurely, then the balance can become distorted and the lid may not fit the body.

Centering and Timing

A noted ceramic artist, M.C. Richards, in “Centering, In Pottery, Poetry and The Person”, described centering as:

The bringing of the clay into a spinning, unwobbling pivot, which will then be free to take innumerable shapes as potter and clay press against each other. the firm, tender, sensitive pressure which yields as much as it asserts. It is like a handclasp between two living hands, receiving the greeting at the very moment that they give it. It is this speech between the hand and clay that makes me think of dialog.

Making a teapot is not a beginner’s project. It can be a life’s passion, just as the art of growing and processing tea is not a skill that can be learned academically. Both require years of experience. They are both sensitive dialogs with the soil and the environment. And I believe that we tea lovers are attracted to the intimacy of this communication.

We tea lovers are also well aware of the difference between premium loose-leaf tea and machine cut bulk teas. It may be the same leaf from the same plant but the handling changes the flavor. A hand-thrown teapot has the same difference from an industrial teapot. Both may pour tea. The industrial teapot may be lighter and will certainly be less expensive. But the artisan teapot - like the artisan tea - has a vitality that is refreshed with each experience.

Drinking fine teas with elegant vessels - the teapots, cups and other serving utensils - facilitates our becoming more centered and focused like the mound of clay on the wheel. The way we prepare and serve tea is a dialog with the artists who contributed all of the various elements. The potter chose the clay and the dimensions and the glaze. The tea master directed the picking and the drying, the rolling and the sorting. We, as consumers, orchestrate the moment of integration. Like meditation, some of our personal wobbling stabilizes and we can enter into a dialog with the hands of the artists.

I continue to live in awe of the traditions we have preserved for thousands of years as we celebrate tea. Knowing more about the history and culture of tea and ceramic arts adds much the pleasure I experience as I drink my daily brew.

Photo Credits:

The artist it the photographs is Andrew Sanders of Dixon, New Mexico. He and his partner, Miya Endo specialize in wheel-thrown stoneware and raku, a special Japanese firing technique that creates never-to-be-repeated bursts of color and texture. Andrew and Miya enjoy the spontaneity and direct interaction they have with each piece that goes through the stoneware and raku processes. You can see videos of their work on YouTube or through this link. http://www.miyapottery.com/mug.shtml

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This post is a slight deviation from my original question: What is it about tea that has inspired artists for thousands of years?  I’ve spent hours viewing some extremely contemporary tea inspired art and the motivation is totally transparent.

“Calm-A-Sutra” is a video competition created by The Tea Council of the USA, Inc. to award a $20,000 scholarship to the best video posted on YouTube illuminating the health benefits of tea. Last year, 2007, was the first annual competition in which there were 70 entries. This year there are more than 500. And the grand total of Calm-A-Sutra videos is now 615. This is an amazing collection, most of which are hilarious. But they each show us something of how the upcoming generation of tea lovers gives a contemporary voice to the ancient beverage. And we can certainly appreciate the way in which our message is being conveyed worldwide.

August 6th was the deadline. We’re approaching the final judging and should hopefully hear an announcement of the winner later in August. Today I invite you to take a look at what the tea has inspired at www.youtube.com. Type “calm-a-sutra” in the search bar. Or just click on this link -

Search YouTube for Calm-A-Sutra

You will find hundreds of entries - each of them approximately 2 minutes long with some titles like:

A Cup of PersonaliTea

I drank some tea and i liked it…

Calm-a-Sutra: The Sensual Side of Tea

Calm-A-Sutra ~~Mindfulness of Tea

Crouching Tea-ger Hidden Dragon (Calm-a Sutra of Tea) ( …

Green Tea & Your Brain - Calm a Sutra

And two of these titles received more than 20,000 views in the first week of posting. Can you guess which ones?

Why should we care about this new art experience?

We often talk about how to communicate tea to a broader audience. Tea people talk to tea people. News of a good tearoom is largely shared by word of mouth. These messages are being viewed by people around the world and 20,000 views for a single video in a week is a significant number. In internet marketing circles a view is now called an eyeball. And when I do some simple math, videos like these are bringing a lot of new eyeballs to tea. And these are eyeballs that might never have noticed the opening of a new tearoom or a new virtual tea store without a bit of internet searching.

The probability that they may bring new consumers to tea is high. Don’t you want to be knowledgeable if one of these new customers visits you? Could you create an event in your tearoom based on these videos? Do you know someone in your community who should enter next year’s Calm-A-Sutra Scholarship Contest? Not that I suggest that this detracts from the more classic view of tearooms - Asian, Victorian, Country and Sophisticated Urban - but I think we can celebrate the passion for tea brewing beyond these perceived borders. In fact, I suggest that there will be interest in most of these videos by all ages in all groups of those devoted to our favorite brew.

The videos are fun! Some are LOL (laugh out loud) great. And I think that the winner of the 2007 Calm-A-Sutra is hilarious.

Tea. Tougher Than You Think.

Tara Taylor is the creator of the video and the winner of the Calm-A-Sutra scholarship prize. An interview on The Early Show with Tara and with Joe Simrany, President of The Tea Council of the USA is also available on YouTube.

The Early Show Interview

I believe that we are all challenged to introduce tea to new consumers both as a way of building the specialty tea industry but also as an opportunity to replace more harmful beverages and foods with what we know to be healthy in many ways. If you create a way to share these videos in your tea business, I would love to have you add the story by commenting on this blog.

Warning!

YouTube-ing can be extremely time consuming. Keep an eye on the clock while you browse. There are over 600 videos in the Calm-A-Sutra category and more than 70,000 listed if you search for “tea”. Be selective and know when to click on the next selection - and when to stop.

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“Tea” by Velina Hasu Houston

In our small town, Nevada City, our Asian Theater Company - C.A.T.S. - performed the play, “Tea” by Velina Hasu Houston. Using Chado as a frame of reference, the story explores the experiences of Japanese war brides after World World II. Four women gather for a traditional tea ceremony to mourn the tragic suicide of their friend. While this is not light-hearted fare, there are some humorous moments. From a tea perspective, we are reminded that one of the purposes for this tradition is to restore peacefulness and balance. The balance they seek is individual and for their small group. They mourn their friend and what they have compromised as they have become assimilated into U.S. culture of the ’40’s. And in this case, their experience of sharing tea informs and helps us understand another piece of our shared history.

This play has been and continues to be performed in many cities.

The poster at the right is from a January 2007 production by the Community Asian Theater of the Sierra in Nevada County, CA.

This production was directed by Stewart E.W. Smith. The actresses pictured in the photo are Lisa Moon, Jeannie Wood, Linda Puliatch, Melissa Ferrari & Patty Lum-Ohmann.

“Cecilia’s Last Tea Party” by Russell Davis

Interestingly, “Cecilia’s Last Tea Party” is also woven into a war theme. The story begins after Cecilia’s parents have been kidnapped by soldiers after a takeover of an island paradise. Cecilia, the daughter of a princess, serves a British style tea and biscuits to her aunt, a soldier and two puppets - playing ‘mother’ as they discuss how her life and her behavior must change. It is a coming of age fantasy with a dark side as Cecilia and her animal puppets discuss their fears over tea and her determination to resist the implied changes that the military Colonel brings into her life.

On A Lighter Note . . .

Two playwrights are creating amusing short performances pieces designed to entertain at private tea parties and for special tearoom events. Their works remind us of the more whimsical side of tea and the opportunity to celebrate the art of tea as a lighthearted social experience.

Gilded Lily Publishing - Two Original works by Laurie Nienhaus

Laurie Neinhaus of Gilded Lily Publishing recently published two short plays designed for interactive special events. “Tea-A-Ria” is a lighthearted comedy. As a young woman’s dream of opening a tearoom comes true, her well-meaning family turn opening day into comedy central. Her second one-act mystery, “A Teatime Travesty - It’s Murder & Mayhem at Teatime!” is no less comedic.

Playwright, Laurie Neinhaus is known in the tea industry for her Gilded Lily Website - Where tea and History Collide - and her Sweet Willa Review. But with these two new features, she offers tearoom owners a complete package to entertain their guests. Neinhaus’s knowledge of tea is evident in her writing as he playfully sprinkles dashes of tea humor into her character’s dialog.

Maxine’s Mystery Tea Parties - Performances Packages by Maxine Holgren

Maxine Holgren has crafted nine different short plays with the private tea gathering in mind. Two of her titles are specifically tea related. “Who Killed The Darling Duke of Darjeeling?” and “Murder At the Earl of Grey’s Hound Manor?” make the obvious connection to tea while we are certain to note the intention of the author to create an experience sure to have guests laughing out loud.

The stereotype of tea lovers being stuffy is shattered in these melodramas.

I humbly suggest that part of the answer to any question about why tea inspires a variety of creative endeavors lies in the range of ideas and experiences that it affords us the ability to express. From the terrifying results of war to the sublime spoofs intended only to entertain, tea has been our world-wide companion for thousands of years. Ancient and modern - tea continues to inspire.

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She chose to paint the intimacy of women’s lives. In doing this, she elevated women and their daily activities. She marked these moments and held them up to the world as something to cherish. She is often quoted with the phrase, “I have touched with a sense of art some people – they felt the love and the life. Can you offer me anything to compare to that joy for an artist?”

This is what I think of as I’m visiting tea rooms. She sets a kind of benchmark by which taking tea is sometimes compared. She has preserved a comfortable elegance of women and children in relaxed, private moments. In many of her paintings it is as if the subjects are completely unaware that they are being observed. I doubt that any of the models posing for the artist imagined that their images would be held in such high esteem more than a hundred years later. But I believe it is these kinds of moments that the tea rooms in the U.S. are trying to create and for which we seek. The art of taking tea - whether gourmet specialty tea or convenient teabag - is the practice of tuning out the whine of electronics and the clatter of a compressed calendar to savor a few moments of calm. When we see the image of someone with a teacup either in a painting or in a film or as the setting in fiction, we immediately associate it with this kind of peace.

Two of her most famous paintings are portraits of her sister, Lydia, having tea. She painted “Tea” in 1880, an oil on canvas work now hanging in the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, MA. Her sister and a guest share what we assume to be a traditional afternoon tea with a guest.

It adds to our questioning of why tea is used as a setting and what the artist wants it to convey. There is a seriousness captured in this moment as Lydia, with her hand to her chin in the midst of conversation. Her be-hatted and gloved friend sips carefully.

But in another tea painting, Lydia is pictured alone. She is the one now wearing the hat and gloves, preserved in the moment when she brings the cup to her lips. But the colors are a more festive pink.

In her painting, The Cup of Tea, an oil on canvas painted in 1879 (now in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in NY), Lydia is shown to be more of the frilly feminine - quite opposite the image above. In exhibition, Joris-Karl Huysmans suggested that Mary Cassatt’s work expressed “a flutter of feminine nerves.”

One might say that the later painting, Tea (above) responded to show two different aspects of what we consider feminine.

A third and later painting from 1884 shows yet another face of art at the tea table with her painting, Lady At The Tea Table.

This painting shows another aspect of a woman at tea. But there is an interesting story behind this painting. The sitter in Lady At The Tea Table is Mrs. Robert Moore Riddle - Mary’s mother’s cousin. As the story goes, the families were very close and the elegant Japanese tea set was a gift to Mary from Mrs. Riddle’s daughter Annie. The painting is said to be a thank-you for the gift of the tea set. But there was some controversy over the likeness Mary painted so she kept the painting in her private collection.

And we may presume that she enjoyed many delightful afternoons of tea with the tea set.

The art world and the tea world come together as tea businesses find meaning in Mary Cassatt’s work. The Mary Cassatt Tea Room and Garden in The Rittenhouse Hotel in Phillidelphia serving a traditional English afternoon tea.

Mary Cassatt chose to illuminate the common activities in the daily lives of the women of her time. We are now remembering and reclaiming those activities in our contemporary lives.

As I continue to ask my “Why” question, this is certainly one part of the answer. There is something about the solitary moment for tea, the shared experience and the elegance of tea vessels that speaks to us through art. It has for centuries and I expect that to continue.

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In 2001, Garth Clark wrote the book, “The Artful Teapot: 20th Centry Expressions From The Kamm Collection” to accompany the traveling show featuring more than 200 contemporary pieces featuring more than 100 internationally known artists. These are from a private collection owned by Sonny and Gloria Kamm who have collected more than 7,500 teapots. This is considered the largest collection of teapots in the US and may be the largest in the world.

In an article for AbsoluteARts.com, David Gignac writes, “The Artful Teapot demonstrates how the teapot can be provocative, playful, and profound as well as conventional. Addressing aesthetic, social, and political issues, the exhibition examines the teapot’s ability to be more than just a device to serve tea.” His teapot from the collection is known as “The Celestial Teapot” is shown here (right).

It may be that devotees of the leaf and the brew are as perplexed by the way in which the world’s artists interpret teapot as others are about tea lovers are become involved with the world of tea. But this beautiful publication remains now, long after the teapots have been returned to their place with the Kamms. But teapot shows continue and artists working in all mediums continue to add to the ongoing conversation.

I happen to love the spirit and whimsy of the pieces in this collection. And, while this show is no longer available to us and the book is rather expensive, it speaks to my ongoing question, “WHY”. Why does tea inspire such depth and eloquence? We know that the history of tea goes back almost 5000 years. But the history of teapots goes back more than 1000 years.

The Early History of The Teapot

Until 1500, tea in China was primarily exchanged in compressed bricks of uniform dimensions so that it could be exchanged and taxed as a commodity. When the tax was abolished, interest in brewing a fresher, full leaf grew but there was no vessel designed to accommodate. It was in the pottery town of Yixing that teapot mythology tells us, the teapot was invented. The Chinese writer, Chou Kao-ch’l (1573-1619) tells the story of a strange monk who waked through the streets crying, “Riches and honors for sale!” the locals laughed. He continued, “If you do not want to buy honors, how about riches?” He led the village elders to caves in the hills where they found veins of brightly colored clays. The clay deposits are no myth and we still hold these wares in the highest esteem. Yixing is considered by ceramic artists to be the historical birthplace of the teapot.

The legend is that a monk modeled the first teapots by hand from a single lump of clay. It is said that the demand for his craft grew quickly and the recognition of the artist-potter produced several internationally recognized masters. And we have seen some of these ancient works command more than $1,000,000 in auction.

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As a vendor at the World Tea Expo, I had the pleasure of watching the transformation of the exhibition hall from dusty cavern to what must have been the largest tearoom in the world. On Thursday morning, our booth set-up day, the temporary shells were assembled but unadorned, the floors bare concrete, the forklifts beeping and not a hint of leaf or herb. Within 24 hours the room was filled with the international flavor of our industry and the intoxicating fragrance of tea - ready to open the doors to the thousands of attendees who have traveled from around the world to join the celebration.

One of my favorite Expo experience is the smell of the tea that fills the air before the Expo Hall is opened to the crowds. I walked the isles absorbing this rare blend. For me, this experience is comparable to a theme park for a child. It’s like a Disneyland for tea lovers. And, in keeping with my blog theme, I looked a bit beyond the leaf to find a few examples of the art that it inspired for our gathering.

One sculpture was a Teapot Car by Carol’s Special-Teas. Parked at the entrance, it was launched everyone’s day with a smile. I’m reminded that humor is not one of the traits that media attribute to tea lovers.

Tea also inspired wearable art by Harshita Designs. A designer who has grown up in a tea family, Harshita prints her images of the leaf, of teapots and teacups on elegant silk. Dozens of her special designs are specialized with tea themes.

Of course, teapots and tea cups are the examples of art that we expect to see at tea events. Offerings would satisfy and frustrate serious collectors. So many choices.

But one special mention is the work of designer, Eva Zeisel. She is world renowned. Her work is displayed in museums and galleries around the world. She was 99 years old when she created the kettle pictured here. She is one of the artists who successfully integrate form and function, elevating the tools we use every day to an art.

It is a characteristic of tea lovers and tea businesses to be drawn to the artistic. Booths and displays didn’t disappoint. These three examples are a small sample of what I’m calling The Art of the Expo. I could share examples from almost every business represented there. Some were simple displays of tea in small white bowls. The leaves themselves were beautiful examples of the craft of creating tea. Other booths were amazing sculptures filling their space with intrigue and light. Even the tea bagging equipment on display could be said to have an elegance in design and a music to its operation.

If the purpose of art is, as Picasso says, to wash the dust off of the daily life of our souls, I would say that tea is the art of food. Tea instructs us to pause for a moment of beauty and peace. We dust off our souls. And that may be one of our industry’s most important messages during this time of political conflict and economic struggle. As we brew a cup, we also create an opportunity to appreciate the beauty that man creates, especially when he partners with nature in a respectful and honorable way.

Is there any other food product where the process from picking to packaging require such artistic commitment?

I was also one of the last vendors to pack up my booth. On Monday morning at 8 AM there were very few remnants of our show remaining. Teamsters had removed the carpets and were packing up the tables and disassembling the booth walls. It seemed very fitting that the last image tea were a few posters - photos of the beautiful plantations in far away places. The beginning.

I continue to wonder at the way in which this plant inspires beauty, elegance and humor.

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