Brewing with Love:

Tips for Brewing the Perfect Cup of Tea

Introduction

Tea is more than just for drinking. It has ritualistic qualities that have brought people together for many generations. It connects cultures and represents the essence of love through connection.

As an aspiring tea specialist, I spend most of my time drinking and educating myself on tea. It is my strongest passion. I thoroughly enjoy sharing this knowledge. Over the years, I’ve learned from my practice some tips and tricks on brewing the best cup of tea. You can implement these tips at home to get the most out of your tea experience (and maybe be able to impress your friends/family). Or simply, you just want to learn how to make better tea. Here are some things to think about.

Tips

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Always Start with Cold, Fresh Water

One of the most overlooked aspects when making tea is your water. The type of water you use addition to its temperature determines the tea’s taste. When brewing tea, choose filtered or spring water. Tap water usually adds a ‘mineral’ flavor that is not ideal for drinking tea. In addition, try to refrain from re-boiling old water. Boiled water loses oxygen which may result in a duller tea flavor.

Warm Up Your Cup Beforehand

This is something I always do. Warming up your tea cup before pouring your tea is important–though if you’re on the go, this is not completely necessary. Give your cup a hot water rinse then it's ready to go. The initial temperature of your cup affects the cooling down time. This trick will prevent the tea from getting cold too quickly.

Choose a Tea You Love

White tea, herbal tea, or black tea, whatever makes you happy. It’s important to choose a tea you like. Drinking tea simply for its health benefits defeats the purpose of tea. Make tea an act of self-love. From there, you can discover the true essence of drinking tea.

Consider Your Water Temperature

Once you’ve chosen your tea, knowing what temperature to brew it at is essential. There is no right or wrong way to do this. However, if you’re looking to optimize your tea game, this can be crucial. If you live in America, most of us are used to pouring boiling water over our teabags. However, believe it or not, for some teas, this can make the tea taste bitter by extracting bitter tannins (or simply burning the tea leaves). You don’t need a thermometer, just a bit of knowledge and intuition.

- - White & Green Teas are more delicate and should be heated around 170°-180° (just under boiling).
  - Black Teas around 210° (after a full boil)
  - Oolongs vary in variety but usually work within higher temperatures (180°- 210°). I usually go just before a rolling boil if I don’t know the exact temperature.
  - For Puerh, a rolling boil (212°) is preferred.

A Simple Tea Meditation

With a freshly brewed cup of tea, begin in a comfortable position. Hold the cup of your tea in your hands. Observe the heat of the cup in your hands. The aroma of the tea leaves, the steam rising slowly, the color of the tea. Utilize the five senses. Just observe for a while and breath. Then sip the tea slowly, tasting the subtle flavors. Continue this until finished.

The White Rabbit

GUEST ARTIST

The White Rabbit is an artist who focuses on creating a community of like-minded individuals passionate about holistic living, tea, skincare, and more. Currently majoring in french and dance at Bennington College. She takes her many passions and pours them into poetry, short stories, and blogs (wuweicooking & Lelapinblancbeauty - Skincare, Beauty Blog)

For The Love of Food:

How to Cultivate Love in Cooking

Introduction

Food is necessary. That’s a fact. It’s part of the three pillars of survival–food, shelter, and water. To live means we must eat. And to eat, we must cook. But for its necessity, cooking is also an invitation to move inward. I believe cooking is innately spiritual. It can involve prayer, ritual, and interconnecting the senses. We can experience a multitude of things as we cook. Take it as a moment to quiet the mind. Here, I bring forth an idea for not just viewing cooking as a means of survival but as an act of love. Not just for others but for ourselves.

Ways To Infuse Love Into Your Cooking

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Set intentions

The easiest way to infuse compassion in your cooking is to set your intention. As you prepare the dishes, you can recite affirmations, pray silently, or visualize a white light filling the food. Remember the source of the ingredients. The farmers who harvested the ingredients. Cultivated the soil. The nature which raised it. Remembering your intention and preparation is a way to enhance the love you pour into your dishes.

Try To Source High-Quality Produce

Should you want to take the extra mile, sourcing fresh produce can alter the taste of your food. Though do note this isn’t a requirement. Purchasing and locating fresh produce can be difficult–especially if you live in areas where farm-fresh produce isn’t accessible. If you live in the city, you can seek out local farmers’ markets, community gardens, or neighborhood co-ops. And if you have the space, think about growing a small container garden with culinary herbs and vegetables. The importance is using what is available to you.

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Handle Things with Care

If you’ve ever watched a Japanese tea ceremony, notice how the participants handle the objects and tea. They notice the importance of each movement. The value of the objects they hold. The practitioner must focus on preparing and serving the tea as if it were the only thing that exists. We can implement these actions when we desire to cook with love. Handle each ingredient not just as a component of the dish but as something of great importance. Ingredients are gateways to creating the foods we love. It serves as a foundation. If we can handle food with compassion and care, it can translate into our lives as another reminder that the simplest things can be extraordinary.

Cooking is Creative: Food As Art

We can also approach food as a source of creativity by turning it into art. I’m not saying throw something on a plate and call it art (though I won’t stop you). Instead, we can take the time to design our dishes and create something masterful. Fine dining is a luxury for no reason. What separates regular dining from fine dining is the aesthetic and design. It’s not just a matter of taste, but eating with the eyes. You can create this same sense in your own life. Consider the ingredients you cook with as paint. You can combine, sautee, roast, and bake these paints into something grand. Get inspiration from photos, chefs, and magazines. Play with your food. Recognize that as tedious cooking can be, let there be room for play. Take cooking not just as an act of love but as a space for creative flow.