Tea is home.
Text by and Photograph Courtesy of Jennifer Stowe
While preparing for overseas travel, my daughter packed a tiny gaiwan travel set along with several packets of loose-leaf tea: Lapsang (her favorite), Jasmine pearls for hot days, Assam to share with new friends, and Oolong because that’s what we drink together at home. Tea is more than a beverage. Even when in a new and unfamiliar place, tea brings you home.
As a young military wife, I once found myself overwhelmed by the unfamiliar surroundings of a foreign country. The smell of open-air fish markets, the taste of unusual food, and the sound of an unfamiliar language brought on a tremendous amount of stress. I longed for something familiar. Inside a tiny shop, I looked at shelves full of unknown products covered with black characters I could not read. Unable to distinguish a box of cookies from a box of rice, my eyes jumped from one item to the next. Suddenly, amidst all the confusion, a small yellow box shone out like sunshine. Red letters spelled out the only word in the entire shop that I could read: LIPTON’S. It became my lifeline overseas. I bought the box and returned to my tiny apartment. Removing the plastic wrapping allowed the first scent to escape—oh, it smelled good. Then the first sip—ahh, it tasted good, too. Familiarity washed over me. Home. Yes, that’s it. Tea is home.
Jennifer Stowe, regional tea lecturer and author of several tea-related books, hosts the podcast, Tea and Toast with her daughter and operates Three Sisters Tearoom on her farm in rural Tennessee. For more information, please visit threesisterstearoom.com.
I loved reading about the personal stories behind tea in this blog! It reminded me of my own moments brewing chai with friends. There’s something magical about sharing a cup that brings everyone together, just like gaming with pals on Space Waves! Cheers to connections over tea!