Tea Time

As we’ve traveled, we’ve really come to appreciate the way people have daily rituals.  Tea time has been very prevalent in every country we’ve visited so far and we’ve been happy to make that a part of our daily lives.  We really appreciate how tea time is a chance to take a few minutes for ourselves.  Tea time is a reminder to slow down and enjoy the day- sip by sip.  It’s a few moments away from all the craziness of the world.  Here are a few examples we’ve seen:

  • In Nepal, we took a bus ride from Kathmandu to Besi Sahar to start our trek. The bus ride is just over 100 miles and took a long 8 hours- partially due to traffic and lots of switchbacks in the roads, partially so the driver could take two chai breaks.

  • On the Annapurna Circuit, after hiking for the day we would settle into a guest house for the night. There was plenty of Dhal Bat (Nepali rice and lentil dish) to go around and lots of choices for tea usually served in three sizes: small pot, medium pot and big pot. We quickly found out that the sizes varied greatly. I took to ordering a small pot of black tea when we got to camp and also started many mornings that way. Some places small pot was a good three small cups. Other places small pot turned out to be a personal pitcher leaving the server wondering where the other three people I was sharing with went.

  • Several times we’ve experienced restaurant owners that will seat us but not take an order until they’ve had their afternoon tea. Admittedly we’ve taken to eating at retiree meal times of dinner at 4:30 pm. It’s been a good reminder seeing how much peace can come from taking a few moments to simply sit down and have some tea.

  • At the Saturday market in Koh Phangan, Thailand, it was fun to see the exotic teas on display. There was mango tea, purple sweet potato tea, black bean tea. So many new and interesting flavors to try.

We’re wrapping up our time in Malaysia and just spent a few days in Cameron Highlands where we visited a tea plantation.  It was interesting to see all the work that goes into harvesting, processing, and drying the leaves and know that the end cup could be that little break in the day for someone that makes all the difference.

Larry Lacerte