Animist Thoughts While Drinking Tea
I find myself asking these questions, or perhaps hearing these questions as I drink my daily Tea.
Today, I am reminded that the unknown, adventure, chaos and transcendence are romanticized, as they are often frightening, destabilizing, violent even.
Much like Tea. A plant of grace and medicine, but also filled with heartache and betrayal (referencing the Opium Wars here).
Why is it that human taking human, human taking land, human taking minerals, human taking anything seems to be the only constant?
Maybe Tea represents the persistence of life, how despite life becoming something you don’t understand, humans doing things you don’t understand.
Maybe Tea is soil, blood, sweat, wind, rain, where this plant will always be more than a crop that is packaged and then diluted.
What Does It Mean When We Say That Tea Is Not A Drink?
Still, modern humans regard Tea as a beverage, passive and inanimate, something to be consumed and reduced to a nutritional summary of polyphenols, that limits our ability to relate with her (and other plants), and the natural elements with consequences. These consequences of reducing Tea is a form of objectification, a fetishizing, a symptom of domination where we claim we “know” Tea, based on her list of beneficial compounds. Substituting "Tea" with "friend" challenges our anthropocentric view, highlighting our tendency to prioritize self-interest as humans, where we believe we are the main character of the narrative. It prompts reflection on genuine friendship and our role as participants.
You Are Raising A Teapot
The liquid from this rinse step is not consumed, and is discarded, before the first “true” steeping is made and then enjoyed. As my mother gifts me the chahu, she says that this one was made from the regional Taiwanese clay, which most producers increasingly use less of, as imported clays improve the bottom line as Taiwanese clay can require more steps and massaging to yield a desired finished result in the earthenware.
Save the rinse, she says, pour it over the chahu; always offer the chahu its first yield. She continues, 你在养茶壶; you are raising a teapot.