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Newsletter #1 - Go drink your tea! |
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Hello, I’m Ai-Ling, an Australian Born Chinese - my ethnicity is Teochew. I like to call myself a Tea Practitioner because I am forever practising serving tea. A student of tea, always learning.
Over the past few years I have been on a journey with tea. In a recent James Clear newsletter he wrote “The greatest quests are worthwhile not just because of the rewards they bring, but also because of who we must become along the way.” I resonated with this because I’m on a quest with tea, which has not only brought so much into my life, but it has also cultivated me into a different way of being.
Thanks for your time as I share some of my journey with tea.
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What I've learnt from tea |
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[Buddha Water Blessing Ritual] |
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In the Main Shrine Hall there was a Mass Tea Meditation. |
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茶禅一味
Chá Chán Yī Wèi
This Chinese saying in English translates to "Tea and Zen are one flavour"
*note: Chan is the Chinese word for Zen
Buddhist monasteries were the first to develop and promote the virtues of tea and meditation as it keeps the mind relaxed, calm and awake. From Buddhist monks it spread elsewhere and became an indispensable part of Chinese life. Tea was introduced to Japan and Korea by monks who went to China to study Buddhism.
Tea is ubiquitous, it’s everywhere. Tea is the world's most consumed beverage after water and in this modern life, the common ways to drink tea are often fast and convenient. The practice of mindful, slow, and intentional tea consumption may seem like a special or niche thing but the history of tea and meditation is deeply intertwined.
My interest in Cha Dao, "The Way of Tea", came about because I was looking for a way to meditate. I found that tea is a gateway to the meditative mind, and I serve tea in ceremony as a meditative experience so others can also receive this.
Here is a short pamphlet you can read online/download on Buddhism and the Tea Ceremony from For Guang Shan which discusses the use of tea for cultivating mindfulness and awakening.
A little extract :)
“Chan masters do not simply drink tea, they use their tea time to speak of Chan and debate in an effort to awaken to the Way. When students came to Chan Master Zhaozhou asking him questions, he would usually provide simple answers…. For example, if someone were to ask, “Master, what is the Way?” Chan Master Zhaohou would answer, “You, go drink tea.” If someone were to ask again, “Master, how can I be awakened?” he would just shout “Drink tea! Go!”
“What is the Way? What is awakening? They are the same as drinking tea. The mind may tell you it is something different, but one should not depart from everyday life. It is within everyday life that one finds the Way.”
“When drinking tea, if you can drink in the tea’s peacefulness, its Chan flavour, and enjoy the tea of the no-mind, you can experience the incredible state of Chan.”
Go drink your tea!
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This year’s Buddha’s Birthday festival had a variety of different tea offerings including a ‘Bush Tea & Listening to Country Workshop’ where we learnt about Djilz Indigenous Ancient Bush Tea. A First Nations family owned tea company that honours Noongar botanical wisdom and cultural heritage with a range of herbal infusions, crafted with respect for sacred traditions and sustainable harvesting practices. Based in Gidgegannup, where all the indigenous herbs are grown that go into their teas, the family are working towards building a tea house where people can visit and connect directly with country and their teas.
We tried some of Djilz tea’s and I was blown away. I’ve drunk bush teas before but nothing like this. The energies of the tea were powerful, each sip led us into a journey to Ancient Noongar Country from deeply grounding to uplifting our spirits. The love and care that Zoe Davis and her mother-in-law Nancy Davis spoke about their teas and the importance of looking after country deeply moved me. I’m so excited to have connected with Djilz tea and I can’t wait to visit them in Gidgegannup one day. Hand on heart - highly recommend Djilz tea.
Every purchase of Djilz tea also supports As One Nyitting - a First Nations social enterprise organisation that provides cultural pathways to empower Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to connect with and protect traditional culture for future generations. |
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I thought it would be useful in this first newsletter to clarify what it means when I say I’m drinking “tea”. I mean tea that comes from leaves from a tea tree, specifically Camellia Sinensis, and there are different varietals and cultivars but most teas are made from this one plant - Camellia Sinensis. The various types of teas available are a result of different processing methods, the varietal/age of the tea tree, the environment it's grown in, history and culture.
The word Camellia refers to a specific group of flowering plants and Sinensis is a Latin word that means ‘from China’ - the country where tea was discovered, cultivated and served as a beverage.
I have been drinking the last of my Taiwanese bug-bitten red tea Symphony. Harvested from wild tea trees grown in biodiverse mountain gardens without pesticides, where insects are allowed to thrive and the tea leaves are bitten by katydids (tiny green leafhopper insects) which gives it its unique sweet and floral fragrance. I love the alchemy that happens when the insects and tea leaves interact with each other - rather than seeing insects as pests, farmers found a way to make tea using bug bitten leaves, finding harmony in nature. |
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I was a volunteer presenter on local community radio station RTRFM on a show called ‘Posted’ for almost a decade. I hung up my headphones last year to have space to focus on other things and also give space for new presenters to host.
Posted explored instrumental, experimental, ambient, cinematic and post rock adjacent sounds. I have listened to A LOT of instrumental music over the years from many different genres to curate playlists for Posted, so I feel like I have been preparing all my life to create soundtracks for tea!
I will share an artist/album each month.
An album that I often return to is Charcoal by Melbourne based ambient-electronic artist Brambles. The soundscapes capture a lovely delicate and still mood that I feel when I’m drinking tea. Melancholy but in a peaceful way. Gentle and reflective.
Listen to Brambles on Bandcamp, Spotify, YouTube.
[Bonus Track: Oolong (To Be With You) by Perth band Ryan Beno. Listen on Bandcamp, Spotify, Youtube]
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Each month I share a recipe for something I’ve cooked - sometimes tea related, sometimes not.
I have the same problem with eggs as I do with avocados. I often find an excess of them in my fridge that I need to figure out ways of consuming!
One of the ways I love using up eggs is to make Mayak Eggs (Korean Soy Sauce Marinated Eggs). Soft and jammy eggs marinated in soy sauce, onion, chillies and sesame seeds. Simple to do and flavoursome, and then I can have these eggs with rice, over noodles or even with avocados!
This is my go to recipe from cookerru with lots of great tips to get perfect soft boiled eggs - use room temperature eggs, add vinegar and salt to the boiling water, simmer for 6 minutes, transfer the eggs to cool completely in ice water, and peel the eggs slowly + gently. |
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When I'm sharing tea next |
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Join me for mindful and meditative Cha Dao Tea Ceremonies in Perth.
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[Pouring tea at Folk Space in Osborne Park] |
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Thanks for reading!
Many blessings Ai-Ling 張愛玲
Know someone who would love these tea musings? Feel free to forward it :)
If you haven’t subscribed, you can sign up to my monthly e-newsletter to receive it in your inbox here.
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