Tea Thoughts

I sat down for a few minutes this morning to look at my new Harney & Sons Fine Tea Catalog. Sigh. I’ve already had a few cups of Earl Grey this morning and have moved on to Hazelnut Coffee with Pumpkin Pie Spice Cream. Good thing everything is decaf or I’d be bouncing off the walls by now!
As much as I love tea, I sure do enjoy the smell of coffee and the taste with plenty of cream and sugar. Sweetheart is amazed at how sweet I drink my coffee, especially in light of the fact that I drink my tea plain. The only tea I add anything to is Stash’s Chocolate Hazelnut Tea. (Maybe next week’s Tea of the Week!)
Anyway back to the Harney’s catalog. They’ve begun carrying Art Teas. A few other companies do as well. I had one once at a tea tasting class in Boulder, but I don’t remember the brand. It was so neat. Have you seen these?
They are best brewed in a glass teapot so that you can watch them bloom. They are made with green tea leaves handsewn with a variety of flowers. Some flowers appear to be chosen for color, others, like jasmine, for their flavor. When you take them out of the package they look like little dried green bundles and not attractive at all. When you steep them, the hot water causes them to unfurl and show their stuff. What an amazing idea! What patience the Chinese ladies must have to sew tea leaves together, oh my!
Many of us are like the art teas. We may not look like much on the outside, but put us in hot water and we bloom. Isn't it always the hard times that show what we are made of on the inside? We may not like "being in hot water", but it definitely reveals our true selves. Oh, that I may release beauty and wonder to those around me during the tough times instead of remaining and little shriveled up bundle who does no one any good. Wouldn't it be great to be a thing of beauty and delight to the Lord and others when we are being watched during trials? That is my prayer.