what is a tea room?
Think: Conversation, stress free environment,
sharing, thoughts from serious to silly.
A tea room is a place of expression, a place of serenity to enjoy a pure cup of
tea
with oneself
or a friend.
Kakuzo Okakura wrote in 1964 in The Book of Tea,
“The simplicity of the tea-room and its freedom from vulgarity make
it truly a sanctuary from the vexation of the outer world...Do we not need the tea-room more than ever?”
As a child I used to bring
my tea set to my mother’s workplace and while she pressed shirts at the laundry, I would sit under the wrapping table
while Mrs. Cook wrapped the newly starched shirts in brown paper. There, I would enjoy my tea amidst
the smell of steam and the sound of the presses and friendly banter.
Later in life, I would come to share tea—or “cha” as it
is called in West Bengal—with so many wonderful people, sharing stories that too often get overlooked.
Of course there are my favorite
tea stalls —where cha is prepared under a small tin or bamboo roof, boiling water over a clay stove whose fire is fed
with dried dung. There Raj, at 12 years old proudly makes cha for those who have made his stall a regular
stop in their busy days!
The
cha is served as we sit around a small table and enter the intimacy of trusted conversation or the lightness of gentle laughter.
And then, lightened in heart and mind, we move on to the tasks of the day.
A good tea room is a place of comfort and a place of celebration.
Hospitality is most always served
with tea.
Whether
you come to a book signing or a print signing or a private tea party for a group of friends or a children’s tea, hospitality
will always be on the menu.
I too feel that we “need the tea-room more than ever,” during these times of both growth and struggle.
In the chaos of our times, there is room as well as need for ordinary sacred space.
So, welcome!
