A huge thank you to my IG tea friend teainfusiast for having me as a speaker for her Story Of A Teacup charity livestream this past Sunday, and to my fellow storytellers @at.the.teatable, @herbthetravelingteaturtle, & @brewteafullybrewed (all also from IG) for sharing the heartwarming tales behind their teaware as well. It was incredibly moving to hear each of you speak! Though it was very hard to pick just one piece of teaware, I ended up selecting this mug, which was commissioned by @droseos shortly after the passing of my grandmother and inspired by all my favourite memories of the summers spent at my grandparent’s house with my brothers and cousin.
Across the mug, you can see many images inspired by the time spent in my grandma’s garden, such as fresh flowers, vegetables, berries, and even lawn gnomes, as well as homages to my late grandpa like the bowl of black licorice and jellybeans he kept on the side table next to his recliner and my cousin’s buttery yellow house. As I shared today, whether it’s through tasting notes observed through gongfu or all the memories that this piece of teaware triggers, I spend a lot of time revisiting those childhood memories through my tea practice. The garden, in particular. Something I didn’t share, however, is that we lost one of the family members at the center of so many of those memories to suicide. So, I want to ESPECIALLY thank everyone who attended or otherwise supported this event, which held a deep personal significance you couldn’t have known about.
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It was a very, very good way to spend a Sunday afternoon! I kind of alluded to it during the event, but I chose this tea specifically to drink in my mug because of the lavender flavour, which was a favourite of my Grandmother’s. I don’t know if she ever had a matcha or would have appreciated it, but I do know she loved lavender tea so it seemed like a nice nod to her during the story telling.
Tea Photo: https://www.instagram.com/p/DCfNM6lSNwc/
Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eW-WZjpm8x4&ab_channel=EwanJPhillips
