The Art of Tea and Presence

In ancient China, tea wasn’t just a drink. It was a practice — a moment to quiet

the mind and return to yourself. The earliest tea gatherings were simple and still.

No feasts. No performance. Just hot water, fresh leaves, and silence.

Philosophers believed the way you made tea reflected your heart. If your mind was

rushed, the tea tasted bitter. If your spirit was calm, the flavor settled

warm and gentle. By the Tang Dynasty, monks used tea to stay awake through long meditation.

They said it cleared away the “dust of the world” — worry, ego, distraction.

By the Song Dynasty, scholars and poets turned tea into art. They debated which