When you begin down an Eastern path, and Cha Dao mostly heads East, you
quickly realize the important role language can play in our thinking, and
consequently our insights. For the most part, we come to love the ancient
spiritual words in languages like Sanskrit and Chinese - for their subtlety
and breadth. There is one English word we've come to like better than its
Eastern equivalents, however: "Enlightenment". When most people think of
"Enlightenment" they see in the word the "light" and are reminded of the
light in us, which we all travel towards. But "light" in English has
another meaning: not heavy! Being enlightened means, literally, lightening
up! Don't take yourself serious, or anything else for that matter. There is
an old Indian saying: "beware the spiritual/religious man that takes
himself seriously!" And many of you know how we here do so love laughter
and humor. We thought that these newsletters might be getting a bit heavy
and that we would en-lighten them up. Prior to Tadasana, our students in LA
were doing some rehearsals to get ready and practice brewing. They sent us
a list of questions they thought many people would ask at the festival.
Some of the questions were silly and so are the answers. None of them were
real questions or real answers given at the festival. We thought we'd share
them with you, sending some chuckles along with this month's tea...
1. What's special about this tea?
It is alive, as are you. Rest in your own soul and meet it as you would another soul.
2. Is there caffeine in the tea?
Yes. What does "caffeine" mean to you? Is it a Gremlin or a snark?
3. Where is your actual teahouse?
Down the path of the soul, just past the smurf village and into the hermitage of your heart.
4. What's the difference between Puerh and Oolong?
Vast, like the difference between America and China. This requires some explanation: Puerh and Oolong are different trees and different processing methods, but it's more complicated than that. I think you may be too dull to understand, but you sure are cute!
5. What's Puerh?
You just asked me this. Shut up you or I'll smash this bowl over your head!! *Hahah I'm kidding (maybe). Puerh is a kind of tea produced in the Southwest province of Yunnan in China, the birthplace of all tea (and tea weirdos like me).
6. Are different teas prepared in different ways?
Of course, like food (and yoga festivals).
7. Does water make a difference?
Water temperature? Of course. A cup of tea is 99% water. Temperature is the medium of tea. It awakens the leaf and conveys its essence to our bodies, as well as serving to spread the Qi of the tea throughout the body. Wanna dance?
8. What are all these tea utensils used for?
Why for making tea, my dear. Say, you're kind of cute. Wanna go out some time and get a tofu wrap?
9. Why do you use different tea pots?
The way you do at home in cooking. There is an art to tea preparation, and having more utensils helps. You can make food with one simple pot, and tea is the same, but it helps to have more tools, of course.
10. Fermented tea? Like kombucha?
Yes a bit. Fermentation is a magical, smurfy process, far beyond what we can understand. Especially with regards to tea! And it is natural. Even elephants do it!
11. What are the health benefits of tea?
Whiter teeth, less fat, a super heart, excellent kidneys, shiny skin, complete spiritual enlightenment, a stress-free life: basically all the stuff those people shown in your yoga catelogue have... Really, try to see tea as medicine in the Native American sense of the word.
12. Is there a proper way to drink tea?
Yes, in your mouth rather than over your head or in your pants.
13. How long have you been in business?
Well, our boss Hudon has been plotting and scheming since he was little, but Temple Tea, his latest scheme, was born in the last couple years. Fortunately, his business partner Taylor mitigates some, not all, of his scheming with love energy.
14. Where does this tea come from?
All our teas are from China, Taiwan or Greg Wendt's home planet of Triglon.
15. Where can I buy more of this awesome tea and teaware?
At Temple Tea of course, you boob!
16. What's the point of tea?
What's the point of living. Why don't we just abolish the universe? It would save a LOT of energy!
