Hit me with your best pot (of tea that is)

Last Word

BY ISABELLE SOUTHCOTT | publisher@prliving.ca

There’s nothing quite like a good cup of tea.

When I take that first sip, I can feel the tension of 2020 slowly leave my body and my mind say aaahhhh, and my body begin to unwind.

A good cup of tea starts long before that first sip. It begins with intention, the intention to sit down, have a drink and relax for a moment or two. And maybe, if you’re lucky, share it with a friend.

My mum taught me how to brew the perfect cup of tea. “The proper way,” she told me and my mum should know – she’s English, like the Queen.

“Once the water comes to a boil Isabelle, you warm your tea pot like this,” she said. She’d swish the boiling water around the tea pot before dumping it out and adding a tea bag (yes, a tea bag because let’s face it, most of us use tea bags these days). Then she’d pour boiling water over it.

The next step is to let your tea steep. How long you let it steep depends entirely on you, as everyone likes their tea a bit different. Some like it strong, some like it weak – almost like (shudder) dishwater! Me, I like mine to be a nice golden brown colour which takes about three minutes. And I like it with a spot of milk. The English way, the same way my mother likes hers.

A good cup of tea can only truly be enjoyed out of a thin bone china teacup or mug. Although I still have a few teacups in my china cabinet, they’re a bit small and fiddly for every day so I use a bone china tea mug. Progress, I guess. The milk must go in first, it doesn’t taste the same if it doesn’t. Then you pour the tea. I’m using a lovely old silver teapot these days that Mum gave me years ago. It is part of a tea service I had tucked away for special occasions but never used. One day, I broke my everyday tea pot and instead of buying another one, I decided to use the one I was saving, the silver one. I polish it every so often and sometimes I think it looks far too nice for everyday use but if I don’t use it everyday I will never use it. So I use it.

I was just a little girl when Mum taught me how to make tea properly and I’ve never forgotten. A good cup of tea is a ritual. An experience, according to a colleague. Unlike drinking a glass of water or something else to just to quench your thirst, a cup of tea will quench your thirst and ground you at the same time.

There’s a reason why people say, “There, there dear, sit down and have a cup of tea,” when someone is upset. Like a Band-Aid, a cup of tea is healing because it can make (almost) anything better.

We get to know people over a cup of tea. In business, the Afghanistan principle of three cups of tea has been compared to the fact that you have to have three interactions with someone before they will trust, buy or hire you. Here in Canada, we have tea and chat and when we do, we visit. If we like our tea buddy we’ll likely have another cup of tea with them.

The late Eleanor Roosevelt mused on the similarities between tea and women many years ago when she said: “A woman is like a tea bag – only in hot water do you realize how strong she is.” I like this quote, a lot.

Numerous studies have shown that a variety of teas may boost your immune system, fight off inflammation, and even ward off cancer and heart disease because tea contains antioxidants. In my mind, this is a bonus.

Like the people who make it, every cup of tea is different. To this day, I still believe the best cup of tea is the one my mother makes for me. I’ve never had a better cup EVER! Maybe it’s her secret ingredient – love. I’m not sure why Mum’s tea tastes so much better, I just know that tea made by Mum is the best ever.

My Mum moved to Powell River from Nova Scotia when my oldest son Matthew wasn’t quite a year old. She was in her late sixties. Mum spent a lot of time with Matt when he was young and one day, she told me that Matthew loved tea!

I was horrified. My son was just over a year and already, he was drinking tea. Wasn’t there a law against that?

It’s fine, my Mum (a retired pediatrician) assured me. He loves it with a little bit of sugar.

She said she had to teach her grandson to enjoy his tea at a young age. “Why? “I asked. “So that when I’m an old lady Matthew will be able to drink tea with me,” she replied.

Twenty-two years have passed since Matthew had his first cup of tea with his Grandma and I’m happy to report that Mum was right – Matthew loves tea. And he loves his Grandma.