Tag Archives: Constant Comment

Plant Powered

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In all things of Nature there is something of the marvelous. —Aristotle

I woke up this morning thinking about my sixth grade friend Latitsia. She was very exotic in my mind: she was a vegetarian. (At the time that was rare and unusual.) That was 1959. She was very beautiful and took ballet. Also unusual, as I think she had to go to a neighboring town to find a dance studio. 

We were talking one day, and she said she and her mom and aunt were going to drive across the desert. “Wow,” I thought. That was not easy in those days, with practically no roadside restaurants– especially for vegetarians. I asked her what they would eat, and she said they took cans of frozen orange juice to sip, and they would eat avocados. That seemed very amazing to me.

Another thing that changed that year for me, in addition to having a vegetarian friend, was tea. My mom had always given me Lipton Orange Pekoe tea when I wasn’t feeling well, and to me that was Tea. That all changed when some new friends of my mom’s—out of towners—served us a very new and unusual tea that I loved, Constant Comment. It was an orange and clove flavored  black tea. That was the day that began my tea and herb hobby.

I love tea and herbs. 

I have many favorite brands, Yogi, Celestial Seasonings, Numi, to name a few. My top best pick is Traditional Medicinals.

I have highlighted them today in the chart above and in the photos below. I have used them and followed their growth and improvement over the last 25 years. Wonderful.

To my delight they have a new line of black teas. My favorite: an Assam Chai. 

So good. Organic Assam teas are often difficult to find; my Christmas Present to myself.

With each tea bag you receive carefully selected tea and a quote for the day on the attached paper. The company is B certified, and all of the ingredients are organic.

I love learning about the herbs, spices, and tea combinations. I find they are some of the easiest, most soothing, and comforting ways to enhance my well-being.

Bridges of love light.

The Wonder, Love and Joy of Tea

Herbs and Tea, , , , , , , , , , , ,

Photo by Nina Wilkins

My tea journey started as a child with Lipton Orange Pekoe tea. My mom would give us tea with lemon and sugar when we were sick, and it was a comfort and help to ease us into wellness. It wasn’t until I was 14 that I discovered another tea, Constant Comment, a black tea with cloves and spices. That tea was a revelation. When I was 18, I discovered a new tea at a restaurant in Chinatown that I loved, though didn’t know what it was. I carried the teabag paper in my wallet for years looking for that tea. The paper was in Chinese and I didn’t discover that it was Jasmine tea until I was in my 20’s.

Jasmine tea was the best beverage I had ever tasted at that point, though later I would discover Darjeeling (the champagne of teas), Irish Breakfast and Earl Grey, a revelation of black tea with bergamot flavoring. Next was Mango Iced tea that was served at a restaurant. My mom and I searched and searched for it and found it at a small shop in San Clemente, California.

The universe loves to give us what we love.

My next unlikely experience with tea came when I was in my 30’s and attending San Francisco State University. I took a course in Asian Humanities focused on China in the Sung Dynasty. Tea’s birthplace is in ancient China. In 2732 BC, Emperor Shennong discovered tea when leaves rom a wild bush blew into his boiling pot of water. In this course we studied the poetry of Su Tung-po, and we read The Gay Genius: The Life and Times of Su Tungpo, by Lin Yutang. Su Tung-po lived from 1037-1101 and his wonderful poetry has survived. It contained hints of metaphysics and the love of nature. What I remember of him was his detailed writing about tea.

Tea ceremonies were almost a religion to Su Tung-po. He said that for a proper tea you needed 23 special utensils, and if you only had 22 not to invite a guest. He and his friends would travel to a river and choose to draw water from the right curve of the banks, where the water would be freshest. Then they would choose a fragrant wood for the fire. When the water boiled there would be deliberate movements for pouring the tea and contemplation. To this day I remember his joy in tea.

Enjoying your tea contemplation is a wonderful start to your Day and a worthy Bridge of Love Light.

To be continued next week…

Photo by Nina Wilkins