I am a helpless, habitual coffee drinker. For the most part, I don’t drink yuppie, frothy coffee. No, I drink the black stuff, the kind that tastes like ash. I drink it like it’s a badge of American masculinity, I guess. My grandpa used to say, “real men take their coffee the way God intended it–black as night.” Statements like these have a way of making an indelible impression, a way of escaping from my own lips from time to time.
And despite my family tree of coffee drinkers, I’ve been pondering the brutishness of the coffee experience and it has me second-guessing the staple beverage of my life. Consider the process: coffee cherries are picked and their pits are removed. The pits, then mislabeled as “beans, ” are roasted beyond recognition, crushed into powder (tantalizingly known as the “grounds”), and then expressed through a tortuous drip process, a botanical waterboarding. It is a violent process; one that, in my estimation, lacks the necessary refinements of civilized culture.
For juxtapositional purposes consider the process of tea making. Leaves are hand-picked, selected for their quality and character. They are dried, then placed in a cup where they are quickly (and humanely) doused in a hot-water bath. The resulting flavor is more delicate, the aroma often more complex, the caffeine buzz lighter and arguably longer lasting.
Undeniably, the tea making process is more refined, more civilized. So civilized, in fact, that it has become one of the centerpieces of British culture. And there is no culture more civilized than the British (despite their most recent Olympic shenanigans).
Except maybe the Japanese.
The Japanese have ritualized their tea drinking in a centuries-old ceremony associated with healing, spiritual enlightenment, creativity, and tranquility. And sure, these are qualities I’d like to enhance in my life–that along with civility. So after careful consideration, and in an effort to further explore the kinder, gentler, more tranquil drink, I’ve decided that I will replace coffee (my chosen vehicle for caffeine delivery) with tea.
That’s right. I’m going cold turkey.
Perhaps I’m being a bit dramatic, a method writer of sorts. Perhaps I’m diving in too soon, too fast–after all, I know relatively little about tea. But who knows, if I’m lucky maybe the tea switch will bring me a bit of clarity, a dose of tranquility. Maybe I’ll have sustained artistic swells instead of flash pot creative fires. After all, I am told that L.L. Barkat drinks tea, and she whipped out a novella in no time flat. (The Novelist speaks to the delicacies and elusive nature of a cup of tea, no less.) But if none of these things happen, I hope to at least learn to enjoy a good cup of tea.
In hopeful celebration of my new-found tea habit, I issue this challenge: recommend a tea to me, and do it in poetic fashion. It’s part of September’s “Tea for Two” poetry prompt. Take your cues from any tea or coffee related source–a tea package, tea related quote from literature, or the Republic of Tea’s “Tea 101” educational email series–and create your own found poem. Get creative. Leave your poem in the comments, or post the poem on your own blog and we’ll tweet it to the world using the hashtag #tea42.
Now, without further adieu, let’s get some creative works brewing.
Tweetspeak’s September Tea For Two Prompt.
This month’s found poem theme at Tweetspeak is “Tea for Two, ” and we’re using words and phrases from tea (or coffee) related products as the prompt. We’d love you to join with is. How do you participate?
1. Look through your pantry and grab some tea or coffee packages, or any other tea or coffee related products you may have in your house.
2. Arrange a found poem containing words from the products. Make sure your poems touch on themes of tea or coffee.
3. Tweet your poems to us. Add a #tea42 hashtag so we can find it and maybe share it with the world.
4. If you aren’t a twitter user, leave your found poem here in the comment box.
5. Each week we’ll share a few of the poems. At the end of the month, we’ll choose a winning poem and ask the winner to record his or her poem to be featured in one of our upcoming Weekly Top 10 Poetic Picks.
And thanks to all of those who submitted to last month’s August: Rain poetry prompt. The poems were all grand, but the grand prize winner is Chris Yokel, who turned the project on its ear (so to speak). Hoping to spin the book spine poetry prompt in a new direction, Chris created a CD spine poem, using only words from album titles in his personal collection. In “Night of Hunters, ” he wrote:
Midnight on the water—
love and thunder whispers
in the wind.
Ten summoner’s tales call
an ancient muse
from the far country.
I love what you did with the prompt last month, Chris. Keep up the good work!
Now, let’s kick off September right. Who’s first?
Photo (top) by ienjoysusi, Creative Commons via Flickr. Post by Seth Haines.
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Donna says
Tea is important in my house. Maybe it’s because my husband wooed me with Cowboy Junkies “Cold Tea Blues” (who can resist a man who does this?). Even our teenage sons have their favorites for certain times. We love our coffee, but we need our tea:
when our hearts are sobbing
when our bodies shiver
as our brows throw heat
when in the dark of night
we toss and turn
when we are mending fences
or building bridges
when we are waiting patiently
or fecklessly grasping at straws
when there is nothing more to be done
we turn to tea
Donna says
(Cold Tea Blues: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9aBlrqcpvyM)
L. L. Barkat says
Seth, you are amazing!! 🙂
Can’t wait to see where this takes you.
And you must try some Betjeman & Barton teas. Their Christmas tea (to be drunk all year) is terrific. Also love their Bagatelle.
Whatever you do, don’t go for a regular teabag. This would be the reason so many people quit tea before they start it. 🙂
Darrelyn Saloom says
I had to quit coffee because it is too acidic. My body rebelled. So it’s tea for me. And the ritual is as pleasing as holding a warm cup and enjoying the taste.
Maureen Doallas says
The poet serves tea
in a pot shaped like a lotus
blossom. The pour streams
through a net at the mouth,
leaves caught from a fall
to the cup like so many
unwanted words discarded
from the final draft. The art
takes some practice, no little
experimentation to get right.
The secret is time, the ritual
of adding in and taking out.
Laurie Flanigan says
I love that you’ve compared the art of blending words with the art of blending tea leaves. It’s a nice brew, a wonderfully warm blend of depth and insight.
Violet N. says
Not exactly a ‘found’ poem, but find some goodies to go with your tea here.
Donna says
a haiku: chai
fragrant explosion
allspice cardamom clove tea
marry sweetest cream
Katie says
Love this, Donna😀
Monica Sharman says
Homemade Chai Recipe
The cardamom won’t steep unless the green
pod protecting strangely shaped seeds
is broken, crushed open with the back
of a spoon, stainless, one of the twelve
in the set neatly packaged and wrapped
in bridal-print paper and satin bow
you tore open, giddy, eighteen years ago.
Donna says
🙂 this is great! (the right spoon is very important!)
Kimberlee Conway Ireton says
Too fun, Seth. I’m hoping I can create a poem that’s about half as good as Maureen’s. That’d be real good for non-poet-me 🙂
(I love tea, btw. Welcome to the club!)
Maureen Doallas says
Thank you!
Chris Yokel says
Woohoo! Grand prize! Does this mean I win the tea of my choice? 😉
Can’t wait to start on this new prompt, since I am a tea addict.
Donna says
…. ah you did say coffee, too, yes? Here is a steamy hello on this rainy morning in northeast pa. http://thebrightersideblog.blogspot.com/2012/09/a-steamy-hello.html
Ann Kroeker says
When visiting my husband’s family and friends in Belgium, where he was born and raised, the locals would set down in front of me a coffee cup and pour. Everyone drinks coffee in Belgium, so it didn’t occur to them to ask if I’d like something else.
I added lots of cream and a fair amount of sugar, and forced it down…all the while, wishing for tea.
Over time, I’ve come to appreciate a nicely prepared cup of coffee, but I still prefer the flavor and nuance of tea.
Donna says
Good Hope Vanilla
burst vibrant crystal clear
borrowing the second color of the rainbow
the color of poppies
streaming into the hot bath
fruity rich leaves of roobius
deliver a fragrant vanilla hug
forming a rhyme on my tongue
melting cares away
gifting magical peaceful slumber
good night
(Good Hope Vanilla – The Republic of Tea)
Eva says
I thoroughly enjoyed this challenge, thank you! Here is my poem: http://wp.me/p2mGVe-9m
Donna says
chai roobius
should come with a warning
“consumption of this delicious spiced sweetness may result in uncontrollable fits of sleeping on the sofa”
(which is where i found him this morning- his first words to me were not “good morning love” but “what did you put in my tea?”)
Kimberlee Conway Ireton says
Well, I finally managed to write a found poem about tea. Thanks for the prompt. It was fun to play with words again 🙂 I really ought to do this more often 🙂
http://www.kimberleeconwayireton.net/2012/09/camellia/
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