teaoretically

"Brain Chain" by Willem den Broeder, 2001 so what does it indeed all mean? "it" being tea, the object of our interest here. we could look at this topic from several angles. from the technical standpoint it is quite simple. tea is a product made from the leaves of camellia sinensis plant. at a closer look it's not that simple anymore. there are things often called tea that are not tea. herbal infusions for example or non standard camellia varietals produced in a similar way than tea. however i am of the opinion that if its not camellia sinensis or its variatals (e.g. camellia sinensis var. assamica) ...                                     ...  it                                                  just    ...

  Eser Gündüz | Retro-futurism   since we are all voyagers through space and time exploring the contents within - let's employ one of the great science fiction writers of the previous century to illustrate an important concept.    i'm talking about the concept of " to grok something " which was created and explained by robert a. heinlein in the 1961 sci-fi novel "stranger in a strange land". the book is about the man michael smith who was raised on mars and how he understands and integrates the culture on earth and terrestrial concepts.  without going too much into the details of the book i'd like to explore what "to grok" means and supply several definitions by various sources: a) to understand intuitively or by empathy, to establish rapport with. (oxford dict.) b) to understand (something) intuitively, to know (something) without having to think intellectually ( wiktionary ) c) when you grok something, you just get it — in other words, you...

Zoro Mettini | Die Euphonie in Beethovens "Neunter"     Song of Tea by Lu Tung The first cup moistens the throat; The second shatters all feelings of solitude; The third cup purifies the digestion, re-opening the five thousand volumes I’ve studied and bringing them to mind afresh; The fourth induces perspiration, evaporating all of life’s trials and tribulations; With the fifth cup, the body sharpens, crisp; The sixth cup is the first step on the road to enlightenment; And the seventh cup sits steaming — it needn’t be drunk, as one is lifted to the abode of the immortals. as written previously in my posts #1 and #2 tea can inspire a lot of things in people. poetry, philosophy, a feeling of company...  however if one wants to hear - you yourself need to shut up first.  it is vital to first take a back seat in the experience and take your ego out of it. understand what the tea needs. let the tea guide you rather than brewing it how you would like it to behave. there ...

Edward Munch - The Scream, 1893   now after the realization that tea is more than just a drink, and now that the second chapter of our obsession has begun - fundamental issues and conflicts of identity arise. not only the identity of what is in front of us (the tea) but also how it interacts with ourselves and our ego. i want to pick up the last post's question: so if tea is more than just a drink - what else is there to it? i have already written about how one would have to try to understand tea at a more fundamental level than just the simple dimension of taste . but what else is there to it? why even bother? what's all the fuss about? i should say in the beginning that i don't think that i have figured it all out yet. it's a process, a trip, a journey and there is no hurry - it will unfold itself. on a superficial level tea can be many things for people. it can be an investment, just a drink, a social lubricant, tradition, or just something their ego feels grea...