Tea Series 01 | Where Tea Begins: A Leaf, a Mountain, a Way of Living (Part 1)
- Amitabha Garden
- Jan 22
- 2 min read
Tea doesn't ask you to rush. It asks you to notice. In Chinese tea culture, tasting tea goes beyond flavour; it's about embracing life in a Zen way - gently restoring the balance, one cup at a time. This is the start of our new Tea Blog Series: short episodes you can read in 2-3 minutes, and come back to whenever you need a calmer pace.
In this episode:
What "tea" really means beyond a beverage
Why tea became a daily practice - not a performance
One simply way to start with tea today
Tea begins with attention (and not expertise, surprisingly)
You don't need perfect terminology or specialist teaware to begin familiarising yourself with tea. What you need is simply curiosity and attention. Watch the boiled water meet the loose tea leaves. Notice the first billow of steam and the fragrance coming with it. Take one sip. That's the whole skill: being there.
A culture shaped by balance
Tea fits naturally into the idea of yin and yang - not as a label, but as a way to choose what supports you. Some teas feel bright and lifting; others feel soft, warming, and grounding. The point isn’t to “get it right”. It’s to notice what you need - then choose gently.
How we choose our teas
We source with care: fair trade where possible, supporting local farmers, sustainable practices, and respectful hand-processing - so each tea tastes like what it is, not what it’s been engineered to become. If you’re new to Chinese tea, that’s good news. You can start with something honest - and let your palate learn naturally.
30-second ritual
Hold the cup close → one slow breath in → smell the tea once (no analysing) → one small sip → pause → swallow.
Try it at Amitabha Garden
Explore our Chinese Tea selection (online + in-store).
Want a deeper doorway into tea culture? See our Tea Ceremony page.
Next episode: Where tea becomes ritual (Part 2).
To be continued.
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