Good morning 👋
Do you fancy a cup of tea?
It’s a simple question at first glance; however, when you delve a little deeper, there’s a certain beauty and limitless potential in it. This is exactly what we’re going to be taking a look at today, as we explore how tea can create connection, encourage communication, and help people unwind.
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Last week, Wan and I were asked to host a “Tea Ceremony”, as part of the Undefinables 2026 Spring Retreat.
However, what does this all mean, and what’s the importance of a cup of tea?
Well, let’s take a look…
Offering someone a cup of tea in British culture can be the offer of a catch-up, a reminder that you’re there if somebody wants to talk, update you on what’s been going on, or share any problems that they’ve got going on in their lives.
It’s an opportunity to pause, whether that’s from work, from the chaos of day-to-day life, or simply to take a short break while the kettle boils.
In more Eastern cultures, there can be much deeper connotations associated with drinking and making tea, which is what we aimed to tap into with this activity. To give a bit of context as to why this was important to me, let me take you on a bit of a journey back to March 2018, where I got to go to China for a college accountancy trip.
During one of our days in Beijing, we went to this lovely tea shop, where we got taken to one of the rooms towards the back of the store. This was one of their “tea tasting and ceremony rooms”, which was set up with a round table that we could all sit around, with soft red pillows and Chinese artwork dotted around the room to really help you feel grounded and present.
From here, some traditional calming Chinese music was played, as we got served a range of different herbal teas – from jasmine and cherry blossom to grape and more.
What this experience really showed me was how tea can connect to so many of our senses. Whether it was holding the warm cup in your hands, smelling the tea as it continued to brew in your hands, relaxing while listening to the music, or drinking the tea itself, it was all an experience.
How we decided to host out tea ceremony was as follows:
(I won’t go too in-depth or share everything, but I feel like it’s helpful to add a bit more context)
We split the activity into three parts, each using their own tea – Root Within, Thread Between and Shared Spark.
Root Within – this was more of an introspective part, for people to settle into the activity, using barley tea. Wan started off by leading a short guided meditation, before we asked a couple of questions that helped people reflect on how life has been going for them lately, and how they like to show up for others.
Thread Between – using mint tea, people were split into pairs, where they were asked to discuss questions such as “When have I felt supported by others, and what made that possible?” and “Where do I feel the most connected to my life right now, and where do I feel the most distant?”- this was all about starting to create a connection, using the warm and different teas to add to the whole experience
Shared Spark – in groups of 4/5, we asked people to chat about what stood out to them from the earlier conversations, what they’d learnt from the activity, and even how the different teas made them feel. People had the option to drink jasmine tea this time around, with us leaving space for them to chat openly and about what they wanted to, using the teas as a guiding point
Tea itself isn’t really the point. The point is the pause, the intention, and the connection it creates. Posts like this are also a great reminder of how connection often starts with very ordinary things. That’s all for today’s blog, though. What do you think? Do you like this mix-up from the usual blogs I share?
I’d love to hear what you think 😊
Thanks for reading, and I hope you have a lovely day!
James
Sweeney's Blogs 