“Are you a tea person?”
“How can you not need coffee as you wake up?”
“I’m a coffee-addict dude!”
Statements that every mid-20s & mid-30s fellows say to each other to begin their morning banter. Really though, are you a coffee person or a tea person?
I live my life in conflict with these two. My first sip of the day has to be of the perfectly brewed adrak-elaichi & lemongrass chai. Without this, I am a grouch for the rest of the day!
But I will tell you this; when I bought my first french press, my life changed for the balance of the day, after my mornings. So let’s face it; I am a tea person and a coffee person. As bad as a habit I cultivate, my day needs three little cups of each kind to get through successfully, with smiles and some heart. Recently, during lockdown, to be honest, I had the chance to try out some excellent home-grown brands of coffee; a flavourful twist to the regular coffee we expect from lands in africa, kerala and god knows where else!
In terms of tea, I have experienced apple-cinnamon, lavender, chamomile and so many different types of sencha, that it makes my heart flutter like a butterfly. There is something about a perfectly brewed cup of tea that makes your senses go on a merry-go-round. So, the next cup of tea usually arrives around noon, when the first third of the day has already eaten my brains dry. The evening usually beckons a black tea infused with fresh lemon. Something like a hot iced-tea, if that makes any sense. Try it, and you’ll know what I speak of. After the whole day’s work, something needs to give us a sort of lightness, an off-burdening. A black tea hits the spot better than anything.
Onto the coffees. Honestly, I keep filling up the flask to brew and keep pouring out as much as my eyes need to stay vigilant, alert and on top of things. This usually goes to three or four mini-cuppas in the day. I was given a double-barreled coffee recently, and it is a light-medium roast with the heavenly aroma of aged whiskey. Now this is what I call magic. Two of my favourite aromas, fused together to create a sweet, caramely, beautifully light roast of coffee.
A morning cuppa is essential for almost 75% of us human beings. It has to be a green tea, a black tea, a milky spicy tea, a foamy cup of coffee or simply the best of the best (IMO) a black coffee. I like to think it’s the caffeine kick we need as we start in the morning.
But with my cup of tea, I look out from the balcony into green trees, some people watering their plants, a pet dog strolling about and senior citizens returning from their morning walk. It is my calm time; time for me to prepare for the day ahead. Whether it is a stressful one, a joyous one or a really lazy one. I should mentally prepare myself; because at the end of the day we always feel like we haven’t completed the “XYZ” task. We are worrisome humans, terrible at living calmly. Slowing down should be a mindful practice of the day; whether it is reading a book, going for a drive or simply taking a walk. We need the breather. We need the break. We need the speed-breaker for our days!
If there is anything this year has taught me, it is to slow down. With overworking myself for years together, I never truly stopped for a moment to enjoy life and it’s simplicities. It was all about hustling, pampering and making others happy. I never really gave myself any time to stop and feel light; a little less burdened. But 2020 has made life happen for me. I have had time to reflect, to recuperate, to rejuvenate and prepare myself for a future of ease and happiness. Earning is important, but living is even more important; and this lesson has been well-learned.
My mornings now are not about rushing for a bath and to catch the next train to work. They are about sitting with my parents and sister, or with my friend on days that I stay back at her house; they are about savoring moments that I will cherish forever. Life happens, when we truly stop and take off the blinding glasses. It happens when we stop and stare!
Written by Anisha Masand
Week 51, December ‘20
