Can the future be seen at the bottom of a teacup?
Are the secrets held tightly within the tea leaves only to be released in the “perfect” environment at precisely the “right” moment?
It sure seems like the 21st century is the right and perfect time for tea! I’m sure we’re all quite excited to see what will happen this year at the World Tea Expo. There is always immense anticipation and grand optimism for the future of tea during this annual event.
A “tempest in a teapot?” I think not. “Babel in a teacup?” No matter how big or how small – the fuss about tea is quite genuine!
How fabulous it is to see Dan Bolton’s Tea Journey publication come to fruition through his diligent and dedicated Kickstarter campaign. Many bridges to the tea world have been built over the past several decades by some of North America’s founding fathers and mothers of tea, (I set out to name several but knowing I could never do justice to so many, so I’ll let you fill in the names) just know that many of the “new generation of tea” are stepping up to reinforce those bridges.
The Tea Journey publication will bring the world of tea closer together in a powerful and picturesque way. Sometimes words are not as necessary when spectacular photos have the strength to say so much, as we’ve seen in the first issue.
Do remember, though, that bridges are not for one-way travel only. As we journey to the far-away tea-growing countries on those bridges, we open them up to invite and receive honored guests from those precious lands. Almost nothing proves this more than the World Tea Expo.
To many of those oblivious to the growth of tea in this part of the world, indeed all of this has to be “much ado about nothing,” and very much a “babel/storm in a teacup.” But often the small waves we see out there on the ocean, or those that reach our shores, could have been caused by huge storms on the other side of the world if nothing has stopped them.
The tea tidal waves have been hitting our shores for a while now, but the epicenter of the storm started long, long ago, in far-off lands. Have we seen the crest of these waves? Or are we just beginning to? Some have been riding these waves, for years now, but I do not believe we have seen the crest just yet.
“One wave motion is completely independent of any other wave motion. When two groups of waves meet, they pass right through each other. This is obvious if you consider light and sound waves. When two people talk or your child has both the TV and the stereo on, you can hear both. One set of sound waves doesn’t garble the other. Likewise, you can see two objects at the same time. What does happen, though, is that waves can either add up or cancel each other out as they pass through one another. This property is called superposition. If a crest from one wave happens to line up with the trough (the lowest part of the wave) of another, they cancel each other out. This is called destructive interference. If two waves line up, crest to crest, or trough to trough, they add up. This is called constructive interference. This is why waves at the beach are all different sizes. There are lots of different wave groups coming in, and they’re interfering with each other in different ways.
“When a wave hits a hard, vertical surface it is reflected. In other words, the wall pushes the water back just as hard as it got pushed, and sets up waves in the other direction. With constructive interference, you end up with bigger, and therefore, stronger waves. This is why, in the long run, solid seawalls are not good for saving property from the ocean. You end up creating stronger waves that cause even more erosion.” (from www.ci.coastal.edu)
What I’m attempting to indicate here is that what is currently happening in North America regarding tea impacts the other side of the world. Everything and everyone is interconnected – with or without a bridge.
“The biggest waves in our oceans are the tides. These are caused by the gravitational forces between the earth and the sun and the moon. The moon has the biggest influence because it is close. It essentially pulls up a bulge in the ocean on the side of the earth closest to it. It actually pulls up the land too, but not as much. There is also a bulge on the side opposite the moon. This one is tougher to understand. It’s explained here in two ways that may help:
“1. Because of centrifugal force (more an effect of the earth and moon revolving together than an actual force), the ocean on the side of the earth opposite the moon is sort of thrown outward, like you are when you go around a bend in your car.
“2. Imagine a race car, minivan, and bicycle starting a race. All three accelerate, and from the point of view of the minivan, the racecar shoots out in front and the bicycle gets left behind. The way they spread out depends on the differences in rate of acceleration. Similarly, the side of the earth nearest the moon gets pulled out harder than the side away from the moon relative to the earth itself. The near side shoots out ahead, and the backside gets left behind.
“The point is – there is a bulge on BOTH sides of the earth even though the moon is only on one side! So this bulge sort of sits there and we rotate around such that sometimes we’re under the bulge and sometimes we’re not. Since it takes 24 hours for the earth to complete a rotation, plus we have to catch up a little because while the earth was rotating, the moon was revolving around the earth, we are directly under a bulge, or experiencing high tide, about every 6 1/2 hours.” (again, from www. ci.coastal.edu)
The tea tide is high right now in North America, and therefore, the other side of the globe is affected by this, too. There will be highs and lows on both sides. The point is – we are all riding these waves in one way or another – crest to crest – trough to trough – we “add up” if we work/operate together in a way that is “constructive” for everyone involved. June 8th has been declared World Oceans Day because what we all do affects the oceans, too.
Can we see the future at the bottom of our teacups? What would the tea leaves whisper if we listened? Perhaps it would be to simply enjoy the tea, enjoy each other, work together, respect each other near and far, support the efforts to create balance and harmony across the globe, and probably much more.
Get quiet and see what is whispered to you …
We are a global community. We each affect each other. The history of tea has been world changing for countless centuries and it continues to evolve today. The health benefits of tea have fueled the next generation of tea drinkers who will become tea lovers. My dream of tea having an impact on the health and wellness of children around the world is just beginning. We have not gotten any where close to the crest. I look forward to that.