Tea as a portal to here and now
Why do I serve tea at the beginning of every private session?
My Reiki master from Malaysia taught me this beautiful practice, and it has since become the quiet heartbeat of the space we share. It is so much more than a warm beverage—it is a traditional Chinese Gong Fu Cha ritual, a practice of brewing tea with deliberate care, skill, and presence.
Yi Xing teapots as the vessel
To help clients move gently from the busy chatter of their minds down into the quiet intelligence of their bodies, this tea becomes a portal. It is an invitation to leave the hurried world behind and a chance to truly reconnect. This is why I pour from traditional Yi Xing teapots. These vessels are born directly from the earth, shaped by generations of intentional, mindful craft. When you wrap your hands around the unglazed clay, you can feel that raw, earthen element. It anchors you immediately to the physical world, slowing time and inviting you to simply be.
Wisdom of the hundred-years old trees
At this quieter hour, I naturally reach for a dark, cooked (shou) pu-erh. These leaves are gathered from gushu—ancient, wild trees that have observed the changing world for centuries. As we sip this deep, earthy brew, we are partaking in their quiet wisdom. We can almost sense their sprawling roots and their profound, unshakable link to Mother Earth. It is an incredibly grounding experience that allows those ancient trees to share their stability and knowledge directly with our nervous systems.
Sheng Pu-erh to invigorate the senses
Other times, especially during the brighter hours of the day, I love to share a raw (sheng) pu-erh. Where the cooked tea grounds and settles, this vibrant, sun-kissed tea invigorates the senses. It awakens a lively flow of energy, clearing the mind and waking up the body with its crisp, botanical vitality.
Yet, whether we are sitting with the deep stillness of the cooked pu-erh or the bright spark of the raw, the intention remains the same. To feel the clay. To feel the warmth of the tea in your chest. To sense the roots of ancient trees. In just a few seconds... we become beautifully grounded, landing fully in the here and now.
