Since Dan lives up in Canada and I’m here in the U.S., the Tea Biz team has the good fortune of celebrating Thanksgiving twice a year. Dan has already had his and now it’s my turn. (I’ll send you some virtual turkey and pie though, Dan, if you’d like.)
I had been preparing a more traditional business-related post to send today, but decided that many of you were preparing to head out the door for the holidays and business could wait for a bit. Instead, I wanted to take a moment to give thanks:
* I am thankful for tea. I am grateful for the quiet moments it has provided, the renewal of energy and spirit when I am low, and for the opportunities it has given me to spend time with friends.
* I am thankful for the tea growers, for those who spend their hours planting, nurturing, harvesting, and transforming those magnificent Camellia sinensis plants into the tea I drink each day.
* I am thankful for the dreamers who have built (and are building) tea industries in locations many of us hadn’t imagined. It gives me joy to think of tea estates in England, the Azores, Tuscany, and all over the United States.
* I am thankful for the packagers and designers who dedicate their creativity to ensuring that I am able to enjoy fresh tea from a container whose beauty honors what is inside.
* I am thankful for the artists whose hands have formed magnificent teaware that makes each tea experience even more special.
* I am thankful for the tea shop owners, both brick and mortar and online, whose passion for tea helps encourage others to discover enjoyment of loose leaf tea. Whether a Victorian-inspired teahouse, a contemporary tea cafe, a homey bakery serving quality tea or a virtual marketplace, they have all advanced the cause of tea and have customers who are devoted to them.
* I am thankful for the large tea companies who introduce thousands to their first taste of tea, creating lifelong tea lovers.
* I am thankful for the tea writers, the book authors, the magazine publishers, and, of course, my people – the bloggers, who expend creative energy putting words on the page to explain and explore their passion for tea.
* Finally, I am thankful for you. Thank you to those who read our blog, who trust their work to us to create content for their businesses, and to those who will open their doors to us in the future. We appreciate the relationships we have with you and look forward to working with you in the future.
Comments
4 responses to “Giving Thanks”
This is beautiful. Thank you Katrina! Have a wonderful Thanksgiving.
Thank you for your kind words. Enjoy your day and I’m glad you took the time to read it.
Thank YOU, Katrina for encouraging the awareness of all it takes to bring tea from the garden to the cup. I appreciate your thanking growers. As a small time grower of tea I do think that many forget that tea comes from a plant that is cultivated and processed for the packages that are found on store shelves. It seems easy to disconnect from the plant and the process that brings tea to the cup. Its not so far off from those who only see turkey on the Thanksgiving table and don’t consider the process by which the turkey became available for purchase from the local grocery store.
The cup of tea that so many of us enjoy everyday carries a lot of energy behind it. The energy the plant takes to produce it’s noble leaf, the energy it takes for the grower to encourage the plant to produce, the processing of the leaf that brings such beauty and aromatic tone to the cup and the simple ceremony of brewing a cup or pot of tea which soothes our souls and minds.
I echo your thanks giving to all involved in celebrating this noble leaf.
Rob – I am glad I have had the opportunity to get to know you and your story. You were one of the first Hawaiian tea growers I had the chance to speak to. It’s wonderful to see the Hawaiian tea industry continue to grow and develop. Thank you for all you have done to advance the cause of tea.