in the leaves...

This summer, I learned the art of iced tea. We visited America's only tea plantation, and we were invited to drink all we wanted.  I drank my fill and more, and stacked tea canisters up on the counter to bring the memories home.  As I measure and press and pour from my kitchen, I remember how the tall oaks bowed gracefully over the road and the rows of the green crop stretched to the horizon. I taste and sip... and find magic in the leaves.

It was not-so long ago that I learned the magic a cup of tea can brew. Tea for two on a chilly evening or across the table from my girl on a sunny afternoon.  It can get me through, settle my mind, or warm my hands when my heart feels cold. And while I'm not sure this is necessarily true...

If man has no tea in him, he is incapable of understanding truth and beauty. 
~Japanese Proverb

...it seems to work for me.