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This original version of this post was aired in 2011 at the blog ThinkingThroughChristianity.com, which sadly is no more.
I just had a nice conversation with a student and with a colleague who is a specialist in Eastern religions. I learned that there is a variety of Japanese Buddhism that uses the preparation and drinking of tea as a meditative practice. I like that. As a lifelong tea drinker and abstainer from coffee, I have long been appreciative of Nietzsche’s remarks on the superiority of tea. So Buddhism and materialistic atheism both have their proponents of tea.
This makes me long for a Christian account of the spiritual significance of tea, or Christian advice for drinking tea as a spiritual practice. Christianity certainly has the theological resources for this sort of thing, and I’m sure someone has written on it. But I don’t know where to find it, and it seems easier to write something myself. So let’s start with the Apostle Paul in 1 Timothy 4:
“For everything God created is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, because it is consecrated by the word of God and prayer” (1984 NIV).
From this we learn that God invented tea, and that it is good. So here is my advice for drinking tea Christianly:
Prepare your tea carefully and reflectively, remembering the doctrines that God created the world and that God is good. As you drink your tea, be grateful for your tea, and say a prayer of thanks to God for inventing it and letting you share in His good idea.
I now (thirteen years later after writing the above) still pray regularly, "Lord, you are good, and you created all things, and you created all things good. Thank you for creating tea. Thank you for letting me enjoy your very good creation."
Discussion (74)
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"Thank God for tea! What would the world do without tea! How did it exist? I am glad I was not born before tea." - Sydney Smith
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I, too, am a tea drinker who never developed a taste for coffee. My wife loves coffee, and I love tea, so I guess we complement each other.
I have different teas for different times of day. My favorite is China Keemun First Grade black tea, which is fairly robust. Another favorite is Twinings' Prince of Wales. I never thought of incorporating prayer when I brew a cup, but it makes sense!
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Coffee is a vice I picked up later in life. It was a foul substance to me as a youngster and younger man. Nowadays, there's no 12 Step program or clinic that could ever break of the habit of drinking coffee. I do think tea is probably healthier and certainly less prone to crash with over consumption. However, I think the drinking pop or energy drinks is likely the worst beverage for uppers. Years ago I essentially eliminated pop from my diet - glad I did. I believe it's a good idea for parents to try and prevent their kids from developing a pop or energy drink habit for health reasons.
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I drink both coffee and tea, and they are different meditative practices.
For coffee, I use a moka pot. I grind the beans while preheating some water. I level the grounds in the basket. I put the hot water in the pot and place the basket and close the pot and put it on the burner at just the right flame. After 9 minutes, when I hear the pot and smell the first running, I move the pot to the side of the flame and watch the running.
Tea has its own ritual.
They are both good.
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I read somewhere long ago that "G. K. Chesterton would confound the libertine and the puritan alike by saying grace before lighting a cigar."
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