The Tea in Ritual: A Guide

The exhaustion of existence weighs heavily on us Black folk. It is not the mere act of existence that is debilitating to us, our ancestors, and our descendants; and it is not the occupation of our beautiful, multifaceted bodies that makes us weary. Rather, what makes us tiresome, what makes us ache down to the very marrow in our stress-whipped bones, is our existence in white supremacy. It is the racism, the white hate for Black being and doing, that keeps our jaws clenched, our shoulders tight, and our necks aching. We carry not only the weight of our ancestors’ pain (just as they carried the weight of theirs upon their own whip-scarred backs), but the heaviness of our own dissension, the burden of revolutions we are forced to fight, the heft of fighting for space in a world not meant for us.

And we heal just as intensely as we fight.

We dance. We laugh. We twerk. We talk to our ancestors. We go to therapy. We rap. We sing. We write. We talk. We scream.

But what about those quieter moments? What about the juncture of silence? What can we do to ease our restless spirits and soothe our muscles that burn from carrying so much? What can we do to nourish our inner deities and outer bodies?

Might I suggest, perhaps, a cup of tea?

I’ve become a tea enthusiast over the past year through owning and founding Sis Got Tea, Louisville’s first Black-owned, woman-owned, LGBTQ-owned tea café. I went from a McDonald’s sweet tea type of gal to a person who has a catalog of teas in her home. From sweet to earthy to bitter to smoky to herbal. I’ve got it all. Over the time that I’ve delved into the realm of this multidisciplinary drink, I’ve learned that tea is not only for oral enjoyment, but also for healing, grieving, celebrating, and for looking inward. I’ve learned that tea is both an outer and inner experience. So let me take you through the steps of the tea in ritual.

What do you desire in this moment, not just in taste, but also in spirit? What do your body and soul crave in this very moment? What do you need? What will guide you?

Spread your tea around you. Close your eyes. In the silence of your surroundings, listen to your tea and yourself. 

Do you need something to ground you? Try a black, earthy tea such as Assam.

Do you need something to give you a new perspective? Try lapsang souchong, a smoky tea that tastes like a campfire, like something you’ve never ingested before.

Do you desire peace and serenity? A light green tea will calm your spirit.

Do you yearn for a blank slate, an opportunity to create whatever you wish? I recommend a white tea, which has a taste so delicate that you can craft it to whatever you crave.

Perhaps you are feeling more complex. You may need many things at this moment, and multiple desires are valid. We are complicated beings. So is tea. 

Did you know that most tea comes from a single plant, the Camilla sinensis? From this adaptable plant come hundreds of varieties of tea. To create these varieties the plant needs different things in different increments – soil, water, sunlight, oxidation, and fermentation. Like you, my friend, you are a single being that needs so many things to bloom in so many ways. Add what you need – assorted herbs, various sweeteners, etc. You too are an entity that needs abounding things to grow and bloom and become.

As the water slowly fills your vessel, watch how the tea reacts. Some tea, like oolong, blooms, and unravels; the leaves flowering as it steeps. Other teas, like gunpowder, unfurls from its tightly-rolled form. Watch the tea respond. How are you responding to this ritual? Are you blooming or are you unfurling?

You have journeyed through the ‘t’ in ritual, from start to finish. Let tea be a conduit of peace, serenity, healing, and relaxation. Tea is powerful. Tea is multifaceted. Tea is beautiful. Just like you.