Bedroom Tea Service

Hello Everyone!
*big grins*

“What is the most wonderful thing for people like myself who follow the Way of Tea? My answer: the oneness of host and guest created through ‘meeting heart to heart’ and sharing a bowl of tea.” – Soshitsu Sen, Tea Life, Tea Mind

Sighhhhhh......its Tea Time............

“Strange how a teapot can represent at the same time the comforts of solitude and the pleasures of company.” – Author Unknown

Today I want to share an inspiration that I am loving very much, it is giving me happy moments during the day. I don't see or hear too much about this but as the title says, its a Tea Service in the Bedroom.

 “If you are cold, tea will warm you;
if you are too heated, it will cool you;
if you are depressed, it will cheer you;
if you are exhausted, it will calm you.”– William Gladstone

I spend alot of time in my room, and so the room has to be lovely and accommodating, and very hospitable for me personally, and lately I wanted even more from my bedroom....... it does have to be set up and structured to allow me to flow with ease in all my tasks and needs. For me a bedroom is not just a place to crash, but a place to replenish.....the bedroom has to have alot of ambience.


 

“As the centerpiece of a cherished ritual, it’s a talisman against the chill of winter, a respite from the ho-hum routine of the day.” – Sarah Engler

So I brought in from the living room a console and placed it over the bench, added linen and my tea things and I was happy.





I've been loving having tea. Alot of tea. I used to just have a cup at a time, maybe two made in a French Press but not much more. Below is a pot of tea using just the dandelions that grew in the summer. I'd pick the blossoms once they opened with the morning sun, added hot water and honey and had lovely tea.

Lately I've been watching some Chinese drama series' and I have been blown away by so much about that culture's living! I could go on for an hour raving about their decor, their costumes, their beauty, but this is about Tea.
One of their dominating customs is "the taking of tea". It seems to be a panacea for everything, from feeling cold/hot, or lovesick, to grieving, to healing, anything it seems, the teas are brought out to calm, as a balm for the soul and body and mind. They drink primarily camellia sinensis and varieties of herbs, roots, flowers and berries. And they are usually grown in certain ways to have qualities and properties from being medicinal, healing, or for simply enjoying an un common taste.
And so with all of this tea culture, there are the tea accessories, from teapots, to tea warmers, cups and serving trays, and these also seem to be tailored to the type of tea, who is drinking, what class they are from, to simply a basic set that is for everyday use with both royals and commoners.
There are tea sets for occasions, and sets for collections. In almost every scene of a home, or room, or dwelling, even hospitals, you will see pots of tea on warmers steaming away with cups on a serving tray available for anyone who drops by. It is a greeting, A welcome, a medicine, a comfort, a handshake, a hug, deal maker, and a joy.

 “Tea tempers the spirits and harmonizes the mind, dispels lassitude and relieves fatigue, awakens thought and prevents drowsiness, lightens or refreshes the body, and clears the perceptive faculties.” – Confucius

I think this is fantastic, and a lovely way of treating anyone. So why not myself? Why do I have to have only one cup, and only when I think of it? How nice is it to have the pot steaming for hours, with simple tealights for heat, (oh, "tea" lights ? hummm, I just saw that connection), and living water spiraling up in gentle streams of steam offering me two of natures elements, of fire and water making my room come to life....... and having hot tea of any flavor ready for me to pour throughout the day? Who knew I could treat myself as a guest and have good hospitality for myself.


I find that I adore having a pot, or two, of tea steaming away. When I walk into the kitchen I can pour a glass.

And if I'm in my bedroom and want a glass of tea I don't have to walk to the kitchen because I have a pot steaming in there too. Its just lovely.
 

 

All you need really is a small table, a tray, a teapot and warmer, and your drinking glass or cup.
I have taken it a bit further as sometimes I like to eat something in my room and so I have little silverwares and chocolates, flowers of course, and fairy lights.

Its such a simple thing and yet gives so much. It is better than the plain 2 or 3 liters of water I was drinking, as now I have herbal waters in the form of teas. My favorite in this moment is local grown galangal with lemongrass that I grow with a bit of honey. I love cutting the grass every morning and making a large pot, adding honey and decanting into the two tea pots I keep warm. One is in the kitchen I keep on a low setting to keep it hot and the other in my bedroom with the candles. By the time the candles go out, I have finished the pot. Its just perfect.

I'd like to encourage you also to set up something very lovely for yourself too. If you do, I'd love to see :D  I do not encourage this with coffee though, this is not about "waking up" or having the shakes, its all about the grace and beauty and calm of a multitude of panaceas from the Herbal Kingdom.

 “Drinking a daily cup of tea will surely starve the apothecary.” – Chinese Proverb

..... a few extra pictures....pictures! I love pictures!!.....

Beauty Blessings!