The Harried Coffee Culture vs. the Joys of Drinking Tea

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The Harried Coffee Culture vs. the Joys of Drinking Tea

Dawn approaches. Signs and sounds of life appear as warm-blooded creatures slough off the chill of night and lumber forth to greet the day. Chitterings and grunts, screeches and roaring fill the ether and rise to a crescendo as beasts gather for their early morning feeding. Many creatures are thrown together, instigating the occasional scuffle as each vies for position. Claws flash, accompanied by warning growls as dominance exerts itself, subordinates retreating with rumbling complaint. One by one each pulls away from the frenzy, hunching over hard-won spoils: double tall café latte with whipped cream and nutmeg, biscotti on the side. And so man has devolved to brutishness, compelled by the base sensuality of the elemental coffee bean.

Coffee drinking has soared in popularity, as evidenced by the proliferation of establishments such as Starbucks and Pete's Coffee. According to the Koffee Korner website, coffee made its historical debut in 850 A.D. and by 1995 coffee became: "the worlds [sic] most popular beverage. More than 400 billion cups are consumed each year. It is a world commodity that is second only to oil."

The fondness for this viscous black beverage has made such a stir that the phrase "coffee culture" has been coined to express this mania. Yet the use of the term "culture" is misleading, when you look at Webster's definition: "enlightenment and excellence of taste acquired by intellectual and aesthetic training" (Merriam). What enlightenment can be acquired while people madly dash around gulping high-octane fluid - like Espresso (Italian for "fast"), invented in 1903 by Luigi Bezzera (Sippy, Did you know) - from paper cups in a never-ending effort to get through the day? On the contrary, coffee's contribution to this sort of break-neck pace is a cause for the decline of the pursuit of intellect in modern society.

Conversely, the pastime of tea drinking is on a more elevated plateau of reasoning. Unlike coffee, there is no instant tea to speak of (not counting instant iced tea which is too distasteful to mention). In fact, the perfect cup of tea is achieved only after careful preparation. A favorite teapot is selected and filled with boiling water to warm. The warming water is tossed out and freshly boiled water is poured over tea leaves added to the pot, a measure of tea for each cup and one measure respectfully for the pot.

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