Ever notice how as soon as something becomes popular there are others who want to raise it to the level of a religion. next thing you know there are those who are ready to proclaim exactly how it should be done and over time develop elaborate "procedural methodologies" the elaborate buzz word that came shortly after the now famous "synergy", "paradigm", and "excellence" in corporate america. Nobody knew exactly what they meant, much less how they should be applied, but everyone knew that that was what they needed to be successful.

Now there is most certainly going to arise a howl of protests over this, but my personal thoughts are that that is preciely what scared so many people away from the enjoyment of tea, while coffee became a simple throw it in the percolator and boil the fool out of it quick and simple means to jump start the day.Who the heck wanted the bother of the whole ritual of spotlessly cleaning a pot, bringing the water to precisely the right temperature and pouring that over loose leaves, only to have to then time it , filter it, and then came the clean up.

Trouble was, back then, even the loose teas in America were still substantially sub par, and generally so old that it was like brewing straw. Even among the coffee drinkers the percolator was too labor intensive, so many turned to instant, something akin to powdered kerosene in the fifties and early sixties. So, the tea community brought forth the teabag, thereby producing an insipid brew of even more sub-par tea sweepings. Any wonder tea never really was a serious threat to coffee in the American lifestyle?

Then came the sixties, to be precise, the late sixties and some folks like Celestial Seasonings who offered alternative drinks that were not quite "tea", that is the tea of the tea connoiseur, whoever that was, because there weren't very many of them, but with the flowery boxes, clever little words of wisdom and some truly interesting hibicus blends that just perfectly capitalized upon all that was the generation, even further exemplified by the new startup, Stash. Hmmm, sounds familiar.  Soon after came the Republic of Tea in which tea became the basis of a whole new way of life. Some good stuff, but also a bit too much philosophy.

The well known story goes that tea drinking began when a few leaves fell into someones tea cup. Being thirsty, the man or woman drank it anyway. Who knows? Apparently, it was good! What could be more simple and natural? THIS was and is to this day the essential "isness" of tea. If it tastes the way you like it, ENJOY! Go with it! Do it YOUR way!

Having weathered the demands and dictates, the expectations and requirements, the would, coulds and shoulds of earlier times that ultimately led to everything reflected in my four books, all of which are listed in our ebay store at Creative Accents Online, I now celebrate the current generation in which it is now time to celebrate and enjoy life and yourself, your community and those things that make you uniquely you, while living life to the fullest. What does this have to do with tea? The simple answer is , EVERYTHING!

Tea began in the simplest form of a few leaves that fell into a pot, AND IT WAS GOOD. Someone drank it, AND IT WAS GOOD! Increasingly today, people around the world in every country and culture are doing the same thing. Tea is no longer just the tea ceremony of the Japanese, the mate of South America, the rooibos that has been consumed in Africa since the seeds were harvested by being dug from ant nests, the high tea of Britain, the tisanes of Europe, or the long used herbal, berry, and fruit teas used as relaxers, tonics, for medicinal purposes or the enjoyment of floral tones. Today, tea is. To be more precise, tea is whatever YOU choose it to be.

Over the past few days my wife and I have celebrated this as we have enjoyed populating our ebay store and auctions, our website, and our "brick and mortar" store here on the outskirts of Atlanta, Georgia. Yes, in the morning I still enjoy my homebrewed blend of coffee as my own high caffeine to jumpstart my heart, but I also enjoy a good cup of breakfast tea with a tiny bit of sugar and milk. At 56, it often takes both! But, for the rest of the day the two of us revel in our explorations as we sample morning Assams and Ceylons and afternoon Darjeelings, Greens, Yellows, Whites, and other lighter traditional teas as well as a seemingly endless variety of Rooibos, Sweet Bush, Herbal, Fruit, Floral, Berry, and Spice teas. Too, I will shamelessly admit that just as the original leaf falls into the cup, many a delight has come from blends of components of all of the above.

THIS is the essence of tea today! THIS is the TAO of tea, if it tastes good, and it always does, it IS good, and we simply choose to enjoy while daily adding  more to the 300 plus varieties that we will ultimately offer. Today, tea is THE drink that best reflects the truly international, multi-ethnic, commonly misunderstood drink that serves to bring pleasure to all, men and women, young and old. Hot, cold, in frozen treats, mulled wines, sangrias, punches, in mugs or formal cups, with or without caffeine, more costly premium select teas, or simple blends, tea is for everyone and simy to be enjoyed. If there is a commonality of tea, it is in its very universality, in that it can be enjoyed by everyone, exactly the way they like it and there are choices that span every conceivable taste. The good news is that with today's enhancements to communications and  transportation even the very finest and ultra premium teas as well as regional or national preferences can be enjoyed by everyone everywhere!

Tea is to be enjoyed.

With this in mind, we would invite you to join with us as we continue to taste and experiment, to sample and consider new blends and new acquisitions. Every day, you will find new varieties and blends as well as a rapidly expanding list of accessories and other products representing the very best of those items we have selected to make life just a little nicer. Too, feel free to follow our blogs and links. Please let us know your thoughts and suggestions.

http://stores.ebay.com/Creative-Accents-Online

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