How Tea Helps Artists: And 10 Best Books For Tea Heads
By Thea Fiore-Bloom, Ph.D.
I want to evolve into one of those refined folks who choose tea over coffee.
Maybe you’re already one of them?
I picture you guys lingering pensively in Pashminas on terrazzo patios throughout the world, cradling a cup of Oolong in one hand and a tiny tin of watercolors in the other.
I would sacrifice the patio and even the Pashmina if I could invite the day in gently with tea instead of initiating launch countdown with coffee.
Several of my artist and writer friends are tea-heads and here are four reasons why I want to be just like them (and you) when I grow up:
1. Tea Helps Artists Because It’s a Classy Creative Companion
“Tea is a vital, irreplaceable part of my daily art life,” said Australian artist Yana Miller.
“I think taking tea is not unlike a ritual. I make and drink tea all day long if I’m making art.”
You can almost always find a hot cup of peppermint tea beside Yana on her art table.
Tea keeps her focused and keeps her company as she creates her whimsical works.
2. Tea Helps Artists Get Unstuck
But you don’t have to be all serene to reap the benefits of tea.
For some artists, the best way to get unstuck and re-energized involves smashing things – for the greater good.
Smashing things, like spices.
“Making Indian chai tea by bashing cardamom pods in my stone mortar and pestle in the middle of my workday always helps me re-energize and re-focus,” said manga artist Kikoe. “Tea drinking is a restorative part of art-making for me, especially when my eyes and hands are tired from hours spent on my Wacom [drawing tablet].”
Sometimes if Kikoe is feeling stuck midday she’ll go all out and chop fresh ginger, crush hard cinnamon sticks and grate some whole nutmeg into her simmering pan of cardamom-infused tea on the stove.
When the moment is right Kikoe adds in the sugar and milk and expertly pours the delicious tea from cup to pan a few times (at a distance of about a foot to a foot and a half) to make her frothy cappuccino-like Chai.
“It’s the perfect creative break for me because it’s short enough to not get distracted but long enough to clear my mind. And I get to smash things,” said Kikoe.
“Drink your tea reverently, as if it is the axis on which the earth revolves — slowly, evenly, without rushing toward the future.”
— Thich Nhat Hanh
3. Tea Helps Artists With Beginnings and Endings
Tea can tell our brain it’s time to begin our work or time to end it.
“My day starts with tea and ends with tea, said Korean American artist Debbie Han (in an interview with The Wall Street Journal.)
“When I go to my studio, the first thing I do is prepare a cup of tea. This has been my habit since I was an art student.”
Han’s favorite tea? Woojun; it’s a delicate, aromatic green tea harvested in the mountains of Korea in early April.
Wouldn’t it be ideal to have tea ritualize the beginning and end of a day spent making art?
Like hitting a chime, entry and exit tea can help artists transition in and out of, our creative workday.
But if you aren’t a full-time creative you can still enjoy entry and exit tea the next time you devote a Sunday to your art or writing.
“Meanwhile, let us have a sip of tea. The afternoon glow is brightening the bamboos, the fountains are bubbling with delight, the soughing of the pines is heard in our kettle. Let us dream of evanescence, and linger in the beautiful foolishness of things.” — Kakuzo Okakura, The Book of Tea.
And if those three reasons to be a tea-head artist aren’t enough here’s one for the road.
4. How Tea Helps Artists; Even Famous Ones
What was Georgia O’Keeffe‘s favorite book?
Okakura Kakuzo’s, 1906 The Book of Tea; a short but deep dive into the philosophy of the Japanese tea ceremony.
O’Keeffe became enamored with The Book of Tea in her early twenties and it remained a pole star for her entire life.
(Georgia’s favorite teapot still quietly rests on her modest kitchen shelf and you can eyeball it yourself at her home museum in Abiquiu.)
You can try Georgia’s favorite, delectable smokey black tea Lapsang Souchong here.
Drink it while reading this calming article on Georgia by the Charmed Studio).
Marcel Proust was a passionate tea-taker. He could be said to owe at least 4,215 pages because the entirety of The Remembrance of Things Past) to the memory of a cup of Linden (aka Lime Blossom) tea his aunt gave him to dunk that madeleine into at the beginning of his famous trilogy.
“You can never get a cup of tea large enough or a book long enough to suit me.” — C.S. Lewis
CS Lewis loved to drink his tea in oversized cups by the fire with a meal, after his afternoon walk but before 4:15 pm (when he started in on his second round of writing for the day.)
Speaking of books, great minds, and tea, here are 10 tremendous books for you or the tea-head in your life.
Top Ten Gift Books for Tea Lovers
1. The Book of Tea by Okakura Kakuzo (O’Keeffe’s favorite.)
2. Tea Gardens: Places To Make and Take Tea by Ann Lovejoy
3. Tea for Three: The First Three Tea Shop Mysteries (in the incredibly popular mystery series) by Laura Childs
4. For All the Tea in China: Espionage, Empire, and the Secret Formula for the World’s Favourite Drink by Sarah Rose
5. New Tea Lover’s Treasury by James Norwood Pratt
6. Herbal Tea Gardens: 22 Plans for Your Enjoyment and Well-Being by Marietta Marshall Marcin
7. Tea: History, Terroirs, Varieties by Gascoyne, Marchand and Desharmais
8. Jane Pettigrew’s World of Tea by Jane Pettigrew
9. Culinary Tea: More Than 150 Recipes Steeped in Tradition from Around the World by Cynthia Gold and Lise Stern
10. The Japanese Tea Garden by Marc Peter Keane
Dreamt of writing a book this year and need help from tea? I got you. Check out this super popular Charmed Studio post: Outline Your Book in 7 Mornings, With 7 Cups of Delicious Tea: Discover the Tea Method.
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Tell me what kind of tea you drink in the comments below. I want to know!
Currently, I am obsessed with a yummy Cherry Marzipan green tea blend from The Queen Mary Tea shop in Seattle.
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Other Relaxing Resources
If you liked this piece or want more ideas on how you can best let go of stress and come back home to yourself and your art, check out these other Charmed Studio posts:
- How To Set Up a Hummingbird Feeder and Gain Peace of Mind
- Top 5 De-Stressing YouTube Yoga Picks For Artists and Writers
- Aromatherapy Toolkit for Artists: Prosperity and Peace
- Meditations For Artists: Reduce Your Fear and Ignite Your Creativity
Check out The Charmed Studio’s Mostly Free Resources for Artist’s Page to get a link to my favorite free meditation app.
Pick My Brain___________________________________________
You might also like to peek at Charmed Studio subscriber Ann Laser’s, inspiring Tea Bag Project.
An additional benefit of Hibiscus is that it fights strep and ecoli. Mint has stomach benefits. Both good things.
Okay I will be making some tomorrow, thanks. I just read it can lower blood pressure too, isn’t nature grand? Thanks so much Louise for reading and for always giving me good ideas.
Dragonwell green is my favorite hot tea. Hibiscus with mint from my garden is my iced tea of choice. Hot tea always seems to bring a different awareness to the day. Lovely article.
Ooooh both of those sound delicious. I will put them on my shopping list.
There is something so ritualistic about drinking tea. It requires time and attention and involvement for me. Coffee is something I do to myself to force myself forward. Tea is something I do that is ceremonial and soothing and causes me to be present. Beautiful post. ☺🌼🌈🌺💕🌸🌻
Wow!! So auto correct did some weird things to this post. Lol . Yea I something I do that is ceremonial and soothing.
Ok I give up. I’m going to go make some tea instead.
lol! Yes!
Thanks Gale,
I corrected the screaming to soothing, no worries! Damn autocorrect!
Thank you as always for taking the time to comment and for you sweet compliment about this post. I love that word ceremonial you used. Yes tea is ceremonial isn’t it? I wonder if coffee was more of a ritual, more of a ceremony before coffee makers?
I use coffee and tea the same way you do. One for launching, one for lounging.
What gorgeous photos you’ve included here! I just saw this article this morning and have shared it on Facebook and LinkedIn. Love the Thich Nhat Hanh quote. I drink coffee and tea. I see tea drinking as a deliberate act of peace. <3
Thanks for sharing the post on social media Lisa. That is so nice of you. I love your seeing “tea drinking as a deliberate act of peace.” I will remember that.
My days would not be the same without a cup of Earl Grey in the afternoon !
Oh sounds wonderful. I wish I could say I did that too!
I am such a tea drinker, and since I stopped drinking coffee 5 years ago, now I drink even more. I usually drink the kind of teas others drink when being sick. My current favourite is fennel tea. I finish one box in a week :D.
That is amazing, so much better for you than coffee Sharle.But, yes I only drink it when sick, lol. I use fennel essential oil with rosemary essential in the bath occasionally, and chop fresh fennel bulb into salad sometimes, love the scent. Great digestive aid I think.
Lovely! I’m usually a heavy coffee drinker but I am currently having an affair with Vahdam Cardamom Chai tea. I feel like I’m getting away with something when I make a cup (especially with a dollop of heavy cream) and I can never have just one.
Okay I am literally salivating! I’m not familiar with the wonders of home made Chai, I am going to get right on it. I always add Cardamom to my coffee before I brew it though, does that count? LOL
Do you make Chai while you are drawing mid day like Kikoe does?
I love the description of Kikoe’s vibrant tea-making practice but alas, I do no such thing. Usually I need a break in the mid/late morning and I do some necessary hand and neck stretches while my bagged tea steeps.
While I admire the ceremony with which some people (and cultures) approach tea making, a teabag or a teaspoon of loose-leaf in my manatee-shaped infuser usually does the trick. I was into making traditional turkish coffee for a while, it can be a similar process (and oh baby, give me fresh cardamom in anything!) I can’t believe I never thought to put some in with my regular coffee grounds in the morning. THANK YOU for that idea.
Yes tea doesn’t have to be loose to make me happy. I do now want my own mana-tea shaped infuser. 🙂
Nice post~ I especially am interested in the number of books written about tea. My eye goes to Marc Peter Keane’s ‘Japanese Tea Gardens’. His book looks to be full of wonderful photography. He says that the Tea Garden is central to almost all Japanese Garden Designs.
Thanks Miss Kathy! I respect that author a lot because he lived in Kyoto, Japan for 15 or 18 years and studied the gardens there. I went to a magical and massive traditional tea garden there only once 18 years ago ( Happo-en) and it was one of the most indelible memories/experiences of place, that I have ever had in my life. I can’t imagine how wonderful it would be to sit in such places a few times a week for years. Do you love moss like I do? What has been your favorite garden? Maybe the glorious one you are working in up in the hills now?
Although I have a variety of teas in my cupboard, when I do drink tea, it’s usually hot Chai. I enjoy the spiciness. But my favorite memories of tea center around my great grandmother, who proudly claimed an English heritage. She made green tea for every meal. When I stayed with her, she’d make a pot of tea and serve it with warm bread from the oven that was spread with butter and sprinkled with sugar. And if it wasn’t bread-baking day, she served soft sugar cookies with our afternoon tea. I inherited her small black teapot.
Wow, what a wonderful story Sharon. Objects like that tea pot you now have hold so much potency don’t they? Have you ever painted that tea pot in one of your beautiful still lives? Or written a post on it? Where did she live when you stayed with her? I bet you can still recall the smell of the bread and cookies warm from the oven… nothing like a caring Grandma.
Thea, I haven’t wrote about or painted the teapot but did think about doing that just a few days ago. So there may be a new painting and reflection soon. She lived in a small house near Bemidji, MN. I remembered the taste of her cookies and tried for a long time to find a recipe so I could make them. I tried a lot of recipes but none were right. Of course, she knew the recipe and didn’t write it down.
I hope you paint it! I would love to include it in this post after you finish. 🙂 I think to get the taste right you would have to scrap the recipes and go with your intuition. Maybe it was a special spice she added? I love a good culinary mystery.
I finally recreated my Italian grandmother’s red sauce, only took 20 years of trial and error.
Ironically, I’m sitting here reading this…drinking coffee!
I didn’t even think of it till about 1/3 through, and I started laughing of course.
Thanks for sharing all these different stories, it’s funny how people enjoy or use the same things all over the world.
Hey, my coffee making is also epic by the way ;D. I use a Bialetti coffee “machine” (on the stove top and the water peculates up through the coffee grounds). It’s very good.
The drawings by Yana Miller are sooo cute!!
Aha ! Coffee as well!! You are one of us, the minions, the masses after all! LOl.
Let me give you a link to Yana’s DA page. That is where I found of her. She is a lovely human being like you.
https://www.deviantart.com/photoshopoholic