"I realized that tea does not even have taste
but rather just an effect like the wind"
James Norwood Pratt

THE SOUNDS, SITES AND SMELLS OF SUMMER

By Jennifer Geronaitis

As my favorite season approaches childhood memories of carefree days at the beach, Picnics under shady trees and quiet evenings under the stars feed my soul.

Even now, 37 odd years later I can hear the sounds of summer through the youthful ears of a child; the seagulls flying overhead and the fog horns calling in the distance. I can feel the warm sands sifting through my hands, the cool mist of morning fog on my face and the pull of the undertow upon my feet. I can taste clamcakes and chowder, sweet frozen lemonade and lightly salted butter melting over freshly picked corn. I can see the dirt road leading to the famous weathered shingled shack called "George's" with the best seafood in town that served food fit for royalty on cardboard plates with plastic utensils. Years later I learned that the "royal" feeling was created by the security of a loving family, two responsible hard working parents who sacrificed daily for their children. It was a wonderful life.

Those were my days before tea and yet similar feelings of peace overcome me when I pour myself a cup of the finest tea at my 200-year-Old farmhouse in Massachusetts. Tea has a way of calling up the most peaceful times. I believe some of it is the magic in the leaves. a 2000 year old tradition discovered by a Chinese Emperor and practiced by Buddhist Monks. And although they found tea to keep them awake while they prayed they also found that it of sharpened the mind and allowed the beauty of nature to come into view. The green leaves healthy and lush dancing in the blue summer sky. Moments of seeing things as an artist would. Noticing the light, shadows of flowers on garden paths and moonbeams shooting across a glasslike sea. Feeling grateful to be alive, experiencing the beauty first hand; one moment at a time.

That's what tea can do for you. Got Tea?