Episode Summary
This episode began with an unexpected pause. A guest had to cancel at the last minute, which gave me the chance to do something I realised I had not properly done before: explain why I care so much about tea, attention and clarity.
I share a little of my journey from litigation law to founding eteaket, and how years of working with tea led me to become increasingly interested in what happens around the cup as well as what is in it.
The core of my message is simple: instead of treating tea as something else to consume while you keep moving, use the pause it already creates to notice where you are.
We explore why tea works so well as an object of attention, how to build a simple tea meditation practice, how to choose a tea without rigid rules, and why bowl tea is one of my favourite ways to slow the experience down.
The episode finishes with a guided tea meditation to help you pause, notice what is actually there, and choose what matters next.
Today’s episode is brought to you by: Yellow Gold Oolong, a whole-leaf rolled oolong that opens gradually in the bowl and can be re-steeped several times.
It works particularly well for this practice because you can watch the leaves change as they unfurl, while the tea itself develops over successive steeps. For me, that makes it a good tea for attention. There is enough happening to notice without needing to control the experience too closely.
In this pause for tea, you’ll discover:
02:07 How my move from litigation law into tea began, and why the process of making tea started to matter as much as the drink itself
07:21 How the natural pause already built into making tea can create space for greater awareness and clearer choices
08:32 Why slowing down is not about forcing yourself to feel calm, but noticing what is actually there
12:08 Why tea works so well as an object of attention, from aroma and heat to taste, movement and bodily sensation
14:17 How to create a simple tea practice without needing a special space, lots of equipment or a long meditation session
18:07 Why I love bowl tea for meditation, and how its simplicity helps you slow down and pay closer attention
20:22 A guided bowl tea meditation to help you notice what feels noisy, what you need and what matters next
“Clarity isn’t something that we find. It’s something that we make space for.”
Resources and Links
Make sure you’re getting eteaket’s Tea Mail to be the first to discover awesome teas, like Yellow Gold Oolong so you can create more space in the middle of everyday life.
Thanks for pausing for tea with me today.
If this helped, I’d love a quick comment, a heart, or a share. It genuinely helps this post reach more people who need a calmer next step.
Erica x
The Tea Mind is reader-supported. To get new posts (and support my work), consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.
