Tea and 24 Tee

Yes, tea.

I don’t exactly know how that came about. I suppose it has to do with an applied Tea Ceremony and my college, where the teachers and the professor were always drinking high grade Chinese Tie Guan Yin green tea from Song Dynasty tea bowls, giving us tasters and exchanging tips on where to buy to get the best deal.

In the last few years I’ve spent considerable time sniffing samples of tea in small plastic bags… not quite the high of goods purchased on the Duke of York alley  I readily admit, but somehow extremely satisfactory.

Chawan tea bowl Syowa period 1926-1988

Then I got into the habit of bringing my own tea to work and many of my dear colleagues have had the pleasure of tasting my latest discoveries while standing by on the wall, most memorably Young W whose physique didn’t tolerate the bitter aftertaste of Ku Ding Cha at all. Well, it isn’t called “Bitter Nail Tea” without a reason.

When I quit couriering “forever” in the summer of 2008 I put a small notice on the wall of the office:

No more tea for 24 Tee. She’s had enough.

And then we went for drinks and somersaulted down the hill in Mile End Park after a lovely night ride through the streets of London.

When I came back to couriering later the same year, as my controller had predicted, I posted another small note:

Some more tea for 24 Tee.

Which was acknowledged by my dear colleagues mainly by “I told you so”, or “I knew you’d come back”.

Indeed you did. Indeed I did.

More tea anyone?