Congratulations to Sed Chiang, winner of our "Pick Your Tea" competition.
INTERNATIONAL TEA DAY COMPETITION WINNER
This year for International Tea Day, we asked you to help us celebrate the leaf we love by taking part in our special "Pick Your Tea" Competition.
Thank you so much to all who entered. We received so many heartfelt and beautiful pieces of writing. It is fantastic to read how much tea means to everyone. We will be sharing some of our favourite entries on Instagram over the coming weeks.
We are delighted to announce that the winner is:
Sed Chiang
Memoirs of my magical rare cup
What’s the most favourite part of your day? Well! Mine definitely is that moment when I get to sit down with a warm cuppa tea. Be it spring or fall, bright or dull, at the sandy seaside or in the magical mountains, this ethereal drink called “Tea” never fails to fill my heart with it’s tender loving essence. Just like a dear old pal, it allows me to truly be myself. It patiently listens and understands. And if paid enough attention, it also whispers to me, a few words of compassion and kindness.
As a kid, I grew up in the mystical valleys of Sikkim, an erstwhile tiny Himalayan kingdom, now a fully organic province in India. Every morning, my mother used to ask “Is anybody up for tea? (souja/cha in local dialect) And I very excitedly, used to be the first person to show up. Although years have passed by and I now live a million miles away from home, that particular moment, a calling of tea rather, is a moment I look forward to, even today.
And much like all you lovely tea heads out there, I too choose to brew my tea depending on the occasion, time, weather, mood and so forth. However, my top favourite pick would definitely be Sikkim Temi Tea. Temi tea is a camellia sinensis varietal, grown and hand plucked in the misty Himalayan slopes where the scintillating mountain sun is woven with pleasantly intoxicating clouds, the melodious rain, delicate wildflowers and some sweet hilly bird songs.
This refined golden benevolent liquor emanates light floral and sweet notes which are too full of reminiscence from my precious childhood days and it allows me to sojourn back to the mountains on a virtual journey with my loved ones, whom I’ve been missing so much during this isolation period. All these years, tea has not only disciplined me on how to live and cherish the present, besides, it has furthermore kept me grounded and instilled in me a sense of sanguineness, especially during these trying times.
To say the least, Tea for me is way more than just a drink. It’s an ambition, a revived memory, a true bliss of Mother Nature, a profound yet gentle reminder of all the small meaningful things which reverberates through every sip and sporadically, it’s just an excuse to enjoy my favourite biscuits and sweet treats.
Lastly, on this very special occasion of International Tea Day, I’d like to thank each one of you out there who is involved in bringing this blissful liquor into our cups.
Wishing you all a very Happy International Tea Day 2021.
Sed has won a beautiful tea box from our friends at Bredemeijer and a selection of fine teas from Canton Tea.
