That High Tea Vol. 1
A cup of tea is a universal safe space. Across countries and cultures, no matter the variation, you will find tea imbedded in pretty much every community, friendship and family. There is a kind of tea for every kind of day and mood. To offer someone some tea is to offer them some comfort, it is a physical and metaphysical welcoming; an effective emotional blanket. Additionally, it is also well known in many cultures that herbal teas have a great medicinal value.
Tea ceremonies across the globe symbolize our spiritual connection to nature and each other. For example, in Africa, a continent full of lush forests, people have sipped on the infusion of the Rooibos bush for hundreds of years. Tea was introduced to South Africa in 1850 when the seeds of the Assam Tea were imported from Calcutta and grown for commercial purposes. The Orchardson brothers, the sons of the famous artist Sir William Orchardson were the first ones to plant tea trees in Africa. Soon, Kenya became famous for growing teas. In spite of its colonial introduction, there is tea ceremony in West Africa that goes by the name ‘Attaya’ and is anything but formal. In fact, tea culture in the continent’s western nations of Gambia, Mauritania and Senegal are the polar opposite of nations like Japan whose ceremonies are intense. Every Attaya consists of three rounds of tea drinking. According to a legend, the first round of tea is very bitter and it represents the beginning of life and the pains of growing up. The second round is sweeter with a hint of mint. This symbolizes the sweetness of mid-life, love and marriage. The third round is a weak tea which represents old age. This ceremony is usually a day-long affair and is full of laughter and often loud music.
Tea is the most consumed beverage in the world and its popular history extends as far back as 2737 BC. But did you know that the term tea only refers to the specific tea plant’s infusion in water? Real tea is made from the leaves of a single plant, the tea bush (Camellia sinensis). Green tea, black tea, white tea and oolong tea are all considered to be real teas, the only difference among the four is how they are processed. Steeping any other plants in water is referred to as a herbal infusion. This is some info I picked up at That High Tea Vol. 1.
Recently, we held our very own ceremonious tea party, That High Tea. We gathered on a windy Sunday afternoon in the industrial sector of Cape Town, at the cozy Stereo Culture listening room surrounded by the ever changing landscape of shipping containers being processed from the harbour. The very same harbour that served has a midway pitstop for the Dutch East India Company on their round trips to collect teas and spices from the East, among other things. And so we gathered in this spot and drank a variety of teas, iced-teas and kombuchas. It was our first event after the heavy national lockdown initially induced by the COVID19 pandemic. Because of this we placed an increased significance on the importance of what we consume and how we consume it. The tea we had on offer was concocted by the extremely generous people from Plant Inc. who drove an hour to the event to speak to us about the fascinating work they do with plants. It blew my mind to hear about how we really can and are using plants to solve many of our problems of everyday life. From helping prevent the transmission of pathogens to curbing cigarette withdrawals, they’ve managed to create a plant-based tincture for it. They were also generous enough to give everyone a small bottle of alcohol-free hand sanitizer along with a customized That Eclectic mug. The talk they gave also helped to set the intentions of our event: a conscious experience based around community engagement, radical self-expression and healthy experimentation. So what was on offer?
We had all kinds of teas on offer, iced teas and kombuchas and the wonderful people from Ground Zero also helped out behind the counter pouring us our ceremonial tea as well as some delicious coffees. Ground Zero also hit us up with some delicious plant-based eats. As for the ‘high’ part of our High Tea, we ushered in the expertise of one of Cape Town’s best cannabis bakers, Momma Dank. She provided us with all kinds of THC and CBD infused treats, and damn were they tasty! Retro-Club Thrift and Daisy also had some funky thrifted clothing on sale and designer Alexa Robinson was kind enough to offer up her light projection installation for us to engage with and enjoy. There were also two visual artists, Kirstin Warries and Louise Nothling who got cozy around the large table inside and drew portraits of our participants all day. The Stereo Culture listening room is the first Funktion One listening room in the world and we were honoured to be one of their first event in the space. The mind-bending quality of those speakers were on full display thanks to the amazing sounds of none other than Pierre-Estienne and DJ Phanny. All-in-all the day was a complete success and every person left the space with a smile on their face. We can’t wait to see where That High Tea goes from here!
That High Tea is an intimate conscious event, curated to stimulate all your senses. A dress up party with good tunes, delicious food & desserts, interesting people, interactive art, healthy teas & loads of love. Oh and no booze! But who needs alcohol when you’ve got so much going for you on a Sunday. An event designed with the intention to leave you rejuvenated, inspired and satisfied rather than stuck with a bluesy Monday, a babbelas and names you can’t remember.
