Creation Every Day: Tea Time

Besides water, tea is the most widely consumed beverage. And of the nearly 4 billion cups the world sips each day, a couple are mine.

The grocery store presents varieties to suit everyone’s cup of tea. Green, white, and black. Herbal. Flavors like chocolate cherry and hazelnut cookie and one called the iron goddess of mercy. But with all that variety, how do we pin down exactly what tea is?

True tea comes from Camellia sinensis leaves. Green, white, black, matcha, sencha, pu’erh, and oolong—these varieties all stem from different preparations of the same leaf. Herbal teas are made from other dried plant leaves like chamomile and mint and even a holly plant, in the case of yerba mate.

Something about a steeping mug of Earl Grey or a frosty glass of iced tea signals a slow-down, a timeout to chat. I’ve ministered to friends, spent Sunday mornings worshipping, and fellowshipped with family all while sipping a cuppa. A missionary once told me that in her hard-to-reach country, “We share the gospel over the hundredth cup of tea.”

Our Creator gave us a beverage for comfort on chilly days and refreshment on sweltering evenings, an excuse to meet a stranger or chat with a friend, to share a moment or share the gospel. Our cup overflows.