This weekend I've been a bit under the weather. Sniffle, sniffle. I decided to have some of my tea (I'm a big tea person). I love Teavana! It's a bit expensive but well worth it. My favorite is Samurai Chai Mate (if you want some click on the link); it's made up of many ingredients, which include green mate, red rooibos, cinnamon, pineapple, orange peel, lemongrass, almonds, cardamom, aniseed, coriander and cornflower blossoms. WOW, that's a kick right there! And let me not forget the sugar, German Rock Sugar that perfects the tea. That's yet another kick.
As I was sipping my Samurai Chai I started to think how it serves as a medium. Going back to our first reading by James Reston, he discusses the concept of hot and cold media. Well tea is definitely hot when I'm drinking it but in reality it's a cold medium. My Samurai Chai is perfectly made; however, there is space for imagination. When drinking tea, the flavor is complex. There are two aspects that are open to a person's personal opinion, taste and aroma. The taste can be different for every person and the aroma can also vary. I know that my taste buds get all excited when the tea starts rushing through. The smell of samurai chai is just splendid. No need to buy Glade or Febreze fresheners, the tea makes the atmosphere warm and delightful.
Because I was drinking my Samurai Chai I decided to watch The Last Samurai as well but that's another medium and can wait for another post.
As for the tea, I'll let you be the judge of how it tastes and smells (if you have any). It's keeping me warm and complete this early morning but it continues to be cold and incomplete as a medium. Maybe you'll get a kick out of drinking some tea!
Interesting take on Tea as a medium, but it definitely holds true. Tea can also be used as a middlepoint in meeting activity, as a sign of trust. A good book called Three Cups of Tea, by Greg Mortenson, shows this. In many cultures, a sense of connection is often created over some tea.
ReplyDelete"The first time you share tea with a Balti, you are a stranger. The second time you take tea, you are an honored guest. The third time you share a cup of tea, you become family, and for our family, we are prepared to do anything, even die. Doctor Greg, you must take time to share three cups of tea." http://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/27837.Greg_Mortenson
Tea can definitely work as a 'middle' between two people.
I liked reading your post because it goes inline with what I wrote on my definition of media, "Media is Everything". I believe that anything in this world has the potential to be a medium and in your case, tea is definitely an informative medium. From the smell to the taste it gives off messages which can make someone who is feeling under the weather, better by just taking a sip or smelling the fresh aroma. This is an interesting turn in my blog readings since most of them have been all technological
ReplyDeleteGood blog and very original. It links back to the article from our first class about media being an extension from the body. Tea definitely is through packaging and appearance (eyes), aroma (nose), and taste (mouth).
ReplyDeleteCan we apply this post more generally to include all food? Are all foods cold media since everyone's sense (smell, sight, taste, etc) are unique and therefore "interpret" the food differently?
ReplyDeleteYou make a good point Ryan. We can definitely apply this to all foods because our opinions are different.
ReplyDeleteReading your blog about tea makes me go made myself a pot! A very interesting blog, however, could be developed a little fuller. You have grasped the relation of tea to an individual's five senses, but what about the sociality of tea? One thing that defines media is its ability to connect humans from one another. Tea is social! Thus the wonderful possibilities to talk about tea as a culture, tea parties, tea arts, tea industries, etc.
ReplyDeleteI also want to correct a mistake--the theorist proposing HOT/COLD media was Marshall McLuhan.
But it's a lovely post indeed. :)
c.