Vegetable Tea * By Thomas Leons
An interesting article on the affects diet has on tea drinking.
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September 12th, 2008 at 3:38 pm
This was a great post. I am willing to try no meat for a few months, and see how my senses react to Puerh. I will post back in a few months with the outcome.
September 13th, 2008 at 1:03 am
I think the suggestion to try is really worth it, and we are all very excited to see what your insights are and how you feel the lifestyle change affects your sensitivity, well-being and ability to drink tea.
September 20th, 2008 at 4:11 am
One other thing at work (on a pretty much entirely surface level) might be that Buddhist vegetarians following a completely vegetarian diet typically don’t eat garlic, onion, leek / chives / ?? (jiu cai), cilantro, as well as avoiding meat and eggs. A lot of these are things I imagine could dull down your palate or make it harder to taste things. I don’t avoid these foods, but if I’m going to do a lot of serious tea drinking, I do try to avoid really strongly flavored foods.
Here in the US, at least, I think there is some weird connection between vegetarianism and tea - a few of the places that helped get me into tea initially are vegetarian restaurants, and I know a lot of other vegetarians who are into tea. Maybe it’s because tea is considered healthier than coffee, so it just overlaps because vegetarians are often more health conscious.
September 20th, 2008 at 8:35 am
You are correct about things that affect your mouth strongly, like certain spices, herbs, etc., also decreasing one’s sensitivity of flavor. On the level of Qi meat and alcohol do play a large roll in one’s ability to not only recognize the presence of Cha Qi, but to utilize it as an aspect of spiritual work. Still, I agree that the best tea tasters also are careful what passes through their mouths, at least near to the time when they will be drinking tea.
Garlic and Onions goes back before Buddhism; it’s roots are in Hinduism. And while many people refrain from eating them without understanding why, the real reason was because they excite sexual energies; and yogis, ascetics and Buddhist monks were all practicing chastity. Refraining from eating them may also be beneficial to your meditation and/or tea drinking.
I don’t think it is a weird connection. A lot of the best tea shops here in Asia are also run by Vegetarians. I can think of at least 5 great examples right off the top of my head. I think there may be some people who just drink tea because they are health conscious, but I also believe the answers are deeper; and it seems you already have found them. Great commentary!