July 2009, Sweet Willa Archive

Searching for Tea High & Low
By Laurie Nienhaus

Searching for Tea High and Low

  Of course I went to the tax day tea party in Fort Myers.  As a tea and history lover how could I possibly resist? The last page of my book, And Then It Was Teatime, has a diary entry by John Adams (1735-1826), written on December 17, 1773:

     This is the most magnificent movement of all! There is a dignity, a majesty, a sublimity, in this last  effort of the patriots that I greatly admire.  The people should never rise without doing something to remembered -  something notable and striking.  This destruction of the tea is so bold, so daring, so firm, intrepid, and inflexible, and it must have so important consequences, and so lasting that I can't but consider it an epocha in history

  So yes, there was no way I was going to miss such an event in my own backyard and my expectations were high.  But, did I understand the original tea party was about taxation without representation? Yes, I believe most Americans from the fourth grade on are aware of that. For the record, I also didn't expect to see the Eleanor, the Beaver, or the Dartmouth sitting at the water's edge.  Nor did I anticipate men dressed as Mohawk Indians to be in attendance.  Although, personally, I think that would have greatly added to the event.

  There was a minimal amount of tea on hand, but, for the sake of correctness, it was sealed in large plastic bags and, at an pre-determined moment, "dropped" into the water - only to be immediately fished out. Alas, I found this somewhat anti-climatic. I'd have much preferred, for the drama of the moment, to see someone (perhaps a Mohawk Indian?) break open a wooden box with an axe and DUMP the tea into the water.

  All of this got me to thinking though. I look for tea high and low - and I don't always find it.

  Last Friday night my husband brought home The Darjeeling Limited, thinking it might have something to do with one of my favorite teas.  It was an amusing movie and wildly colorful. It also starred Owen Wilson, which completely quelled my disappointment over the fact it had not a thing to do with tea. (Would it have been so hard to at least film a tea plantation in the background)

  Several months ago tea bag folding caught my attention. Apparently originating in Holland, it's a craft that, as far as I can ascertain, also has not a thing to do with tea - aside from the fact that the woman who invented it was inspired to do so while drinking a cup of tea and fiddling with her tea bag packaging.  It is origami gone mad in my opinion, as you are folding insanely small pieces of paper.

  I have persevered for you, my dear readers, and have finished a humble example for your viewing pleasure. I first feared this project, with its 1" squares, could potentially join the miniature quilt still resting unfinished in the drawer of my sewing machine cabinet. In anticipation of angst and frustration, I made a strong pot of tea (darjeeling, of course!).

  However, as it turned out, I barely had time to finish one cup before this project reached completion, and, I must say, I might now be hooked on tea bag folding.    

  Not only were my hopes dashed yet again when I finally got to see The Bitter Tea of General Yen, a 1995 silkscreen still, created by the subversive artist, David Diao, I couldn't even grasp its meaning.  Search as I might, I couldn't find even a tea accroutrement in the image, which catches in mid-projection three frames of the same scene of the 1933 movie, The Bitter Tea of General Yen.

  It took only the slightest research on Mr. Diao to discover that I also hadn't grasped the general's "aura of forbidden sexuality or the fact that he appeared to be trapped and subjectified by the loutishly dressed Walter Connelly on his left and the exotically robed Barbara Stanwyck on his right."  Hmm...

  Now, I understand that this particular work of Mr. Diao's, an Americanized Asian gentleman, is aimed at "...allowing the dualism of his personal history and his consciousness of cultural ambivalence to emerge with a trace of anger, of eroticized sadness, and perverse humor."

  Well, of course! But was anyone drinking tea? No.

  Apparently, tea does have a pivotal role to play in the movie and I'm eagerly awaiting for it to arrive at my door, complements of NetFlix. 

  So my search for tea, both high and low, continues. 

  Now back to the tax day tea party. Even without the tea, I believe I did find a dignity, a majesty, a sublimity in this...effort of the patriots. When large numbers of Americans are moved enough to step out of their own lives and gather together, it is indeed bold, so daring, so firm, and intrepid.  

  And all raised their teacups and cried, "Amen!" 

Note: The Bitter Tea of General Yen, silkscreen, vinyl, & acrylic on canvas, 75" x 46".  Reprinted here with permission of postergallery.com

More on Tea Bag Folding

  To learn more about tea bag folding, also known as kaleidoscope folding or kaleidoscope origami, and to download the papers (called tiles) visit the following websites:

Or, look for these books:

From Laurie Nienhaus: Now, here I found it!
Murder for Tea: A Review
 By: Edith Howie