New Tea Spot

During the past few weeks, I have visited a cafe called HiTea twice. On its Web site, HiTea calls itself an "urban tea experience" and boldly proclaims, "We believe that Tea is art." Located in the South Loop, at 14 East 11th Street, HiTea offers a tea oasis in the midst of tall buildings, a bustling center of commerce, and the nearby University of Illinois at Chicago campus.

HiTea has a wide variety of black, green, oolong, Pu-Erh, and white teas, as well as several varieties of rooibos, herbal infusions, and Yerba Matte. When I was there last Friday, I sampled the Earl Grey and a charming green tea from Japan that was flavored with the perfect touch of cherry blossoms.

At HiTea, I experienced some moments of supreme happiness, of mindfulness. As I sat by a large window facing the seat, the sunlight flooded the room as I sipped my tea. A few times, I noticed that I was really present with the tea. I was absorbed in the drinking. I smiled as I recognized that my sitting there and sipping that tea was a wondrous reality.

For several years, when Zen people would tell me that I could "become one with the tea" or that "drinking tea is simply an amazing reality," I would smile and try to understand them. However, afterward, I mostly dismissed such quaint notions as something that was outside the realm of my experience and really beyond my capabilities. I think my mindfulness was not so strong then.

On Friday, I had a small flash of understanding, of insight. I appreciated, if only for a moment, what those more experienced meditators were saying. Of course, as soon as that happened, my mind happily leaped into overdrive. Immediately, it started cranking out thoughts like, "Aha! I have arrived. This is it! Now, I can take this experience and describe to people in the West my great awakening to ultimate reality as I savored some tea."

Happily, about as soon as those thoughts started bubbling to the surface, I smiled and mentally noted them. "Ahh, grandiosity," I sighed. "Craving (enlightenment)." I smiled again and returned to the cup of hot tea that seemed to welcome me back from that brief reverie.

Again, I was content, at least for a short time. I formed a half smile on my face, lifted the cup slowly, took another sip of the tea, and enjoyed it deeply.