Leaves and Water: Tea as a Guide to Connect with Nature

By Stuart Roland (IG: @steepful)

I can't remember exactly when I started having tea sessions in the forests, but it is a practice I have held for many years now. Having experienced the harmony between the feelings of peace and grounding that immersing oneself in nature brings and the calming and awakening effects of brewing and drinking tea, outdoor tea sessions have become an important part of my tea practice and my life.

Having a tea session in the forest forces you to interact with the natural area around you in a new way. First, you must find a spot where you can set up your teaware, which can be as simple as a thermos and a cup. As far as finding a good spot, my best advice is that you will know it when you find it: an inviting log, a shady spot beneath an old tree, a forgotten bench along a worn path, a mossy boulder. Over time you might develop warm memories and intimate relationships with favorite spots, or you might find a new spot nearly every time you go out.

Wherever you choose to settle in for a cup, the tea will gently draw your attention back to your senses. What aromas can you smell? Wafts of wildflowers? The earthy smells of soil and wood? The soothing smell of fresh rain? Perhaps the familiar smell of freshly shed leaves in the autumn? How do they compare and relate to the aromas of the tea you are drinking? Over time you may develop favorite teas for particular settings. Maybe you become fascinated with the similarities between the earthy, complex aromas of ripe puerh teas and the earthy scents of soil and decaying wood. You may gravitate towards certain teas during the different seasons. Perhaps in the warmer months you are drawn to light, refreshing white teas, while in cooler months you find darker, full-bodied puerh and oxidized oolong teas most reinvigorating.

I am blessed to live near the Mississippi River in Minnesota, and have come to know the river and surrounding flood plains forests in my area intimately, as friends over countless shared tea sessions. If you haven't done so, consider taking a thermos out to a park or nature preserve near you. Even a bench in a garden or a shady spot beneath some trees in a backyard can be a receptive spot to deepen your tea practice as well as your connection to the natural area around you. Explore and experiment.

The practice of drinking tea outdoors puts you in the sort of relaxed, receptive, mentally-present state of mind to best drink in your natural surroundings and deepen your connection to nature. In the same way, being out in the elements heightens your senses and can make you appreciate your tea at a deeper level. When you are out along a river in the cool morning air, walking through a forest in a rain shower, or tucked in a valley to avoid the cold winter winds, a warm cup of tea can be absolutely revitalizing. The sense of grounding and alertness that come from interacting with nature and the calming presence of mind that tea brings are perfect companions, each redoubling the gifts of the other.