I’ve written before about my tea stash. I may have also mentioned my teapot collection. I like tea. I like tea but I rarely drink it. I was thinking about this fact the other day and wondered why that was and came to the conclusion that, to me, drinking tea is not a solitary undertaking. I like to drink tea with others.

See, I don’t necessarily use tea to wake up. I drink coffee in the morning — and often do it alone since I’m not all that social in the morning. When I drink tea it is usually in the afternoon or evening.

When I’d spend time in England we’d always have a cup of tea and cookies before bedtime. To this day, thinking about those moments in front of the gas stove, drinking PG Tips and eating digestive biscuits makes me feel all warm and cozy inside.

When Clare was in middle school and high school we’d often sit down to a cup of tea when she got home from school, before she began her homework. It was a great time for her to decompress from her day at school and for me to catch up on what was happening in her life. I looked forward to those few minutes we shared over a cup of tea.

Andrew didn’t join us in our tea drinking until after he’d been to Ireland twice in the same year. He went with his rugby team during spring break and then again that summer with us. We all got into the habit of having a cup of tea together in the evenings after dinner and carried it home for a few months. Even today, if I ask Andrew if he’d like a cup of tea he’ll often say yes.

So, I rarely drink tea anymore. Not because I don’t like it, but because I see no reason for it if I cannot make a social ritual out of it. Dean doesn’t like drinking caffeine after noon and doesn’t particularly like herb tea. He sometimes joins me in a cup of tea, but I suspect he only does it because he knows how much I like to drink tea with others.

Last night, as the Steelers lost the Superbowl, my friend Maria asked me if I’d like a cup of tea to warm me up. I did and together we drank cups of green tea and it was good.