Tea Club
They exist in every city, in the shadows, in the dark unlit corners of car parks where normal people would never dream of walking. They exist in groups who speak to nobody else and only to those who understand how great it is. How precious a thing it should remain. Every Saturday evening they meet, or every Friday, creeping down stairs to duel it out, to do battle with their bags: each person championing a different brand. The first rule of tea club is: you don’t talk about tea club. The second rule of tea club is: you bring your own bags, damn it. My first experience of tea club was in 1996. You don’t forget these things. I was sitting alone in a café, wondering if waitresses would ever learn how to make tea properly, or if, secretly, this was a ploy to make tea look bad so that people would stay away. Then, I heard the guy at the table opposite, with running shoes that were a little bit too scruffy, say “tea club is getting too big…we need to do something before it gets out of hand…” He saw he staring at him. “You listening?” he asked. “You looking at me?”“Yes,” I said, “and my favourite tea is Yorkshire Tea.” The men whispered something to one another, then beckoned me over and introduced themselves as the founders of my local tea club. They said I should tell nobody I had seen them, and did I want to come along and revel in the wonder that was tea? Providing I kept it to myself, of course. I said Yes, I did, and ever since then I’ve been watching over my shoulder…wondering if every person I walk past on the street is a member of another tea club I am yet to encounter. The truth is that tea clubs have always existed, but now, thanks to a popular love of tea, this once prestigious and underground lifestyle is becoming main stream. We can not let that happen!
Comments are closed!