Drinking tea alone: ten minutes of stillness in a busy afternoon

In the middle of a stressful workday, what do you usually drink? Strong black coffee, fizzy soda, or street-corner milk tea? Whatever it is, most of us drink in a rush — hand on the cup, eyes on the screen, a few quick sips, then we forget what we just tasted.

Today, I'd like to invite you to try a different way of drinking: drinking tea alone, in silence.

Not a tea ceremony — just drinking tea

Don't feel intimidated thinking "mindful tea drinking" requires an expensive clay teapot, sitting cross-legged on a bamboo mat, or knowing how to tell oolong aftertaste from jasmine. Those things are lovely, but not required.

You only need:

• A cup of hot water and any tea bag (green tea bag, ginger tea, even plain Lipton is perfectly fine).
• A quiet corner — perhaps your desk when colleagues have gone to lunch, or your home balcony in the late afternoon.
• Ten minutes with no one bothering you.

Ten minutes with a cup of tea

Once you have the hot cup in your hands, turn off the phone (or flip it face down on the table), then practice gently:

1. Hold the cup with both hands. Feel the warmth spreading into your palms. That warmth reminds you: I'm alive, I'm feeling, I'm here.
2. Bring the cup close to your nose. Breathe in the tea's fragrance. An earthy aroma, sometimes slightly bitter, sometimes softly sweet — every tea carries its own scent.
3. Sip in small amounts. Don't take large gulps. Just a small sip, hold it in your mouth for a few seconds, notice the astringency at the tip of your tongue and then the sweet aftertaste at the back of your throat.
4. Between sips, set the cup down. Look out the window. No need to think about anything. Just look.

A small suggestion:

If a work thought intrudes, gently remind yourself: "In ten minutes I'll come back to deal with it. Right now, I'm drinking tea."

After the cup of tea, the world is still there

Ten minutes pass, you finish the tea, stand up, and return to everything that's still waiting. Work is still there, messages still piling up, deadlines still counting down.

But you'll feel different. Those ten minutes of quiet didn't solve any problem, yet they help you step back into the whirl with a calmer composure, alert enough to tell what's truly urgent from what merely looks urgent.

Drinking tea alone is not a luxury. It's the smallest act of self-care you absolutely deserve every day.

If you'd like to create more pauses in your workday, read to you, who always live five minutes ahead or explore walking ten minutes with nowhere to go.