big red robe

I BREWED Big Red Robe oolong today for my Peaceful Habits group, a tea often reserved for honored guests in China. “We’re honored guests,” one of my patients said. I said, “Of course you’re honored guests!” The tea was rust brown and smelled like toasted coconut, and when we drank it, it seemed to land squarely in the center of our hearts with a warm and mellow glow, like we were being wrapped in a big red robe.

     It was more bitter than sweet, and someone suggested adding sugar, but I encouraged them to befriend the bitterness instead, to really give themselves up to the feeling of it. “Each of us is like a cup of tea,” I said. “We’re bitter and we’re sweet.”

     I encouraged them to take a sip and really notice all the flavors, to feel where the tea was sweet in the mouth, and where the tea was bitter. “This is the key,” I said. “When you’re anxious, it doesn’t help to try and sweeten the bad feeling away. If you’re in pain or afraid, if you’re frustrated or embarrassed, try feeling the flavor of those emotions instead of trying to squelch them or sugar them over. Take them into your big red robe and embrace the bitter with the sweet.”