You must first decide the time at which you will drink from your cup. Is it now, before the rush of day, before the calls and emails you must answer, before you take a step out of your home and find yourself nearly crushed by the repeating questions and frustrated customers? 

If so, you must choose a black tea, preferably British Brunch or Earl Grey, which will have the strength to carry you through until you pour yourself another cup in the evening. You will need to set the kettle right when you wake up, so you have time to enjoy it. You can sit at your hand-made couch, pull up a youtube video, listen to it as you wait for the change in the air. You’ve grown accustomed to that slight shift by now, as your ear has been wired to listen for it, your chest to sense it. You’ll find your kettle at just the right temperature: 85 Celsius. You’ll pour it gently over the perfectly rolled tea leaves, the steam spilling up to your face, warming all your pores and granting you entry to a peaceful morning. You’ll have plenty of time to drink it now, to sip at its robust flavors of bergamot. There is nothing else that is needed in your tea, no sugar, no honey, no milk. You drink it black after four to five minutes of brewing, adjusted for whichever tea you chose. You’ll sit back, rest your spine against the gathering of pillows on your couch, and close your eyes upon the first taste. The day will undoubtedly be difficult. But for now, there is nothing but you, your tea, and your peace of mind. 

But if it is a cup prepared for later, for your arrival home, you may seek a different cup. Will it be Silver Needle, the most expensive of teas, with a unique taste unparalleled by any other? Will you dare pour a cup, when your finances or low, and you know you cannot replenish it for the rest of the year?

Or will you choose a more relaxed cup, one of jasmine tea, or chamomile? Herbal tea has never been your favorite, so you tend to save those for before bed, before you must shed your day’s layers and allow yourself to stand bare, your clothes on the floor, and your bed welcoming you to forget the burdens until the morning. 

No, I think you will choose jasmine. I think you like how it makes you think of Uncle Iroh from Avatar, how it makes you smile, how it reminds you that what you’ve endured today will not last forever. How you think he would be proud of you, even if no one else is. You will take the circular teabag carefully, doing what you can not to get your oils upon the tea leaves themselves. You will choose your cup, set it inside, and wait for the water to reach a higher temperature. This jasmine tea had a white tea base, after all, which required more heat. You bring it just above 85, you pour it, and you let it brew for five minutes. By the time you sip it, you’ve already changed clothes. You shed your work day’s attire, you dress instead in a long shirt, perhaps some sweats, and curl up on your couch. The day can be cruel, and you know that well. But for now, it is just you and your tea, working together for the common goal of warmth. You will let the flavors spill across your body without any demands. Jasmine fills your nostrils and you cannot help but feel your muscles slacken. Yes, the day is hard. Each day you stand alert, you grasp your heart, and you fight against those that would seek to tear it from you. But each morning, each evening, the leaves of a distant land remind you that not all is lost. You are still loved here. And you can survive on that alone.