Start your story with someone making a cup of tea — either for themself or for someone else.

Posted in Fluff on Oct 25, 2022

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✍️ 171 stories

“Strange Tea and Its Consequences” by Bruce Friedman

Submitted to Contest #128

My day started off in an unusual way. I’m an experimental psychologist doing research on how brain pathways are affected by psychotropic drugs. The lab next to mine was occupied by Jack Sprague who was pursuing a similar line of research but using only one drug, psilocin, which is to say magic mushrooms. Jack was a pioneer in this research and had invited me to have coffee with him that morning. This was quite a surprise. We were not close so I was curious about what he had in mind.Regarding psilocin, there’s a consensus that it will em...

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“The Fifth Path” by Tay Mor

Submitted to Contest #128

5:15 AM. The only sounds in the house are the consistent hum of the old deep freeze and Marie shuffling around in the kitchen. The sounds, the movements, the routine, are the same as always. The soft flick as the kitchen light turns on. The tchsss tchsss of her house slippers dragging on the kitchen floor; it is so hard for her to step lively at this time of the morning. The rush and ting of water as she fills the kettle. It’s still dark out; in early fall the mornings are always like this, and truth be told, Marie ...

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“Healing Tea” by Noelle C. Lee

Submitted to Contest #128

As I arrived home from work, I entered the apartment to see my dining room table set with all my best dishes. Settings layered from dinner plates to finger bowls at the top with doilies separating each layer. Crystal stemware positioned atop of each setting. Sterling silverware shined and properly placed. Emily Post would be proud. My prized hand painted chinoiserie white and gold edged teapot only used for the most special of occasions adorned the table as its centerpiece. Surrounding the teapot was a trio of pastries; muffins, sc...

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“Masala Chai & I ” by Kathrine J. N. Rajalingam

Submitted to Contest #128

Ashvin was staring at the water in the pot as it was boiling, added the sugar first, black tea powder followed by cardamom, cloves, black pepper, coriander, fennel, star anise, cinnamon, and nutmeg that he crushed with the mortar and pestle that he brought from India when he first came to American. He added whole milk and waited while the chai boiled. 'Ginger,' he said out loud. Masala chai, without ginger, was a crime, his mother would always say, and he wasn't about to commit that forbidden act. Ashvin hurried to the fridge, opened the cri...

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“The Last Cuppa” by Kip Koelsch

Submitted to Contest #128

For some time, I’ve been reusing my tea leaves—waiting patiently until the spent remnants barely tinted or flavored the hot water before moving on to a fresh scoop. Sadly, this evening’s bedtime cup reached that woefully uncivilized nadir. While I knew these leaves were nearly exhausted, there was just enough taste to maintain the emotional comfort of my nightly ritual and temporarily ease the now persistent sharp pangs in my abdomen. Relaxed and burrowed under my puffy down duvet, I drifted off to sleep s...

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“The Many Ways of Collapsing on Icy Pavements” by K.D. Walter

Submitted to Contest #128

David Vallejo woke up and checked the time on his phone. 6:43 am. January 1. He got up from the couch where he was sleeping and went over to his friend Pavel, who was resting on an air mattress on the floor. “You up?” he whispered to Pavel. Pavel responded with a sound that only vaguely resembled human speech. “Do you think I should start cooking breakfast for everyone?” David said. Pavel gave a response identical to the previous one. “Understood. I’ll go do that.” David said and then he went into the kitchen. He opened the refrigerator with...

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“Admission” by Terrie Graves

Submitted to Contest #128

Just awake. My eye twitched & I didn’t know if it was an excess of coffee or tears. So, chai it is…less caffeine. Glancing my thumb over the screen, I skipped last weekend, still marked with his return. 545 AM. I rubbed the sleep from my sore eyes, as if further irritation made a difference. Reborn at his touch. Aged to white in a sentence. Falling back to my pillow, the wince surprised me, and not. I thought stab wounds to the belly took longer to kill you, but clearly she had poisoned the blade. I recalled how numb chill had ...

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“Stronger for the Fire” by Heather McGuire

Submitted to Contest #128

Meghan watched the ripple of creamy silk flutter down the pillowy fabric like wind blowing softly over a milky pond. From her mother’s shoulder to the place where her apron cinched tightly around her narrow waste, the silk danced delicately as her arm moved the tea bag up and down. Steam unfurled in spindly whisps like a tiny chimney and Meghan imagined the look on her mother’s face to be wistful, but she knew it was more likely to be a scowl. She absentmindedly stroked her niece’s perfectly round head while she grabbed another rock wit...

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“Scout” by Anne Sellers

Submitted to Contest #128

“Why do I have to drink the damn tea?” Anyone could tell that Scout was worked up. My grandma explained to him, for the umpteenth time, that he couldn’t have coffee anymore, on doctor's orders. Coffee, she explained, would get him too riled up because of all the caffeine. Scout furiously kicked his crossed leg while wringing his hands in his lap. He was muttering something to himself, but I couldn’t quite make it out. It was something like,”Leave me alone, no fire.” I tried not to stare. Scout was at least mid-30s when I firs...

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“Shadowy Garnet” by Elizabeth Maxson

Submitted to Contest #128

Oolong…Earl Grey…Black…the tea selection was daunting in the cabinet. Grandma Charlie always had boxes of tea although I never saw her drink any. Now, as I was sifting through her belongings it only seemed right to make myself a cup of tea. That and there was no coffee pot in the house and the nearest Starbucks was a twenty-minute drive into town. I had been the only visitor to Grandma Charlie’s since she refused to move into the nursing home last year. She threw my mother out of the house and never liked my father, so he didn’t e...

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“A long time brewing” by Pragathi Balasubramanian

Submitted to Contest #128

“Tea, Kaapi?” she asked her cousin and her cousin’s husband. They responded with tea. All the better, her coffee grounds were running low. Radhika went into her stores and took out the large metal tin that held the roasted tea leaves. She got her plentiful supply from her employer, who rewarded the workers a half kilo bag once every few months. She probably picked some of these leaves herself and she knew her employer was not giving her anything close to the premium teas they exported to foreigners. That’s what the milk, sugar, ginger and ca...

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“The Golden Teapot” by Tanya Humphreys

Submitted to Contest #128

Egret and Heron sat at opposite sides of the small table in the parlor of their castle. In the center of the table sat a gleaming silver tea set consisting of a pot with more curves than their mother, two cups with fancy scrolled handles, saucers, a creamer with tiny lion’s feet, and a sugar bowl. The noon sun’s rays plunged through the tall, multi-paned windows and dazzling white reflections from every shiny surface buffeted round the room like a light-filled kaleidoscope.The handle of the sugar spoon was an eagle with a garnet eye. Th...

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“Oat milk” by Angela Hudson

Submitted to Contest #128

Goldie, 1955 Camberwell, London Alice was an easy baby. From her high chair, she watched me with her serious eyes as I set out breakfast. Always the same; it was better for everybody. Wipe the gingham tablecloth, damp-wipe with the cloth and shake out into the bin. Fill the glass jug from the tap; let it run clear and cold first. Set the cutlery; Alice’s own little set or she would not eat, that she did mind. The wooden-handled set, not from the best drawer. A napkin each, Alice’s choice from the drawer; I would hold them up to her. Flo...

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“Through the Sliding Door” by Eisley Kang

Submitted to Contest #128

“The way to man’s heart is through a cup of tea” - anonymousThe sun glared down at Aaron and Tommy, who stood in the midst of tufts of unkempt grass, whispering. Their eyes held a glint of mischief, as the heat beat down on them. Their gestures were big, and their smiles even bigger. They looked and acted like kings, kings who owned the backyard at least, and I was curious. Curious to their minds, which often brought them trouble. They were often confined to the backyard by my parent’s or Tommy’s because of the incident last summer when they...

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“Chai Latte” by Rhita Koubbi

Submitted to Contest #128

Is tea all they had, here? Heaving a sigh, Jules stifled her longing for a nice cup of joe as she sifted through the boxes of assorted teas. Her cousin Samantha had invited her to England for the winter holidays, to a cozy cabin nestled in a lovely town surrounded by snow-capped mountains and pine trees. What she’d forgotten to mention (more likely Jules had been too occupied studying for her organic chemistry final to pay attention) was that there would be a congregation of Samantha’s friends, classmates, acquaintances, work-buddies, and f...

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Start your story with someone making a cup of tea — either for themself or for someone else.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 171 stories

“Strange Tea and Its Consequences” by Bruce Friedman

“The Fifth Path” by Tay Mor

“Healing Tea” by Noelle C. Lee

“Masala Chai & I ” by Kathrine J. N. Rajalingam

“The Last Cuppa” by Kip Koelsch

“The Many Ways of Collapsing on Icy Pavements” by K.D. Walter

“Admission” by Terrie Graves

“Stronger for the Fire” by Heather McGuire

“Scout” by Anne Sellers

“Shadowy Garnet” by Elizabeth Maxson

“A long time brewing” by Pragathi Balasubramanian

“The Golden Teapot” by Tanya Humphreys

“Oat milk” by Angela Hudson

“Through the Sliding Door” by Eisley Kang

“Chai Latte” by Rhita Koubbi

🌟 Similar prompts

Set your story in a tea house.

Write a story about a tea party that your character is reluctant to go to.

Write about a character who’s dying to “spill the tea” (gossip) about something.

Write a story about a conflict that breaks out over something ordinary (like tea, perhaps).

Contest #128

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

298

Contest entries

160

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: