Not My Cup of Tea

I'm not a tea drinker, but while heading for Colombian coffee beans, I accidentally threw away the can of Earl Gray and Jasmine tea that Maria had just given me for my birthday. The can was luxurious, I had not looked at it carefully before, but now that it was in my hands and I felt the embossing of the can, I stopped to see the illustrations, read the ingredients, the history of the tea, and even the instructions for creating the perfect mug.

I uncapped it and as soon as I opened the bag, I sensed an aromatic explosion of memories; the bergamot and citrus notes immediately led me to think of Ricardo, perhaps because of the product he used to take care of his beard. Yes, I think that was it, the bergamot with the black tea gives a similar smell to Ricardo's beard lotion. I smelled the tea more carefully until I could separate the notes of jasmine from those of the tea, its smell made me feel that I was in a garden full of flowers, with the morning dew, and the soft breeze releasing its scent. How didn't I discover this tea before?

I took the cup from the only tea set I had, I was inspired to drink tea, and looked for a tea strainer without success. I would have to use the general-purpose one, but then I thought maybe it would be fun to make a tea reading. I have never read or had anything read to me, but that day I was inspired by the gratifying aromatic surprise.

Where does one start? I didn't know anything, except that you don't have to strain it, so I saw the first video I came across on tasseography, I learned that word there too, actually, I searched: "how to read tea leaves." It didn't seem complicated, you just have to think of a question as strongly as possible while drinking it, but especially before turning the cup upside down.

"When there is about a teaspoon left in the cup," said Aurora, the expert in tasseography, "turn the cup three times from left to right, while focusing all your energy on the question. Even if you do the reading yourself it helps to repeat the question out loud, now turn the cup over on the plate."

Then came the reading part. You just had to look for figures and interpret them. The handle of the cup represents the energies of oneself, and you can read how far away are the events, by reading the cup as a clock. On the other hand, near the rim of the cup are the most superficial issues, while the bottom ..., as I mentioned, does not seem very complicated. So even though I do not believe in those things, I decided to print the interpretation manual of forms that came in the link. All the figures were relatively common: circles, triangles, birds, waves, crescents, and crosses. However, the handbook encouraged the reader to search for more figures not included in the guide, "everything will make sense within the context of the question," it said. I watched the video a couple more times and reread the manual.

I put the water to boil and in the absence of a thermometer, I let it cool a bit before pouring it into the cup with the Earl Gray's leaves. Not that it was important for the reading, but it was to not sour the delicate aroma of the mixture. I felt the water with my index finger, it seemed to me that it was at the right temperature, and being careful not to spill the water, I poured it over the tea leaves. I took maybe a minute just smelling it, going towards the flower garden where Ricardo would be. And before taking the first sip, I asked myself: "Will I see Ricardo again?"

The taste was as good as the smell, I feel Ricardo wrap me in his muscular arms, I feel his beard caress my cheek. Another sip. I focus again on the question; I feel his mouth kissing me. One more drink: "I love you," he whispered in my ear. I didn't answer him, I keep hugging him. I kept drinking. Will I see Ricardo again? We part ways, I turn my back on him and start walking.

Will I see Ricardo again? I turn to him. He just walks away. Last drink. "Will I see Ricardo again?", this time out loud. I took the mug and rocked the remnant as I saw in the video. I turned the cup over and waited a minute before seeing the result.

I don't believe in tasseography, or astrology, or any of the mancies, or those things, but what had just happened to me was impossible. Maybe I did something wrong, maybe I left too much water, although I don't understand how if I practically made sure there was a tablespoon of water left. Have I over-agitated it?

I watched the video again, I had followed it to the letter, I waved it at a speed like Aurora did. Could it be the cup?

I looked everywhere for another cup, but I did not find a suitable one, I called Maria, maybe she would have a good cup, but she did not answer me. I saw a few more videos, all of them were similar, and in none of them happened what just happened to me. I called Maria again and left her a voicemail. I spent the whole day waiting for her answer to no avail.

I decided to repeat the experiment, yes, the experiment, it was no longer a game, it had become a challenge. Given the lack of success in finding another more suitable cup, I decided to repeat the tea reading, with another cup from the set. I repeated the procedure, but to focus my attention on the preparation, I did not stop to smell the tea when opening it, or before sipping. I drank the tea a little more quickly and did not mindfully taste it, but all the time I asked myself: Will I ever see Ricardo again? I left a little less water, did the three laps, and turned the cup over. I waited only half a minute. The same. Empty. Maybe it's the tea.

I looked for another tea, but I didn't have any, not even teabags. So, I decided to try with coffee. I ground it so that it was a little coarser than usual. I repeated the process. Will I see Ricardo again? Empty. "I can't believe it, can't believe it, can't believe it."

I called Maria again. Direct to the voicemail. I went to her house, I didn't see her car, I rang anyway. Nothing. I went to the supermarket, bought all the cups of tea I saw, and all the teas: tea bags and loose leaves. I tried the experiment with chamomile tea and the largest mug. Nothing. With the passionflower tea and the smallest cup. Empty. With white tea and a medium cup. The same.

I must go to someone for a tea reading, a professional. There surely is something I am doing wrong, but I am too close to all this stuff to see my own mistake. It must be something stupid, any kind of nonsense.

On the internet, I didn't find more than one person who reads tea in my city, Ariana; although there were a few more who read coffee, and many more who did tarot readings. I decided to go with Ariana who listed other more services.

I arrived at Ariana's very nervous, she tried to calm me down. She dressed like a gypsy mixed with a yogi or something like that, she spoke calmly and made less eye contact than I expected. She invited me to sit down, she asked me a few questions, in other circumstances I would be skeptical of the reason for the questions, but at this point, I didn't care. I was just going to see the technique, find out what I was doing wrong, and that's it. There is no need for her to interpret anything correctly, I can tell her my age, my name, and all the information she wants. Maybe the reading would match the data, and not the other way around. It doesn't matter how she does it.

"You're very tense, relax a bit," she told me. I actually tried to but couldn't. "Take a deep breath,” she set the example for me, I tried to follow, it worked just a little. "I assume you haven't been before, right?"

"Right."

"The readings are very simple, it works best if you are relaxed so that you can focus all your energy on the question. Are you ready?"

"I think so."

"Very well, I need you to drink the tea, it's regular green tea, nothing strange, take it easy, but begin channeling the question while you drink it."

I started to take it, and every time I took a sip, I took a deep breath to keep calming down. I admit that the first few sips I didn't even focus on the question, but when I started getting a bit more relaxed, I was able to do so. Will I see Ricardo again?

"That's right," Ariana said as if she had heard me.

After the tea, she asked me to say the question out loud, I did. She took the cup, which had a similar amount of liquid to the tests I had done, and shook it three times from left to right, as I had done myself. She continued with the turning upside-down in the plate, I admit that she had a more stylized technique than me, and while she let it drain a little, she asked me to continue concentrating on the question.

She turned the cup over to read my tea, but before I said anything, her shocked face told me everything. I leaned into the cup. Nothing.

"What does that mean?"

But she just looked at me scared.

"What does it mean?" I repeated.

"I don't know what I did wrong, we can try another question. I'm not going to charge you anything, don't worry, I made a mistake."

I repeated the procedure, tried to relax, but this time the breaths weren't working, nor that I felt Ariana was looking at me worriedly. At first, I asked myself the same thing, but later, I decided that it would be better to focus on another, maybe that was… the question… When will I see Maria? I asked in my mind. On that occasion, the gypsy-yogi kept quiet the entire time, until it was time to repeat aloud.

Same result. I started crying, then laughing. It must be a joke, I thought, and then said it out loud.

"I don't understand what's going on, there has to be something, anything," she said and made another tea. She put it on the table, and before I started to drink it, she stopped me with her hand. She started drinking it. She didn't look away from me for a second as she drank it. "Who is in front of me?" She left a spoonful of liquid, swirled it around, and turned the cup upside-down.

I leaned out, prepared to see nothing, but managed to clearly see the figure of a misshapen heart, two coffins, and a pistol. Now I remember.