| Tea illuminato James Norwood Pratt and his lovely | | | | by his friend, Jason Chen, who is the owner of Lu Yu |
| Lady Valerie invited me over to share tea and | | | | Tea in Bellevue, Washington. The infuser looks like a |
| Evensong this week. Evensong is an enchanting, | | | | tall tea cup with an elongated filter. We drink from |
| half-hour, weekday afternoon ritual of music and | | | | large white porcelain tea cups, antiques seemingly |
| prayer held at San Francisco's Grace Cathedral | | | | worn with the ancient sipping of old Chinese tea |
| onNob Hill. Our mutual love of Camelia sinensis | | | | drinkers. The tea is delicious, and Norwood approves. |
| combines well with our shared interest in ritual, prayer, | | | | He is especially pleased, as he has been focusing |
| devotion,and music, and creates a magical afternoon | | | | intently on oolongs for the past six months, he says. I |
| that some can only dream of. | | | | breathe easier, and the level of revelry between us |
| To enter Norwood and Valerie's home in North Beach | | | | swirls and rises. |
| is to discover a temple of tea and culture. The aura of | | | | We then try a very special tea, Golden Lily, from Lu |
| literature and art, with its books, busts, and religious | | | | Yu Tea. This tea was really spectacular. Just a few |
| icons, wash over the visitor like fragrant notes of a fine | | | | kilos of this organically grown and hand-processed tea |
| tea. | | | | is made available, and then only to tea maker Jason |
| Norwood is devoted-to tea and more deeply and | | | | Chen's closest friends. Apparently Chen owns many |
| personally, to his sense of the more subtle structures | | | | hectares of land in the Zhejiang and Fujian provinces |
| of the universe with its sky-blue porcelain gods, | | | | of China, where he oversees the growing, harvesting, |
| earth-green teas, and amber-brown, leather-clad | | | | and processing of his own organic teas. The tea label |
| beckonings of Goethe. Valerie is a lovely English | | | | includes information on the tea's origin, altitude at which |
| woman whose gentle and intelligent bearing remind | | | | it was grown, harvest season, and steeping |
| one that femininity is both strong and soft. With | | | | suggestions-all the information a connoisseur would |
| ember-red hair, and a liquid awareness about her blue | | | | want to know about a tea (s)he is purchasing. We |
| eyes, Valerie offers perhaps more with her attentive | | | | finish with a lovely Te Kuan Yin, an homage to the |
| and quiet demeanor as most others do with their | | | | goddess Norwood reveres. |
| many words. | | | | "So what makes a great tea, Norwood?", I ask. |
| What moves me most about Norwood is not only the | | | | "In my opinion, the tea plant is the highest form of |
| depth of his knowledge about tea, history, art and | | | | vegetation. It is always a combination of heaven, earth, |
| literature, but the depth of his spirit. His Southern | | | | and man -- heaven being everything above ground, |
| manners prevent him from flaunting his sturdy intellect, | | | | earth being the ground and everything below it, and of |
| so it slowly seeps into you like a soft, fine mist. I get | | | | course, the influence of man relates to the growing, |
| the sense that he will meet whatever level of mental | | | | harvesting, processing and brewing of the tea plant. A |
| faculty is offered by his companion, but his gentle | | | | great tea is made when all three of these factors |
| kindness and humility would not permit him to brandish | | | | combine, each at their best and in perfect harmony |
| overly rigorous thoughts that might elude or intimidate | | | | with each other." |
| his guest. | | | | Two hours of discussion and tea evanesce into wisps |
| Despite his bearing of refinement, Norwood is also | | | | of fine memories, and we hasten out the door to walk |
| magnificently irreverent. One of my favorite art pieces | | | | up the hill to Grace Cathedral, which is both grand and |
| in Norwood's home is a clay cast bust (made by San | | | | graciously welcoming, like my hosts. We sit in chairs on |
| Francisco sculptor Harriet Moore) of Norwood himself, | | | | the altar, right by the Grace Men & Boys Choir. |
| sporting a large, floppy English afternoon tea hat which | | | | Hearing the child voices mingle with adult voices |
| Norwood has apparently placed on its head. Norwood | | | | creates a wonderful wand of energy passing over the |
| loves to poke fun at himself, and this makes him not | | | | church. Together, Norwood, Valerie and I sing and pray, |
| only endearing inside his gigantic persona as the | | | | voices lifted to the lovely arched ceilings and stained |
| country's foremost tea expert, but more approachable | | | | glass masterpieces. |
| as well. | | | | As we leave, Norwood pays respects to a special |
| Valerie offers me the best seat in the living room, a | | | | corner of the cathedral that holds a statue of "Saint" |
| red leather, high-backed chair facing the SanFrancisco | | | | John Donne. "Now this is the kind of saint I can really |
| Bay with its toy sailboat views. We try our first tea, a | | | | pray to," says Norwood. "You wouldn't want to trust |
| 2008 spring harvest Tung Ting oolong, freshly arrived | | | | praying to a saint that was always only good. Donne is |
| within 24 hours at Red Blossom Tea, and which I | | | | the saint of writers and poets," he says with a |
| brought with me as an offering. Norwood steeps the | | | | bemused smile, and gently bows to St. John Donne. |
| tea in a lovely white porcelain vessel, custom designed | | | | |