Here at the Hut, we have a sort of monthly ritual. Each month, a group of volunteers (both local residents and international visitors alike) gathers together to write, edit, print, cut, glue, tape assemble, check, pack, organize and otherwise make real a mailing of Global Tea Hut. Each mailing goes out to hundreds of people in over 30 countries around the globe. Each envelope contains a tea magazine, an organic tea and a tea-related gift. And each mailing session is done with love for those who support what we do with their monthly donations to this project.
We often drink tea while we pack Global Tea Hut. Unlike the tea sessions we usually share, it's usually simple, boiled tea drunk from mugs... just what we need to fuel us. We often listen to music, usually kirtan or bluegrass or old-school R&B. We often laugh a lot, sharing stories and generally goofing off as we work. And most of us find ourselves smiling as we work, knowing that this envelope will go to a dear friend in Estonia, and that one will go to a family member in America, and the one over there will go to someone who we have yet to meet, but have heard wonderful things about, and that a few hundred more will go to people we may never meet, but whose lives may be made a little bit better by what we're doing.
This week, we packed and mailed out our April issue of Global Tea Hut. For most subscribers, it will arrive at the end of March. For some (like those in Russia and Germany, where mail / international mail can take longer), it will arrive a little later. And then, gradually, people around the world will begin another monthly ritual... drinking Global Tea Hut teas. Some drink in solitude, others share with friends, family or even strangers... but that's a topic for another post! Until then, we're sending out lots of wishes for beautiful tea sessions to our subscribers and to anyone else reading this.
