I love tea. I love tea so much I made an illustrated zine all about it. So it may come as no excuse that I also love a good tea break when I’m at work. You can often find me refilling my mug with a perfectly steaming brew, between tasks, in moments of stress or lulls in work.
But a tea break isn’t just about what’s in the mug.
TEA TIME IS BREAK TIME
It’s in its name. A tea break is half tea and half break. That means it’s an excuse to get up from your desk and away from your screen and take a couple of minutes out for yourself. For me those minutes are kind of sacred, to the extent that I will turn down offers of a cuppa so I can get up and make my own. Sometimes you just need a little bit of time out to recenter yourself or just think through a problem without the distractions. There’s just something about going through the motions of making a cup of tea that really opened up my mind, maybes it’s the thing of doing something with my hands on autopilot. Once you get back to your desk with your tea there’s a change in your environment and your thinking. You work between sips, which changes your rhythm and how you’re working in a really lovely way – this has often led to half drunk cold cups of tea though.
IT’S A GREAT WAY TO WARM UP
I think it’s a universally acknowledged truth that no office aircon is ever just right. No one has ever uttered the phrase “oh Barbara, you know what, the temperature in here is perfect”. It will always be too hot, or too cold. I feel like that’s especially true now we’re in a transitional season where no one’s quite sure if the central heating should be on. Making yourself a cup of tea is the perfect way to warm your hands after hours of typing or to rehydrate after you’ve lost every drop of moisture in your body to an overzealous aircon unit.
YOU CAN MAKE SOME NEW FRIENDS
The tea round is a true British office tradition. Yorkshire tea (the best tea company) even made a rap about it. Please go and watch it. The tea round is a way of bringing people together, and showing a little care in the workplace. It’s also a great way to find out who has a weird drink request. Next time you stand up to make a cuppa offer to make a round and bask in the warm glow of office appreciation. Plus, hopefully, making one round of seven cups means you’ll get at least one back in the future.
IT’S A TIME TO CATCH UP
While “blessed be the tea makers” taking on the tea round doesn’t have to be a solo endeavour. Sometimes you just need an extra pair of hands, in one office I worked at a tea round could mean anything up to 11 mugs, which I certainly couldn’t have carried on my own. But calling someone else up to join you on a tea run can also be a great excuse to have a chat. Whether that means networking or having a gossip, almost certainly a gossip, use the tea round as a reason for a natter. If you need a longer catch up, you can always pop out or just as someone to grab cuppa with you and use the brew as a way to open up a conversation.
If you enjoyed this post, or are a tea lover, check out my zine – it’s an ode to my love of tea and it’s super powers. You can even get 10% off if you sign up to my newsletter in the sidebar!
