Having a real cup of tea (or coffee) goes with sitting down and serving it in an actual porcelain cup, taking time to relax, tasting and enjoying the beverage, and using the moment as a chance to take a break, either by yourself or with others.
On the run and on the go is our motto, a quick cup of coffee scooped up in a cardboard cup at the corner take-out or gas station, protecting its content from spilling out while quickly walking to your office, or drinking while you’re driving. Or perhaps quick cup of coffee, often of inferior quality, poured on the run in the office by the water cooler, coupled with a quick chat, and back to your cubicle and computer.
The question is whether you actually taste what you’re drinking? Enjoy what you’re drinking? Appreciate the container you’re drinking out of? Or has it become so transactional that only the idea of “a nice cup of tea (or coffee)” remains? Even a mug, compared to a cup, is a way to increase the amount your container holds, and decrease the effort to fill it up again, simply sipping more slowly and truly lingering for a bit.
A real cup of tea or not? That is the question.