On China Tea

Abstract

On China Tea by Bertrand Russell Russell rarely allowed himself to expand in publ ic upon the 1ittle things in 1ife that he enjoyed. But everyone knows he drpnk huge quantities of tea, especially China tea. He once found an opportunity to describe his favourite drink, and his obvious love of it poured forth. The quotation is from an article he wrote soon after his return from China. The article concerned "Chinese Amusements". Russell is describing how "the art of exquisite enjoyment has probably been carried to greater perfection than anywhere else in the world", how in visiting a Buddhist monastery, no sooner has one sat down in the payil ion than . .. some kind person, like a genie in "The Arabian Nights'~ brings tea in little cups - not the gross liquid that we call tea, but an ambercolored nectar with an intoxicating fragrance, half aromatic, half like the meadows in June, combining the freshness of spring with the beauty of summer sunshine robbed of its dust and heat. The Nation and the Athenaeum, 17 Dec. 1921. 17 ...