"Thank You": A Tea Blessing Service

On the 7th of August, I was invited to the Southwark Cathedral to attend a Thanksgiving and  blessing of Darjeeling 2nd Flush. Tea, if you will. This beautiful ceremony was held and executed by the Very Reverend Dr Mark Oakley, the Dean of Southwark. 

Ratan Mondal of Tea2You is a local tea taster and merchant. Starting his small business more than 18 years ago, he pledged to bring high quality tea to England and has achieved so. Fast forward 18 years and he has two flourishing shops selling more than 80 different types from tea from loose leaf, to tea bags, to merchandise. And every year they hold this ceremony. Ratan and his wife Pryia moved from Kalkotta, India to Manchester in the early 2000’s and here is when he started his business. Starting with just two types of tea, a Darjeeling 1st Flush and a Darjeeling 2nd Flush. Soon, he was offered a table stand in London’s busiest market, Borough Market, and here, the business blew up. 

On this warm August morning, invited individuals were offered a cup of Darjeeling 2nd Flush at the Borough Market shop before a procession started to the Cathedral, led by Ratan holding the tea. Upon arriving at the Cathedral the tea was placed on the altar and we were seated. The ceremony opened with the Dean. He introduces the tradition of blessing the first fruits of the harvest and how this is simply no different. 

A number of readings ensue, the first from the Book of Numbers. A beautiful reading about the fruits of the land and they sustain the people around you. The second from Psalms 65, a blessing about the harvest. Followed by an old poem, Song of Seven Cups by Lu Tong, read by Ratan’s daughter, Rusha Mondal. 

Then the blessing ensues. Not only was this to bring goodness to the tea itself but also to bless the business and all who help it thrive. This was particularly poignant as they mention the tea pickers in Darjeeling, India. Darjeeling this year had been hit with a multitude of floods and landslides leading to mortalities and all around devastation. Because of this torrential weather, there was a train crash where a few people known to the business sadly lost their lives. After this, Ratan brought the tea to the Dean who blessed the tea. It was a beautiful moment. 

The ceremony closed with the Dean making the final blessing. He spoke about how we are given the earth and the water and how they can be combined to make tea. How God blessed “us with food to sustain us and drink to cheer us”. The Very Rev’d then blesses the tea pickers of Darjeeling once more before finally making his final words. 

I had the opportunity to to talk to the Dean of Southwark about this unique ceremony, He stated “I love things like this, like I said in the ceremony, if you ought to say one prayer in your life, it ought to be thank you and so people of good will and lots of people of different faith can say those things together, and that’s what we were doing today”. 

With an attempt to talk to the man himself, Ratan Mondal, he could barely contain his smile. Surrounded by colleagues, friends of the church and close acquaintances, he could barely utter the words “it was amazing” to me when asked about the day. That is what today was truly about. Blending of people, blending of faith, thanksgiving and most importantly the connection of humanity to the earth.