mexican pot search

I am having trouble finding a pot in Mexico.

A teapot.

At least, in my part of Mexico.

I have recently re-acquired the tea habit. I initially picked it up when I lived in England. Coffee and alcohol have never been my vices. But, I learned to appreciate a good cup of tea during my two years getting my master's degree while I was stationed at Oxford in the early 1970s.

A young woman from Wales, who I dated for about a year, taught me the intricacies of what seemed like a British tea ceremony. Rinsing the pot in hot water to bring it above room temperature. Adding water at just the right temperature to the loose tea in the pot. Then letting it steep until it was at the preferred strength. Of course, that strength depended on the tea variety used.

It was all a little much for me. She was appalled when I showed a taste preference for Constant Comment. 

For some reason, I thought it was English. It is American. And she thought drinking American tea was the type of abomination that would immediately precede the opening of the second seal in Revelation.

I thought her obsession with tea preparation was a bit odd until I visited China and Japan. I now see where the British learned their rites. But, to the credit of British practically, much of the oriental tradition was dumped in favor of focusing on flavor.

Just before I moved to Mexico, I had breakfast with Don, a young friend from my church. He ordered tea, but stopped the waitress and informed her he wanted the water temperature between 190 and 205 degrees.

She looked at him over the top of her glasses and said: "Honey, I'll open that spigot over there and put water in your cup. Whatever temperature it is is what you are going to get." It is not just the Brits, I guess.

But, we were talking about pots. I gave away my good teapots when I moved south. I guess I thought I would never drink tea here. Maybe because of the heat. But, more likely, it was the limited tea selection I encountered in shops during visits here. There are plenty of natural mixes of fruits, flowers, and leaves here. But not a good selection of black, green, or white teas.

Like everything else, that has changed in Mexico. If I cannot find what I want at Hawaii here in town, I can usually find something good at La Comer or Walmart in Manzanillo. On Tuesday I found several boxes of teas imported from Japan. They are superb. Even better than Constant Comment -- which I cannot find at any of those stores.

But, I still lacked a teapot. I tried brewing in every bowl imaginable. Then, three years or so ago, I found a Twining's brewing kit complete with a pot and cup that nestle together -- like some terrible de-anthropomorphized Mrs. Potts and Chip.

It is fine when I want two small cups of tea. Which is never. I usually drink five or six 16-ounce servings these days as part of my intermittent fasting schedule. Lots of tea curbs my morning hunger.

About six months ago, I was stalking the shelves in La Comer and found something I thought would work. Sure, it was a coffee pot. But it had a large capacity, and a lid with a safety lip. I tend to forget that lids easily plop into tea cups.

I had been using it up until Tuesday. I was looking for some tea towels at Walmart. And right underneath was a teapot. If I had been uncertain what it was, the good people at Hometrends had etched "tea" into the side of the pot. I grabbed it and scurried away like a pack rat.

I have brewed two pots of tea in it. It has only one drawback. The top is far too loose. If the pot is jarred, the lid topples off like a drunken pilot. So, I am once again looking for a teapot.

Shopping is on the list of things I dislike most in the world. When I want something, I go where I think it will be, I grab it, and take it home. My version of shopping is akin to game-hunting -- without the boring waiting portions.

This morning, while drinking Japanese mint green tea, I started looking on Amazon for a clear glass tea pot. Clear glass pots are not very reliable. They are subject to shattering. But, I have a collection of blooming tea balls from China. They open into flower arrangements when immersed in hot water -- just like those little sponge dinosaurs we found so amusing as children.

I am willing to sacrifice utility and reliability for a bit of theatrics. And if anyone just gasped in anything but mock surprise, they have not been paying attention to these pages.

So, wish me well. I have never bought a teapot without picking it up to feel its heft and to run my index finger around its polished flange.

The reassuring thought is that Amazon has not yet disappointed me. And what relationship can I say that about these days?