With most of my possessions loaded in the back of my 4-Runner, even my kitchen cupboard is bare, except for a few useful items. I stow the wicker box tea set and re-organize the space. I am ever wondering how it will all fit in my truck. Committed to my tea, I have designated to it an entire drawer in a mobile cabinet in my truck. Whole chamomile flowers, dong quai, jasmine green, French black tea blends infused with plum and vanilla.
Fascinated with the effect that packing has had on my life, I notice that I am reconditioning myself at the most basic levels. Even my diet is affected by my nomadic lifestyle. I buy food in smaller quantities because less can be stored. My rations are simpler. A few select grains and legumes. They store well, are healthy, and make an easy meal. Quinoa, barley, oats. Dahl, black beans.
Oil gives flavor and makes cooking easier. Olive, walnut oil.
I go to a grocery store almost daily, to pick up fresh produce. I eat it right away. I must let food stay refrigerated at the store until I am ready to prepare it. Apples travel well. Fresh vegetables add to my grains. Kale. Onions. Strawberries for dessert. None of this will be stored in my truck.
I fit a few dried mango slices, almonds and raisins for a snack.
A taste of meat or eggs is a special occasion. I cannot store them. I will only buy something from outside my food storage box if I am able to cook it right away.
I travel with spices: cumin, coriander, fenugreek, cinnamon, asafetida, anise, fennel, cardamom. I try to keep alive a few captive plants clustered on my passenger seat: mint, chives, rosemary. They make for a mobile apothecary. I study Ayurveda as I cook. It ads life to the food.
And then, there's tea. I have about as much space allotted to tea as I do the dried food that I'm packing. 1/3 space for tea, 1/3 dried rations, 1/3 cooking tools. It is the tools that make the simple foods taste gourmet. A press for squeezing oranges to juice. A fine, wire mesh strainer for soaking and sieving the quinoa, removing its outer, soapy residue. A good chopping knife. And now, the tea set itself, which ads specialness and quality to the tea experience.
Tea is not just about ingestion. It is contemplative, social and medicinal. A quiet morning, sitting on the tailgate, reading alone. A gathering, sitting on logs around a fire pit. This is a special tea set, even more so because it is now one for traveling. A little preciousness amidst the roughness. I hope somewhere we get to share in its luxury.
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