I start each morning not with coffee, but with a cool can of Japanese sencha. Straight from the fridge, it’s grassy and clean—more like sipping clarity than caffeine. No sugar, no ceremony. Just me, the silence of early light, and a green tea so crisp it could slice through fog.
That’s how I reset from sleep and set the tone for everything to follow. Before the news alerts ping, before the first client texts roll in, before I step into the world of comps and contracts, this chilled green can is my baseline.
And from there, the day unfolds—still paced by tea.
As midday arrives, I might steep a pot of something more robust—an oolong if I’m feeling contemplative, or a smoky lapsang souchong if it’s one of those brisk Chicago afternoons that needs warming from the inside out. I’ll pour it into a favorite mug—one with the right lip, the right heft—and sip between emails, showings, and staging tweaks.
Even late in the day, as dinner simmers or documents ping-pong through legal review, I turn to something softer. Chamomile. Lemon balm. Or a custom blend from a friend who understands both my palate and my need for peace. It’s not just about sleep—it’s about closing the loop, gently, on the chaos that came before.
A Ritual That Travels
Tea has followed me from hotel rooms in London to open houses in Streeterville. I’ve brewed sencha in Kyoto and sipped mint tea in a garden in Bali. No matter where I land, tea gives me a tether to myself. I marvel at how the simple beauty of tea is that it’s elastic. It can be formal, in bone china with a silver strainer. Or it can be humble, sipped from a thermos on a Ravinia picnic blanket. Either way, the act is the same: pause, pour, breathe, begin again.
Design in the Details
I keep a tea drawer stocked not just for me, but for guests. When someone stops by and I offer a warm cup of rooibos, their shoulders drop into instantaneous ease. Conversation softens and time passes in comfort.
In my Happily Ever Always™ worldview, tea is a design principle. A gentle structure that holds the day, shapes the mood, and reminds us that the most meaningful luxuries aren’t loud. They’re leafy, fragrant, and quietly anchoring.
An Invitation
If you’ve been gulping coffee on autopilot, consider this your permission slip to brew something slower. Cold canned sencha. A bag of mint in your favorite tumbler. Or a loose-leaf blend from the farmer’s market that smells like the garden you forgot to plant. Let it mark your moments—sunrise, stress, stillness. Let it teach you that time, like tea, becomes richer when steeped, not rushed. Because no matter what chaos the day brings, a warm cup—or a cool one—has the power to bring you back to yourself. And that’s the beginning of Happily Ever Always™.