Many tea lovers are book lovers as well. In the end, those two really go hand in hand. Here are some of the most famous tea sayings, proverbs and quotes from books and writers.
Best Tea quotes and sayings
1. “You can never get a cup of tea large enough or a book long enough to suit me.” - C. S. Lewis 2. “Rainy days should be spent at home with a cup of tea and a good book.” - Bill Watterson, The Calvin and Hobbes Tenth Anniversary Book 3. “I say let the world go to hell, but I should always have my tea.” - Fyodor Dostoevsky, Notes from Underground 4. “There is something in the nature of tea that leads us into a world of quiet contemplation of life.” - Lin Yutang, The Importance of Living 5. “Tea ... is a religion of the art of life.” - Kakuzo Okakura, The Book of Tea 6. “Yes, that’s it! Said the Hatter with a sigh, it’s always tea time.” - Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland 7. “I am in no way interested in immortality, but only in the taste of tea.” - Lu T’ung 8. “If you are cold, tea will warm you; if you are too heated, it will cool you; If you are depressed, it will cheer you; If you are excited, it will calm you.” - William Ewart Gladstone 9. “Wouldn’t it be dreadful to live in a country where they didn’t have tea?” - Noel Coward 10. “Tea is the elixir of life.” - Eisai, Kissa Yojoki
Eisai, the father of Japanese tea, was a Buddhist monk brough zen Buddhism and tea from China in the late 12th century.
11. “Tea is one of the main stays of civilization in this country.” - George Orwell, Smothered Under Journalism: 1946 12. “The effect of tea is cooling and as a beverage it is most suitable. It is especially fitting for persons of self-restraint and inner worth.” - Lu Yu, Classic of Tea: Origins and Rituals 13. “Tea tempers the spirit, harmonizes the mind, dispels lassitude and relieves fatigue, awakens the thought and prevents drowsiness.” - Lu Yu, The Classic Art of Tea
Lu Yu was a Chinese tea master that wrote many important first books about tea. His most famous and important work in the world of tea is The Classic of Tea.
14. “The path to Heaven passes through a teapot.” – Ancient proverb 15. “Life is like a cup of tea. It’s all in how you make it.” – Unknown 16. “A cup of tea is an excuse to share great thoughts with great minds.” - Cristina Re 17. “When I drink tea I am conscious of peace. The cool breath of heaven rises in my sleeves, and blows my cares away.” - Lo Tung18. “Teaism is a cult founded on the adoration of the beautiful among the sordid facts of everyday existence.” - Kakuzo Okahura, The Book of Tea 19. “There’s something hypnotic about the word tea.” - Dorothy L. Sayers, Gaudy Night 20. “While there is tea, there is hope.” - Arthur Wing Pinero, Sweet Lavender - A Comedy in Three Acts. 21. “When she is unable to avoid the matter further, she makes a pot of tea.” ― Erin Morgenstern, The Night Circus
The Night Circus, a book by Erin Morgenstern has many references about tea. A great book for relaxed reading and sipping.
22. “I must drink lots of tea or I cannot work. Tea unleashes the potential which slumbers in the depth of my soul.” - Leo Tolstoy 23. “Home is where the tea is.” - Js Devivre, The Tea Traveller’s Constant Companion: Oregon 24. “Tea is always a good idea.” – Author unknown 25. “There’s always time for tea.” - Seanan McGuire, An Artificial Night 26. “Drink your tea slowly and reverently, as if it as the axis on which the world revolves” - Thich Nhat Hanh 27. “Better to be deprived of food for three days, than tea for one.” Ancient Chinese proverb 28. “If a man has no tea in him, he is incapable of understanding truth and beauty. “ – Japanese proverb 29. “My hour for tea is half-past five, and my buttered toast waits for nobody.” - Wilkie Collins, The Woman in White 30. “There are few hours in life more agreeable than the hour dedicated to the ceremony known as afternoon tea.” - Henry James 31. “Tea! Bless ordinary everyday afternoon tea!” - Agatha Christie 32. “Tea to the English is really a picnic indoors.” - Alice Walker, The Color Purple 33. “I got nasty habits - I take tea at three.” - Mick Jagger 34. “Afternoon tea should be provided, fresh supplies, with thin bread-and-butter, fancy pastries, cakes, etc., being brought in as other guests arrive.” - Isabella Beeton, Mrs Beeton’s Book of Household Management
Afternoon tea is an English custom that started in the 19th century by the duch*ess of Bedford. Lighter food and tea were served before lunch and dinner and soon became an important part of social life. The usual time for the afternoon tea is considered being 4 PM.
35. “Thank God for tea! What would the world do without tea! How did it exist? I am glad I was not born before tea.” - Sydney Smith, A memoir of the Rev. Sydney Smith 36. “Great love affairs start with Champagne and end with tisane” – Honore de Balzac 37. “Tea is an answer to most of the problems.” – Author unknown 38. “Making tea is a ritual that stops the world from falling in on you.” - Jonathan Stroud, The Creeping Shadow 39. “Sir, I did not count your glasses of wine, why should you number up my cups of tea?” - Samuel Johnson, The Life of Samuel Johnson 40. “A cup of tea would restore my normality.” - Douglas Adams 41. “Ecstasy is a glass full of tea and a piece of sugar in the mouth.” - Alexander Pushkin
In Russian tea tradition, sugar is not placed in a cup of tea. It’s held between teeth while sipping tea.
42. “My dear if you could give me a cup of tea to clear my muddle of a head I should better understand your affairs.” - Charles Dickens, Mrs. Lirriper’s Legacy 43. “Tea should be taken in solitude.” - C. S. Lewis, Surprised by Joy: The Shape of My Early Life 44. “This morning’s tea makes yesterday distant.” - Author unknown 45. “You can’t buy happiness, but you can buy tea and that’s kind of the same thing.” – Author unknown 46. “Some people will tell you there is a great deal of poetry and fine sentiment in a chest of tea.” - Ralph Waldo Emerson 47. “Surely a pretty woman never looks prettier than when making tea.” - Mary Elizabeth Braddon, Lady Audley’s Secret 48. “A cup of tea makes everything better.” – Author unknown 49. “Tea is the elixir of life.” – Author unknown 50. “You’ll never find a cup of tea big enough or a book long enough to suit me.” - Winston Churchill Read more:
- Best books about tea
- 10 tea and book pairings
