“In Chinese culture tea is known as the ‘emperor of all herbs’,” says Daswani. “One can begin to notice changes in one’s own life – the many tactical benefits of meditation include stronger immunity, reducing depression and anxiety, improving academic performance, reducing age-related cognitive decline, increasing happiness and quality of life, and managing and reducing trauma.

“Tea is certainly many things, from medicine to beverage to a time for connection. Tea is the second most consumed drink in the world after water, and therefore important in many cultures, so naturally there are different approaches from traditional lore to modern day appreciation.”

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Daswani says her approach to tea evolved after returning to Hong Kong, following a stay at Taiwan’s Tea Sage Hut. “I began learning and steeping myself in the tea and culture of Hong Kong with a new set of eyes. I began noticing tea shops everywhere that I would have walked by a thousand times before,” she adds. “Soon I understood that for most Hongkonger’s their primary relationship with tea was through yum cha, bubble tea and a few tea-houses. More so, clean tea was thought of in a type of outdated way. I was rather surprised by this since tea is considered one of China’s greatest gifts to the world, yet it was mainly seen as commodity in Hong Kong.”

Daswani’s tea practice comes from a tea lineage that is taught by a Zen monk called Wu De, who founded the magazine Global Tea Hut and the non-profit tea centre in Miaoli, Taiwan, where all tea lovers were welcomed to come and learn about tea on a ten-day course (sadly, this centre and course have ceased for the time being, but Wu De will be making a rare trip to Hong Kong from January 15 to 18 to serve at two bowl tea ceremonies and teach all things Cha Dao, or “the way of tea”).

“I’ve always felt I did not intentionally discover this path, rather I feel tea found me,” says Daswani. “I am a big believer of the saying ‘when the student is ready, the teacher appears’ and throughout my entire life I have had this feeling, or focus to yield towards a journey of self-cultivation and to help others do the same.”

Daswani’s tea journey was definitely unexpected. Born and raised in Hong Kong, she was set on a career in fashion after graduating from London College of Fashion. “I was going to launch my own collection and although it seemed that everything was in place, from the best manufacturers to a line up of talent and media, deep down I had a voice divulging that this path and way of life was not for me.

“For the next six weeks, no matter what I was doing, consistent signs kept pointing me to a tea and Zen centre called the Tea Sage Hut in Taiwan, which I had never heard about before,” Daswani recalls. After repeatedly ignoring “the signs” – “[I] told myself to focus on getting through my launch that was a mere few weeks away before making any final decisions” – she finally gave in. “I found the website again, applied to visit without reading much at all, told only my partner and best friend I was going and simply trusted it would all make sense.”

In Taiwan, she met her teacher Wu De. Daswani recalls, “I sat for my first tea ceremony and found it to be the most healing and nourishing encounter with truth and wisdom. I began to remember what it was like to live in harmony and align with the Dao. I could clearly see how all the dots in my life were connected, and with full surrender a clearer conscious picture began unfolding.

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“My time spent in Taiwan changed everything and made way for a completely new relationship with the way I approached my life and orientation towards taught norms. I began to realise that for most people the main unconscious resistance to learn and consciously cultivate new approaches was a dangerous answer claiming, ‘We have always done things this way’. This is when I realised how important a practice without dogma, doctrine or scripture could be as a path to transformation.”

Back in Hong Kong, Daswani continues to deepen her knowledge through study and a consistent practice of meditation. “Tea, by way of its oldest brewing method – a few clean leaves from nature, some hot water in an earthen vessel – was the most healing medicine that had changed my life in a moment. I felt entirely dedicated to sharing an awakening of harmony through tea, especially in the sectors of corporate Hong Kong, so others too could explore these mental benefits.”

Starting with wellness spaces like Iris and Garden Gathering (of which she also co-founded), Daswani eventually met more people who resonated with this connection she had with tea. “After the ceremonies, people would express how deeply connected they felt to this plant and as we kept in touch, an organic budding local community group started to form and I began organising monthly meet-ups and continued sharing tea around Hong Kong and parts of Asia.”

This trajectory eventually led Daswani to Fivelements Habitats, a wellness centre in Hong Kong’s Times Square mall. “Tea is something I have always approached in a space of non-striving, and this intention has led to greater responsibility and service,” she adds.

After countless rounds of tea sits, Daswani finds that humans’ connection with tea on the meditative level is something that needs to be rediscovered. “Newcomers who arrive for a meditative tea ceremony for the first time have often been drinking tea for most of their life and usually share that it is something consumed without any thought, and ‘tea and meditation’ is relatively unheard of with the current generation, when in actuality tea and Zen are completely bound up in one another. The mind is a very powerful tool and integrating practices that foster emotional awareness, cultivate gratitude and clarity and awareness are integral to mental wellness and tea has been doing this very powerfully for a long time.

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“Some preconceived notions enter the space, but after a small introduction followed by the ceremony of drinking tea in noble silence for the most part, the mind begins to quiet,” explains Daswani of the process. “At times a tea ceremony can be quite emotional for the individual, as moments of internal truth are recognised in the present experience, which can be very wholesome. After the ceremony there is usually time for questions and discussion and often people reflect with complete surprise, something they have had a relationship with their whole life is suddenly very different to them as they were able to find peace and calm in a few bowls of tea, so it circles back to an orientation.”

And the mental health effects have also been visible in younger drinkers. “I have always been very passionate about the vast fields of science used to tutor children so I began tutoring environmental sciences with a focus on sustainability,” Daswani says. “Tea also found its way into that aspect of my life and it came to a point where students would not let me start a lesson until we drank some tea in silence first. I began to see the shift in mindfulness that tea was having on younger kids, from being calmer and learning with greater receptivity and awareness.

“Tea is connecting people and cities to nature and this connection is proven as one of the primary modalities of mental well-being where the benefits continue even when the person is no longer in contact,” explains Daswani, referring to such things as increased mindfulness and better sleep and mental thought patterns. “The tea tradition I am a part of is one of the many paths to the top of the mountain. We find a dimension of well-being where we are able to set aside our own needs and share our merits towards helping others. Like this, we will be able to create a sustainable, integrated, balanced path towards mental and global wellness.”

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