Well good. Then we should stay in touch. I’ll be arriving there mid-Feb sometime, I’m sure i’ve got a date somewhere.
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“Tea if by sea, cha if by land: Why the world only has two words for tea”
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I find coffee energizes me too much—there is usually the impression that I’m being productive, but I mostly just do various different things, regardless of their importance. I also find it taxes my adrenals a lot, resulting in down days (or end of the week).
With tea, it’s completely different. If I am tired, it just brings me back to my normal state (and if I’m not, it just gives me a small boost of clarity).
I’ll usually drink tea (or coffee, if it’s the only thing available) when I’m tired. I tend to prefer not to intentionally use tea/coffee as a stimulant (more energized than a normal well-rested state), rather than to counter drowsiness, since technically this is the same mechanism as consuming any other drug. Drinking it all throughout the day is even worse, as your normal state of mind is based on having coffee. Although I’m sure many won’t be of the same opinion. 
I like Chinese oolongs, and Chinese green tea in the summer—any variety that isn’t too cooling or oxidized, and that the tea has been grown in a good environment (not in downtown Beijing, for example).
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Hot chocolate … a hug in a cup 
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Respectful Greetings, Ajahn,
OK, how can we stay in touch? Myself, I prefer the Wire app these days. It works on Desktop and mobile.
Thank you all so much for this thread! It’s wonderful and makes me so happy every time I read it. 
I am also not a coffee person, I just can’t do it, it makes me feel like I’m having a panic attack. It also makes me have a tremendously upset stomach. I’ve discovered the only way I can drink it is with HEAPS of cream (or milk) and sugar.
Also, thank you for this tidbit, Bhante:
It’s very helpful. Maybe that’s my problem…
I’m a big tea person, but not super picky. I’ll drink pretty much whatever’s offered or available, though I do really love Jasmine tea and have been getting into Lapsang Souchong as of late.
I had some really lovely moments in Canada of sitting out on the porch of the monastery and staring at the sky or the trees. And sometimes the deer would join me. 
Amaravati has a designated tea time everyday at 5pm, which I love, but the laypeople (including myself) would sometimes talk for hours. 
Good tea and excellent company though!
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Maybe I’ll also add my 2 cents to this thread.
In the community where I first met the Dhamma—decades ago—we would meet for a weekend every month in order to practise and discuss the Dhamma together. Our meetings were in my friends’ house, and we would also cook together and share the meals.
And usually there would be a nice tea break in the afternoon. I remember so many of these tea Dhamma discussions that helped us to deepen our understanding of the Dhamma and to deepen our friendship at the same time! Even if our ways of practise are different now (I am aspiring to become a monastic in the Theravada tradition, and they still continue to practise in the Tibetan tradition) this does not affect our friendship in any way! I am so grateful for this deep Dhamma friendship! 
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One time at Tisarana (Canada), I was meditating in the enclosed (by screen) porch of my kuti, and three little Bambi deer walked into my yard, very slowly and calmly, not making a sound. They meandered around my yard for like 20 minutes, silently nibbling the new leaves off shorter trees, and they came right up to my porch, within arms’ reach. Apparently they didn’t know I was there. One came so close that I could have petted it on the head, if I were to be able to lean forward and reach through the screen.
It was painfully, painfully cute! It was priceless.
I also had a priceless encounter with a Wallaby in Australia (Dhammagiri, Brisbane). Normally you are lucky to even get within about 50 metres of them, but there was one time where I was sitting on my porch, again meditating, and a Wallaby came within 5 metres of me. It stood there for 20 minutes on my walking path, not facing me directly, but standing at about 45 degrees to me. I could see its every eyelash. It was quite magical. 
PS: the “wild” birds here in Singapore (where space is at a premium) are extremely domesticated. You can walk within like 3 feet of them and they don’t fly away. This has happened a few times now when I go out for a walk.
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Respectful Greetings, Ajahn @Sujato,
I’d like to propose a method of connecting. I have a user account on Bodhinyana’s Owncloud server. I’m fairly sure you do too, with write-access. What if you were to leave your username (and app-of-choice; Signal and WhatsApp also come to mind) in a document for me there? This password-protects this sensitive info, even though we’ve never exchanged any passwords personally.
Then you won’t make your username public (and neither will I).
I was just at Tisarana for Kathina! 
I really love that area, it’s gorgeous, especially in the fall. 
It seems like the deer in that area flock to the monasteries because they know it’s a haven and thereby won’t be hunted.
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Oh coffee 
I really missed my (very expensive) grinder and espresso machine when I left home-life. I used to make a double espresso every morning before my meditation.
I make mokapot and plunger every morning at the Vihara, but our dayakas have noticed how our faces light up when brought espresso. On our monthly pindapat through the city we are always offered coffees. We get a message asking our coffee preferences while we take the train to the city. The SL monks don’t understand why the whole latte thing 
I’m a short black (espresso) drinker. Some mornings I think I will forfeit coffe, but then I remember how happy it makes me. Nibanna might be the highest happiness but coffee will get me there!
Favourite memories of coffee to do with Dhamma… mostly all revolve around very kind people who have got so much happiness out of offering me coffee.As well as the above story I have to mention a lovely American man named Geoff who shared in my enthusiasm for coffee on the Ajahn Jamnien retreat at Santi last year. Once I showed him where the mokapot was kept I would have coffee so graciously delivered to me throughout the morning.
On the most recent retreat I did with a large group of SL yogis we brought our own coffee and plunger and it warmed my heart to see them stepping out of their instant-coffee comfort zone to serve coffee for myself and Ayya S.
I know I’m an anagarika and I’m more than happy to make my own coffee, but people are awesome!
Tea memories; I will share with @anon29387788 tea at Jhana Grove after the Q&A. Sitting on the stupa, staring at the stars is my preferred way.
I’m tossing up between an aeropress and a minipress. The minipress looks like it makes real, legit espresso. Have any of my coffee KM tried one?
I have dream of waking up in a kuti in the forest with a thermos of hot water and using the minipress to make epic espresso.
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