Pursuing Things for the Love of it

Last week, I passed my exam and officially became a Certified Tea Sommelier.

I’ve always loved tea but I really fell in love with it in 2023 when I went to Taiwan and had many tea sessions with my uncle. After returning from the trip, I couldn’t help wanting to learn more about tea and started reading books on it. Not long after that I started taking courses from the Tea & Herbal Association of Canada, through Academy of Tea. It’s been over two years of learning about tea history, tea production, tea tasting, and so much more. I was so stressed and nervous for the 4-part certification exam that it was a huge relief to find out that I had passed.

As I started sharing the news with people around me, I noticed that I was getting the same question over and over again:

What are you going to do with the certification?

Are you going to start your own tea business? Are you going to sell tea? Are you going to host tea tastings? Are you going to continue tidying with clients? What’s next?

Even my 12-year-old started brainstorming ideas for a tea business when I told him about my certification. I think he was less interested in my entrepreneurial potential and more interested in securing his own personal supply of bubble tea. 😂

It’s an understandable question. I’d probably ask the same question if the roles were reversed. We are so used to thinking about education as the first step toward a career or career transition. We often get additional training and education to get a better job or a different job.

And I get it. I did exactly that when I left my corporate job in 2016, got certified as a KonMari Consultant, and started my organizing business. I’m grateful that I’ve been able to build a career around something I am still passionate about a decade later.

But what if sometimes there doesn’t need to be a business plan?

What if you can simply learn something because you’re curious about it? What if you can pursue something simply for the love of it? There is something special about having an interest that doesn’t have to become a business. For me, tea is simply something I enjoy learning about.

Even though achieving this certification is the completion of the Tea Sommelier program, it’s not the completion of my learning. In fact, I feel like I’ve only just scratched the surface, and my journey is just beginning. The certification gave me a great foundation, but now I want to learn more. I want to taste more tea, read more books, learn more about every aspect of it and develop my tasting vocabulary. I want to visit tea shops and tea farms and talk to people who are passionate about tea. There is so much more to discover, and that’s what I’m most excited about. In a very KonMari way of thinking, there is value in doing things simply because they spark joy.

We don’t have to be productive all the time. We don’t have to justify every interest. We don’t have to turn every passion into a side hustle. Some things can simply make our lives bigger, more interesting, and more joyful.

So, what’s next for me?

More tea. More learning. More tea cuppings than I have time for.

I don’t know if I’ll ever start a tea business. Maybe I will. Maybe I won’t.

For now, I’m happy to keep learning simply because I love it and that’s reason enough. 🫖