OSCILLATIONS

REFLECTIONS ON TEA SHOPS AND CAFES

When was the last time you went on a road trip and did not drink coffee or tea? 

Saturday Tea

My vision is filled with midnight blue walls, faint yellow hues from lampshades, and smooth objects glowing orange. I tiptoe across the wooden floorboards, hugging my tote bag close to my body as I enter the tea shop. A few footsteps ahead, Anna slowly turns toward our group, whispering if anyone wants tea. “Yes, thank you,” we answer. We clutch our scorching paper cups in our hands while we explore — delicate tea sets, garish decorations, and oddities of all shapes and sizes fill the tiny room. My breaths slow down as I ponder the origins of the room’s decor, for I am inside a living curiosity cabinet. Upon stumbling across a baby doll’s head resting atop a large vase, the purpose of this room becomes hazier. Everything is for sale, yet I feel like an intruder who has teleported into someone’s home. The storekeepers are glued behind a counter, waiting for us to ask us questions instead of offering information about the objects on display. Whether an object in this room will ever travel outside of Hidden Peak Tea House remains a mystery. Mulling this over as I travel to the outside patio, my thoughts are interrupted. “No phones,” remind the two storekeepers. “But there are games,” they nudge. 

I am grateful for my seat, a cool carved log that lies low to the ground. As we sip our tea, Stephen meditates in a sunny corner while the rest of us murmur or sit in silence. Thoughts churn like butter in my head, matching the pace I sip my tea at. 

Sunday Coffee

Tumbling through indecision over where to get coffee, we finally decide to fuel up at Captain + Stoker upon recommendation from a local. It’s a quick Google Maps away, and we are ready to seize the day.

As we struggle to park, we overhear shouts from a 10 a.m. yoga class at the Monterey Sports Center. Directly across the street from the corner coffee shop, I imagine parents dropping their kids off for 8 a.m. swim practice and scurrying 200 feet over to Captain + Stoker to down their first coffee of the day. There is a long line seeping out of the shop, sandwiched by a rowdy baseball game on one side and an artisanal ceramics pop-up on the other. We hesitate to waste any time, wondering if we should stay in the car and move on. 

Minds made, we scramble over to the end of the white-walled, open-air coffee shop line; we’re behind a stooped lady with a dachshund and a man whose outfit tells me he is in the middle of a biking trip.

I’m taunted by Captain + Stoker’s logo stamped on the wall with a bicycle parked below, reminding me I must get out and exercise more. A pang of guilt hits me whenever I remember I did not keep the promise I made to myself last year: bring a bike to college. Despite this, my memory of the last time I rode a bicycle makes me smile. It was during the pandemic: a time when folks worldwide picked up bicycling recreationally. Captain + Stoker’s message is received — I feel encouraged to move my body. 

Even the design of their shop — high ceilings, bright white walls, wooden tabletops, and a wide breezy entryway — makes the space feel open and freeing. 

You might spend thirty minutes of your time here, but never more than an hour. Whirring machines and chattering people contribute to the room’s perpetual buzz, a contagious positive energy pushing us forward into the next phase of our journey. I sip on my matcha latte and lime-infused avocado-arugula toast (both worth the wait) in eager anticipation of our next destination. 

Tea + Coffee

What purpose do tea and coffee serve in your life?

Do you need coffee to function; would you be productive without it?

Does the barista smile at you daily, not hesitating to remember your name? 

Did you seek out the newest trend and post your drink on social media? 

Why do you strive to be a connoisseur, understanding nuances in taste?

Are you accompanied by a steaming drink on your morning commute to work?

Or tea in quiet solitude, by the time night rolls around?

How do these moments make you feel?

In elementary school, I visited local coffee shops every weekend with my dad. When I was lucky to be spotted by the busy owner of Los Feliz Café, she would slip me a special sugar-covered star and raisin cookie. Throughout middle and high school, I recall my mom’s hands — a skilled costumier with the grace of a ballerina, she steadily swirled pistachio syrup into homemade matcha lattes and polyculture honey into cupfuls of sleepytime tea. These hands comforted me whenever I was going through a hard time. 

I appreciate the deliverers of coffee and tea as a symbol of love. I bask in the friends and family who I experience new tastings with. From these moments, I cherish the warm feelings of nostalgia lingering like the sweet scent of jasmine tea. While coffee reminds us to speed up on our journey of experiencing all of the things our planet has to offer, tea is a counterforce, reminding us to slow down and observe the simple joys of life. 

Words: Apollonia Cuneo

Photos: Apollonia Cuneo, Christina Kan