“There have been great societies that did not use the wheel, but there have been no societies that did not tell stories.“

— Ursula K. Le Guin

@tea__Reads

At the beginning of the year, I wrote about finding balance. While I did find my footing throughout the year, it wasn't exactly the type of balance I had planned. But isn't that how it always goes? Hey all ✌🏻 It's been a minute! After a long heatwave, I've been enjoying the cooler, cloudy mornings we've had for the last couple weeks. While they make for more difficult lighting situations for photos, these calm, breezy mornings are perfect for tea by my porch door. Yesterday I had the pleasure of attending the Tea Open House at @mintoislandtea and picking up some of the first spring flush! It's so exciting tasting tea that's grown only 15 minutes from my house and, I've gotta say, the team has absolutely knocked this first flush out of the park. The steamed green is one I'm going to have to treasure while it's here... because, between me and my partner, I think we'll drink it down before second flush arrives 😅 Hey everyone! 👋🏻 It's been a minute! Today marks the first day of 2024 and my blogs second anniversary! While I'm grateful for all the support I've gotten running Tea Reads, the new year offers us an opportunity to reflect on our current goals and lifestyles. Tea Reads has always been fun, but I have to acknowledge how much work it takes to write, read, and keep up a social media presence while balancing my other life goals. So, to tip the balance back in my favor, I've decided to take a step back from the blog this year. You can read more about the decision through the link in my bio or in my stories!

Latest Posts

  • Focus, Balance & Top Reads of 2025

    Your body’s sense of balance relies on several complex systems. Most of these systems, like your inner ear and the nerves in your core, are reflexive, requiring no active thought. The main exception (for most) is visual stimulus. Our eyes… Continue reading

    Focus, Balance & Top Reads of 2025

  • Finding Balance

    At the beginning of this year, I shook off my old yoga mat. It’d been sitting in a corner for months, dusty with disuse behind my gym bags and some clothes I’d been meaning to donate. Unfurling it, I noticed… Continue reading

    Finding Balance

  • 2 Years of Tea Reads & Goals for 2024

    Two years ago, I was a ball of nerves. I paced my home office in pajamas, eyes flicking to the digital clock on my desktop. Each second that passed brought me closer to one o’clock, closer to the first official… Continue reading

    2 Years of Tea Reads & Goals for 2024

  • The Anthropocene Reviewed: Reflection

    The first time I became aware of John Green, I was choking back loud, messy sobs in my room at two in the morning. I was eighteen, it was 2012, and I’d just stayed up engrossed in his breakout hit… Continue reading

    The Anthropocene Reviewed: Reflection

  • Talent vs. Skill

    The relationship between creativity and talent is a rocky one. For years I’ve heard variations of, “Do I need talent to be a good writer?” with “writer” easily substituted by other creative professions like painter, sculptor, and musician. At first,… Continue reading

    Talent vs. Skill

  • One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest: Reflection

    When I first created the Book of the Month Club, I only had two rules: No books I’d read before and no classics. Since I started the blog to expand my reading horizons, the first rule was easy enough to… Continue reading

    One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest: Reflection

  • Tea Reflection: iTeaworld

    Like many popular drinks, tea caters to a wide spectrum of tastes. Those venturing into the world of tea for the first time tend to pick teas that are sweet or teas that do well with the addition of milk,… Continue reading

    Tea Reflection: iTeaworld

  • Experimental Film: Reflection

    For me, October is a month of contradictions. On the one hand, I bask in the cooler weather and return of the rain, enjoying how each day my afternoon walks offer a changing tableau of color. On the other, even… Continue reading

    Experimental Film: Reflection

  • Attending My First Tea Festivals

    Half the joy of a hobby is finding community. No matter what kind of hobby you pick up, there’s always going to be a group of folks that’s just as excited about it as you are. It could be something… Continue reading

    Attending My First Tea Festivals

  • The Last Words We Said: Reflection

    Literary categories are famously hard to define. I’ve gone on before about who decides what’s considered “literary fiction” vs. “genre fiction”, and whether the distinction is important. Plenty of books we’ve read in our Book of the Month Club straddle… Continue reading

    The Last Words We Said: Reflection

Meet the Blogger

Copywriter by day; fiction-writer by night. Cyndy is an avid reader, writer, and tea drinker with a passion for the written word. When she doesn’t have her head in a book, you’ll find her hiking waterfall trails, spending too much money in craft stores, or replaying her favorite RPGs to unlock new endings. She lives in the Pacific Northwest with her partner, Alex, and her dog, Sylvia.