The Tea Ceremony
The Story Behind the Design
This design is a toast to playfulness — a shared moment steeped in tradition, laughter, and a little mischief.
It all began when Kaya took Sylvester in as her cooking disciple, promising to teach him the art of Chinese cuisine — especially her family’s treasured recipe, Beijing Zhajiangmian — noodles with soybean paste.
A recipe passed down only to daughters, never sons, but here she was making a rare exception. The boundary was half-serious, half-playful — a secret she was willing to share, just this once.
In the spirit of the moment, Sylvester spontaneously knelt down and offered her tea — a gesture borrowed from Chinese custom, where disciples serve tea to their masters as a sign of respect.
There was no plan. No ceremony. Just instinct, and a desire to mark the moment with something meaningful.
But when Kaya took a sip, she paused.
“This tastes... different,” she said. “And why does it look like this?”
That was because the tea wasn’t quite what she remembered.
Back when Kaya had been struggling to sleep, Sylvester had gifted her this exact tea to help soothe her nights. She had tasted it before — warm, calming, familiar. But this time, he had playfully added milk.
“I made it milk tea,” he confessed, grinning.
The surprise, the laughter, the sweetness of it all — it turned the ceremony into something uniquely theirs.
This design isn’t just about tea. It’s about gestures that mean more than they seem, traditions reinvented in the name of fun, and love that doesn’t take itself too seriously.
Because sometimes, the most memorable ceremonies are the ones you invent together — playful, mischievous, and full of meaning.