Tea’s Tempest

"Grandpa, why do you sell this nasty water? Why don't you sell coffee like everyone else?" My idiotic grandson asked me this one day. I haven't spoken to him since. It's been eleven years.

My name is Franklin T. Bag and I am the last person on earth who sells the magnificent liquid that is tea. People like my grandson don't understand the importance of tea, they think it is simply bitter water. They would rather have one of the new modern coffees that they see on the television, as if they need more energy.

They don't realize that tea has started wars, bankrupted nations, and has been a very important part of human culture since the first cup. Every day I get new people coming to the shop and asking for coffee, every day I am disgusted with the disappointed faces of this generation, every day I ask myself if it is worth it, if remaining the last bastion of tea is worth the bills and the ridicule.

Of course it is, I am reminded of this fact every time I see a grateful face walk into my shop, a smile shining through at the lack of coffee on the menu. As long as there are still people on this planet that enjoy tea, I will be here with a smile and a steaming cup of delectable liquid.

For I am the Teaman, and I will never fall to the likes of the coffee drinkers.