The Perfect Little Red Teapot

The Perfect Little Red Teapot

By Vinnie Costa

I recently threw away the dusty, grease-incrusted, cat-hair covered, little red porcelain teapot which sat on the shelf above my stove unused for nearly a decade. It was the perfect little red teapot. I bought it for $6.99 at a Marshall’s Homegoods in Seacacus, New Jersey, after my trip to Amsterdam in the summer of 2006.

For the nearly two years leading up to that trip, I worked the least creative job in the incredibly creative comic book industry and would soon turn 35. That vacation was intended to, cliche-like, recharge my creative batteries and jump start another, more fulling chapter of my life. I had very high expectations.

While in Amsterdam, I stayed in a wonderful bed and breakfast, the Golden Bear, where they offered their guests OJ, coffee and a selection of teas the like I’d never seen along with assorted cheeses, meats and hard breads each morning to help start the day.

I found myself with an English Breakfast blend as I planned my first day abroad.

By day two it became routine.

Letting the bag steep a bit longer so I could enjoy a strong cuppa with two sugars and milk. I’d take delicate sips, (not the American coffee gulps I take at home) as I poured over guide books and tour pamphlets. It was 30 minutes at the start of my day where I could slow down and take in what makes that day great.

By week’s end and after planning my visits to places like the Homomonument, The Van Gogh Museum, The Ann Frank house, The Amstel Factory and the flower market over a steaming pot of tea, this born and bred New Yorker found himself slowing down.

I liked it. It would be key to a new way of living. My life would surely change for the better. I’d bring this part of my vacation back home and continue the slowing. But like so many vacation resolutions (no, I never got that scuba certification either) after stocking the supplies and finding the perfect little red teapot, I lost interest and to put it simply, just couldn’t find the time to boil and seep.

Back in New Jersey, I used that perfect little red teapot exactly one time. Well, twice, (I may have used it in a dinner party centerpiece) it went from functional to tchotchke in no time at all.

The day I tossed it, my Keurig made me a steaming, satisfying cup o’joe in under three minutes.

Tea? What was I thinking? How do the English do it every day?

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About the author: Vinnie Costa, an Actor, is forced to work in the service industry by his wish to pay rent, wear clothes and eat human food. He works in NYC’s Times Square. If it weren’t for his blog, www.broadwayadjacent.com, he’d be dressed as Elmo, punching tourists in the neck. You can follow him on the instagrams and twitters @BwayAdjacent.