Camel train in the Saharan Desert – Zagora, Morocco

For thousands of years merchants, monks, soldiers and nomads traveled the Silk Road trading goods and other luxurious items such as gold, jade, ivory, silk, perfumes and exotic spices and teas. These pollinators of the ancient world transported more than just the goods they carried along with them on their expeditions. The stories of their adventures surrounding the objects they bartered served as containers for the transmission of religious beliefs, syncretic philosophies and diseases.

Tea and spice pyramids at a souk – Marrakesh, Morocco

But for the truth seekers, the healers, shamans, witches, seers, fortune tellers, magicians and wizards, there is something more precious and of greater worth than the goods themselves—a hidden force that captivates the attention. The tea gypsy is one who knows how to capture this hidden force, a specific vibration contained within a single tea leaf. This pure vibration embodies a code that correlates with the elemental forces of the universe and, for those of us who have the ability to See, these forces can be perceived through the five senses.

Moroccan mint tea in Jemaa el Fna – Marrakesh, Morocco

Just as your physical body hosts your consciousness, tea leaves carry the knowledge of elemental forces on the land they grew upon.  The origins of magic resides within the heart of the leaf for the tea gypsy, and the concoction of her signature brew contains the formulas of knowledge that have the potential to restore the body, to unravel the meaning of the past, to reveal the future…and to do more than just those things as well.

Drumming under the stars during a camel safari – Zagora, Morocco

To possess the knowledge of a tea gypsy one must first begin by hearing the sounds of her caravan—the rhythmic drum beats and tinkling string of bells dancing about in the Sirocco winds…for everyone knows that a real gypsy hangs bells just above her door. It is also wise to be conscious of which foreign lands the tea grew upon and to be aware of the legends, myths and folktales surrounding that tea culture.

Nomadic caravan leader in the Saharan Desert – Zagora, Morocco