Tea, Ceremony, and the Lost Art of Slowness
I’ve always moved fast—not in frantic bursts, but in chasing momentum and meaning. My mind ran ahead of my body, always reaching for something just beyond. I spoke quickly, lived with urgency, and circled around a sense of purpose that never quite touched down.
But underneath it all was a yearning—soft and insistent—for stillness. Not stagnation, but the kind of stillness that listens. The kind that reveals.
After seven years immersed in herbal studies, followed by an undergraduate degree, and eventually an application to medical school, the path ahead began to narrow into something I no longer felt connected to. I began to drift—uncertain and restless.
It was then that I was drawn to South Korea. And it was there, unexpectedly, that I found tea. Not simply tea as beverage, but tea as ceremony. As presence. As communion.
With a background in movement and meditation practices, tea ceremony felt like the living synthesis of everything I had been circling: a grounded, spiritual, embodied ritual. A way to bring the sacred into the everyday, to slow down without losing depth. A path that didn’t require fleeing the world but meeting it with reverence.
Traveling afterward to Japan and China only deepened this connection. I came to understand tea ceremony not as performance, but as prayer. A place where silence speaks, and water over leaves becomes a medium for remembering.
Slowness, I’ve learned, is not the absence of action. It is a kind of devotion—a rhythm that allows life to reveal itself, gently and completely. It offers the nervous system sanctuary, and the soul a place to land.
At Water Over Leaves, this is the heart of what we offer.
Our teas are handcrafted in micro batches with therapeutic intention, drawing from the wisdom of plants and the beauty of their spirit. Each blend invites presence. Each sip is a doorway.
Ceremony is woven into everything we do—not as dogma, but as invitation. We believe tea is a teacher. That ritual is an anchor. And healing is a remembering, not a striving.
Rooted on an acre of land along the North Shore of Nelson, BC, Water Over Leaves exists as both sanctuary and offering. Our studio is a small, sunlit space where tea is poured with intention and spirit is welcome at the table. Bilingual signage throughout the space is designed to inspire, reflect, and educate—encouraging visitors to slow down and connect more deeply with the living tradition of tea.
As a proud member of the ÉCONOMUSÉE® network—an international initiative that preserves and shares artisanal knowledge through immersive, educational experiences—and with support from the Société de développement économique de la Colombie-Britannique (SDE), we are honored to carry forward the living art of herbalism and tea, rooted in tradition and crafted with intention.
In a world that idolizes speed and celebrates distraction, the act of making tea with care—of sitting, breathing, tasting—becomes revolutionary.
This is the lost art of slowness.
And it is time we remembered.
About the Author
Mélanie Pulla is an herbalist, tea ceremonialist, and founder of Water Over Leaves Tea Company in Nelson, BC. With over two decades of training in botanical medicine and immersive study in Asia’s tea traditions, Mélanie blends plant wisdom with spiritual intention to create handcrafted herbal teas and meaningful ceremony.
A graduate of the California School of Herbal Studies and the Southwest School of Botanical Medicine, Mélanie also holds a BSc in Wellness and Alternative Medicine. Her travels through Southeast Asia deepened her connection to the spiritual dimension of tea, shaping the philosophy she now calls “Tea Mind.”
Through Water Over Leaves, Mélanie creates micro-batch teas that invite presence, healing, and reflection. Her tea studio offers a sanctuary for those seeking stillness and connection—one intentional sip at a time.
