“One’s own free and unfettered volition, one’s own caprice, however wild, one’s own fancy, inflamed sometimes to the point of madness–that is the one best and greatest good, which is never taken into consideration because it will not fit into any classification, and the omission of which always sends all systems and theories to the devil.” – Dostoyevsky ‘Notes from the Underground’
Caprice – a rebellion against determinism. ‘Rebellion’ seems a bit extreme but it most definitely is an adequately descriptive response to the zeitgeist of Dostoyevsky’s oppressive times. Our whims, fancies and vagaries may seem like unproductive avenues to explore as opposed to pursuing definite ideas but that’s only till one runs out of ideas or worse still, we’re not allowed to pursue or express our Caprice, our whims. Rebellion seems quite apt, even in our times, for such disallowance, whether externally imposed or worse still, self-inflicted. Notes from the underground foreboding and dark as it may be, carries enough existential thought to cover a semester or two but meaning aside Dostoyevsky’s writings also contain deep reminders; of the kind of empathy, inclusion and acceptance of the human condition that one often fails to practice – towards one’s own self.
Oscar Wilde once said “The only difference between a caprice and a lifelong passion is that the caprice lasts a little longer” but it was Picasso that beautifully captures the essence of Caprice fueling the creative intuition. Picasso, when asked if his ideas came to him by design or by choice, answered “I don’t have a clue. Ideas are simply starting points. I can rarely set them down as they come to my mind. As soon as I start to work, others well up in my pen. To know what you’re going to draw, you have to begin drawing… When I find myself facing a blank page, that’s always going through my head. What I capture in spite of myself interests me more than my own ideas.”
It’s one thing to capture something you want but quite another to capture something in spite of your ‘want’. Or quite simply when one’s own ideas and wants, one day, turn into a bottleneck for expression then it’s what one may have vicariously gathered, pursuing one’s caprice and curiosity for no immediate purpose whatsoever, that proves to be the reserve fueling the creative intuition. What begins in the absence of an idea or in moments of tedious waiting for inspiration to strike, dives into the subconsciously gathered reservoir of vagaries and manifests as a serendipitous ‘a-ha’ moment, getting the rational, self-editing mind out of its own way, to birth the very idea or inspiration that was absent to begin with! We’re not sure whether to marvel at the faculty of human caprice or abandon and devote it to the altar of some higher being so it can make better sense of it. But then, maybe its an act of devotion itself – harboring caprice; Maybe the creative process by itself is devotional.
Caprice was the last thing we expected to find in Autumn. Its autumn – It’s fiercely but barely there and then it’s gone! How much liberty can autumn take with her expressions? Then it occurred, maybe she’s not waiting for inspiration to strike or maybe she’s trying something fruitful to break the monotony of her usual expressive styles or maybe all of this is just our overactive imagination – autumn always had caprice, her whims and fancies – we quite simply just got introduced! Maybe we are still the ‘three blind men’ trying to make sense of an elephant and with that humble thought it feels like “devotional” may just be a better way to understand the Caprice of Autumn – all else feels like arrogance and ignorance.
Like most of the teas this autumn, its made as an Oolong, from the B157 cultivar but the expressions are exactly like Picasso’s remark “Autumn trying to capture something in spite of itself!” – the most empathetic way to come to terms with one’s vagaries. We are willing to wager that you mistake it for a Spring tea – Thick, transparent with a pale-yellow hue! Be misled further by the brewed leaves, with its live green color – Greenest we’ve ever seen. The aroma of Mango leaves and Vanilla is what gives it away but we’re still willing to wager that you’d think the tea would turn floral, somewhere as it cools down! Just as you’re weighing that thought, a dense, clear flavor of raw mango hits your palate. The mind desperately searches for sourness to explain the raw mango but instead finds a fruity sweetness and herbs! The picture and the taste don’t match and as if to birth the very idea that was absent to begin with, the caprice turns expression towards ripe mangoes with the herb more prominent now – parsley. With the Vanilla more settled and the mind now out of its own way, an ease sets in and one can make out some minerality too. And as if to bring the ease completely into comfort’s fold, a lure of the sweetest aroma of custard and Vanilla, maybe with ripe apples, presents itself to tempt a second brew. We can’t stress this enough – It comes nowhere close to floral yet the mind searches for floral but instead keeps finding the most unusual choices for a fruity expression, most certainly not fitting into any classification.
“The only difference between a caprice and a lifelong passion is that the caprice lasts a little longer –Amen to that Mr. Wilde, we also see how devotional it is to harbor Caprice”.
Brewing Instructions: 3 Gms at 90 Degrees in 180 ml for 3:30 minutes. Add 1 min for subsequent steep. Or 3 Gms at 90 Degrees in 180 ml for 5:30 minutes for more shuffled/ slightly intense expression
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