Whenever we hear the word TEA mentioned, we instantly think of Hetty. So why are we discussing TEA on Callen’s Corner, you may wonder? Well it seems that G Callen loves his tea (unlike his partner Sam), and sometimes a little too much. From early on in Season 1, we notice Callen drinking tea from a bag, but it seems that the influence of the petite Operations Manager at the Office of Special Projects, has in fact had an affect on him. But from some comments he’s made here and there, it is obvious he knows a little already about the drink (such as being aware that the Chrysanthemum Tea was mouldy).

Callen [comes up behind Sam whose making tea]: “What are you doing?”
Sam: What’s it look like I’m doing?”
Callen: “You don’t drink tea.”
Sam: “No I don’t. I’m making it for Hetty.”
Callen: “You’re making tea for Hetty?”
Sam: “ I promised her I would try some.”
Callen [picks up a tin of tea and reads the label]: “Yellow Mountain Tribute Chrysanthemum Tea. Nice!”
Callen [takes a whiff of the tea. He scrunches up his nose and sniffs again]: “That smells…” [He screws his face up] “Mouldy.”
Sam: “Maybe it’s suppose to smell mouldy.” [He looks at Callen] “Do you think I should say something to her?”
Callen: “They didn’t train you for that at school?”
Sam: “Yeah! Escape and evade.”
Hetty [singing]: “Mr Hanna. How’s our tea?”
Sam: “Right here Hetty.”
Hetty: “Did you warm the pot the way I told you?”
Sam: “ I did.”
Hetty: “And the water?”
Sam: “ Fresh off the boil.”
Hetty: “Oh excellent.”
Callen [dunks his teabag in a paper cup]
Hetty: “You must never underestimate the cardiovascular benefits of tea. You’ll thank me in the morning.”
Hetty [turns to Callen]: “Mr Callen?”
Callen [holds up his tea bag with a strained smile on his face]: “I’m good.”
Hetty: “Aha! And you aah…you can’t taste the paper?”
Callen [looks down at this tea]
Hetty: “Huh!”
Callen [looks up looking lost for words and appetite for drinking his tea]
Hetty: “Well now Chrysanthemum tea is not Chrysanthemum tea without wolf berries.”
Sam [dead panned]: “Wolf berries.”
Hetty:” Now I want you to savour that and consider it’s calming qualities. Not to mention it’s health benefits.”
Sam [takes a sip, trying hard not to show how much he dislikes the tea]: “Hmmm! It’s delicious.”
Hetty [smiles and bows, happy. Then walks away carrying her tray with the teapot and cup]: “That phone call is for you Mr Callen.”
Callen [looks bewildered]
Hetty: “Director Vance.”
Callen [watches Hetty leave]
[Phone on table in the Bull Pen rings]
Callen [picks up the phone]: “Callen. Yes Director. Standby.”
Callen [puts the phone down. He looks at Sam]: “How does she do that?”
Sam: “I don’t know, but that’s the worst tea I’ve ever had in my entire life.”
Hetty [sits at her desk and savours the smell of her tea. She takes a sip and scrunches up her face]: “Eh! Mouldy.”

(S1E07 ‘Pushback’)

But it seems so much more has happened around Callen with regards to TEA, or should I say a TEA BOX.

Later in Pushback…

Callen [making tea using a tea infuser]
Hetty [walks up behind him]: “As I live and breathe; a convert.”
Callen [smiles]: “I was tasting the paper.”
Hetty: “Aah! Anything exotic?”
Callen: “Just tea.”
Hetty: “Well every journey starts with a small step.”
Callen [nods in agreement]
Hetty [hands Callen a yellow envelope]: “From Arkady, through back channels. Enjoy!”
Callen [opens the envelope and finds a photo of a fourteen year old version of himself lifting up a four year old version of Alina Rostoff]: [in Russian] “My little sister.”
Callen [looks around and removes all the teabags from the tea box and places the photo inside]

(S1E07 ‘Pushback’)

This was the start of Callen’s Keep Box of his life. First the photo of him and Alina, and later he added the card and toy soldier he found on his sister’s grave; photos of his Mother and then the photos of his childhood and film strip of him with his Father and sister (found in Michael Rhinehart’s home in S5E04 ‘Reznikov, N’).

There have been times when Callen needed a drink of Hetty’s TEA to warm him up. But one has to wonder whether he used that as a decoy to check that Hetty was in fact okay, after watching Esther Balmore forget things (who was taken advantage in her old age).

Callen [walks into Hetty’s office]
Hetty: “You’ve come to offer to call the ADA for Esther Balmore, because you think watching an old lady go baddie has set off a nerve in me.”
Callen: “I’ve come for a cup of tea because I’m cold.”
Hetty: “Aah!” [She turns to pour tea from her teapot]
Callen: “You know in nursing homes they only have tea in bags, so they will taste of paper.”
Hetty [looks at Callen]
Callen: “When the time comes, I’ll bring in the good stuff. Smuggle it in if I have to.
Hetty: “Aah! Go undercover as an orderly?
Callen: “Whatever you need.”
Hetty: “U-huh!”
Callen [sits down with his tea]
Hetty: “You know it’s not the loneliness I fear.”
Callen: “But you are scared of something.”
Hetty: “Yes! Spilling everything I know. All my secrets being blabbered out into a world that should never hear them. So when the time comes, as you put it, there is something you could do. You can smother me with a pillow. Make sure it’s synthetic. I’m allergic to feathers.”
Callen [smiles]: “Okay!” [He sips his tea]

(S1E14 ‘LD50)

We’ve also witnessed Callen utilise Hetty’s love of tea to his advantage in capturing a suspect in Afghanistan, in persuading Hetty to approve of himself and Sam to go in person. They laid a trap for their suspect Kahn, waiting for him to come to capture or kill the Taliban’s master bomb maker.

Callen and Sam [walk out of Ops and down to Hetty’s office]
Hetty: I sense impending mayhem, and perhaps an outrageous petty cash request.
Callen: One simple question, Hetty.
Sam: Do you trust us?

AFGHANISTAN, in a Tea House

Sam:” I can’t believe Hetty authorised us to do this in person.“
Callen: “We had her at the word TEA.”
Callen [holds a sack of tea in his hand and throws it to Sam]

BACK IN LOS ANGELES

Callen and Sam [enter the Office of Special Projects and place the sack of tea on Hetty’s desk, before heading home]
Hetty [enters her office]: “Oh goodie. TEA!”

(S2E08 ‘Bounty’)

Earlier I mentioned that sometimes Callen loves his tea a little too much. This was evident when Callen was a little bit too sneaky for his own good and was caught out by Hetty, helping himself to her hidden supply of Agave Syrup for his cup of tea in Overwatch.

Callen [looks around before walking over to a metal cupboard in the gym. He places his cup of tea on the top and unscrews the bottom of a gas bottle to reveal it’s hidden contents; a small bottle of syrup. He pours a small amount into his tea and replaces the bottle back to it’s rightful place]
Hetty [walks towards him, holding a file in her hands]: “Do you think you’re clever? That you can read people, that you know things?”
Callen [remains behind the metal cupboard door, facing away from Hetty]: “Well I’m an undercover agent for a highly respected agency, so [stands and nods before turning to face Hetty], I’m going to go with yes. [He lifts his cup of tea] And I’m sorry about your syrup.”
HETTY [annoyed]: “What you so crassly referred to as my SYRUP is my Michoacán shade-grown agave nectar… my personal sweetener.”

(S2E12 ‘Overwatch’)

Hetty’s love not only for her tea, but also for her tea sets obviously put some form of fear into the seasoned agent, when Sam picks up Hetty’s favourite tea cup and looks inside to see it still dirty.

Sam [picks up a tea cup in Hetty’s office and looks inside it]
Callen: “Are you reading anything in those tea leaves?
Sam: “Yeah! Somebody needs to wash their cup out.”
Callen: “Be my guest. But you’re taking your life in your own hands if you drop it, with that being Hetty’s favourite cup.”

(S3E02 ‘Cyber Threat')

Having a cup of TEA with Hetty gave Callen many opportunities to sit and chat on a more intimate level with the woman who was the closest thing he had to a Mother. In Fame, Callen approached his suspicions on why Hetty had acquired Detective Marty Deeks onto their team.

Callen: “I haven’t seen the bill but if it’s over 5 grand, go easy on him.”
Hetty [quoting Callen’s earlier statement]: “Why? The cops hate Deeks. He’s a lousy liaison.”
Callen: “It’s not what you wanted him for. You do your homework, don’t you? In choosing agents. Deeks didn’t end up in this building because we needed some L.A.P.D. liaison. You’ve been watching him for a while.”
Hetty: “There is value in being patient.”
Callen: “ So how long did you watch me before I joined NCIS? When did G. Callen become a blip on your radar?” Was it Kiev?”
Hetty [doesn’t answer but goes to prepare a tea]
Callen: “Houston? Bogotá? God, don’t tell me it was Jersey City.”
Hetty: “Peking.”
Callen: “You mean Beijing.”
Hetty [holds up a tin of Peking tea]
Hetty: “Tea, Mr. Callen?”
Callen: “It was Jersey City, wasn’t it?”

(S1E20 ‘Fame’)

Callen tends to prefer normal black tea, with no sugar or milk added to the drink, however one does wonder if he finds the calming and health benefits Hetty spoke about in Pushback? Are you also a tea drinker like Hetty and Callen? If so, what is your favourite blend? Do you drink tea from a tea bag or have you also become a convert and drink loose tea in an infuser?

Thanks to ChrisDaisy for her help on this post and to ncislosangeles.com for the screencaps.