I agree. Have you ever had jasmine tea without the jasmine in it? My understanding is the tea spends some time with the jasmine but the jasmine doesn’t make it into the finished product. It’s there, but not THERE like it usually is.
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I agree. Have you ever had jasmine tea without the jasmine in it? My understanding is the tea spends some time with the jasmine but the jasmine doesn’t make it into the finished product. It’s there, but not THERE like it usually is.
Back in Johor Bahru, there is a shop that sells pu'er based "medicinal tea" that is very dark and quite bitter. It's supposed to have a "cooling" effect. The shop serves the tea in semi-clean pint glasses. No one sits down to drink it. Instead, the customers all slug it down standing up. After you've finished, they gave you a small glass of sweetened chrysanthemum tea to chase it down. My mother used to make me drink a glass whenever we passed the shop. I stomached it only because of the sweet chaser. Last I checked, the shop has survived COVID and is still there today!
I was buying pearl jasmine tea.
Jasmine flowers are spread over the tea leaves and replaced every couple of days until the jasmine perfume has infused the tea leaves.
The jasmine flowers/petals are completely removed
The tea leaves are then rolled into "pearls"
This results in a much more delicate flavour
However this is a time consuming and expensive production method.
I wonder how many producers "top or case" the leaves with a jasmine infusion as a cheap, quick fix ?
Check Mei Leaf’s offering. They use that process but my experience has been it doesn’t overpower the tea the way other producers’ offerings do.
At any rate, it’s still not really my (wait for it…) cuppa tea. Chrysanthemum is on point, though. My daughter LOVES jasmine tea, and I don’t despise it. It’s more nostalgic for me because it seems like every place I’ve ever eaten in China has it on the table the entire time.
Growing up in the heat and humidity of Malaysia, my grandmother would often make barley water and chrysanthemum "tea" (sugared with yellow rock sugar) as an afternoon treat when I got home from school
And if we were good there'd be other "sweet soups"
My time in Malaysia was made better by the little Indian food stops all in the street. Curries in bags and any number of teas.
I remember when I got there for the first time and seeing folks carrying around plastic bags and eating out of them. That wasn’t something I’d seen before, so I imagined them to be full of cheap, shitty snacks like you’d see in grocery stores in the US. Boy was I wrong.
I'm old enough to remember a time BEFORE plastic bags
Parcels used to be wrapped up in newspapers or large leaves eg banana or lotus. And tied with dried lotus leaf stalks (or a similar vegetative material) - totally organic and bio-degradable.
Yup, I miss those food carts.
Whenever I visit M'sia, my preferred eating is from stalls and hawker centres rather than restaurants - unless I'm heat affected and want to escape into air-conditioned cool
I've not heard the term 'builder's tea' in years.
The strongest tea I ever had was prison tea. It comes in an insulated stainless steel container with a teabag the size of a medium sized book steeping away inside.
If you happen to be at the end of the queue at the tea urn, by the time it's your turn you get tea that you could stand a spoon up in! God only knows what it does to your innards.
I much prefer my homemade PG Tips or Yorkshire Tea made the traditional way
.Regards,
Jay
Barley water, roasted rice water, roasted corn water, orange peel and ginger water.. In Korea, there used to be some "tea" on kerosene burner in the middle of room when it turns to autumn.
6 tea bags in a brown betty, usually Thompson's Irish Breakfast or something similar. Boiling water to fill, let stand a full 10 minutes. I pour the first cup, leave tea bags in the pot, and top up the pot with the hot water left on the hob. Pour the second cup and top up again........ this usually sets until cool, and is poured over ice through-out the day..........
I'm a cheap bastard and like to get every last bit of goodness from the leaves........ un-orthodox I know, but it works for me!
I support it. I think it’s too subjective to get worried about.
But Christ that first cup’s gotta have some teeth!
As Oz mentioned, the plastic bag revolution took place during out childhoods. Before that, drinks were served in non-disposable cups and glasses. As you may recall, a lot of street vendors don't have running water and they sure didn't wash with soap. Those plastic bags improved public hygiene by about 1000%!
100%. Never mad to see disposables when I’m in SE Asia.
I miss the seafood something bad.
Yea, that first cup has some kick! I have to drink it with a shot of heavy cream or it upsets my innards.......... I gave up coffee a few years back, and this filled in the caffeine void for me..........
The suburb next to my parent's home has a large number of Korean restaurants, grocery shops, cafes and pastry shops.
You can get pretty much most Korean staples there, including all those drinks .
Nothing beats what you make at home.
Anyone had Sujeonggwa in Korea? The first time I had it, it was made from scratch in a cast iron teapot at this mom & pop restaurant (read: someone’s living room turned restaurant) when I was outside of Daegu and it was a game changer.
I thought it was something really special and then I saw it available, chilled in cans in vending machines. That kinda crushed it for me a bit, but I figured what the hell and bought a couple of them. They were nothing like what we got down at that little restaurant outside of Daegu and that kinda rekindled the love affair for me.
Time to do some research and try to recreate it at home.
I thought it was something really special and then I saw it available, chilled in cans in vending machines. That kinda crushed it for me a bit, but I figured what the hell and bought a couple of them. They were nothing like what we got down at that little restaurant outside of Daegu and that kinda rekindled the love affair for me.
Time to do some research and try to recreate it at home.
@BarrelProof , Is there a country you haven't been to?
You're not in a line of work that's a "If I tell you, I'll have to kill you" sort of thing?
You're not in a line of work that's a "If I tell you, I'll have to kill you" sort of thing?
I haven’t been to a ton of them, but I’ve gotten around. I’ve never been to a country in Africa, but I think I’m gonna change that this year; haven’t made my mind up, yet. I may end up scrapping that idea and heading back to South America, but a buddy is twisting my arm to go to Northern India & Nepal, so who knows?
I can tell you that I despise countries that feel the need to take an entire passport page, and have been to several of them that do.
Yorkshire red loose leaf is one of my favorites.I've not heard the term 'builder's tea' in years.
The strongest tea I ever had was prison tea. It comes in an insulated stainless steel container with a teabag the size of a medium sized book steeping away inside.
If you happen to be at the end of the queue at the tea urn, by the time it's your turn you get tea that you could stand a spoon up in! God only knows what it does to your innards.
I much prefer my homemade PG Tips or Yorkshire Tea made the traditional way
Regards,
Jay
I only drink tea with milk in, never cream. I've never known any other English tea drinkers to put cream in their tea. Maybe full fat milk but never cream.