There are two things I hate more than anything, and both of them happened in a matter of less than twenty minutes. I’m not one to complain, but if there was ever a situation where it was warranted, this is it. The first thing that happened was that I got a phone call from my ex. I can be having a magnificent day, all is well in the world and bang-one of her calls and I’m ready to call Billy Crystal in that mobster-goes-to-the-shrink flick. What is that movie called? You don’t remember either? Damn!
So she calls, I try to talk some sense into her, and eventually I just lose it. I’m cussing and hollering and folk are looking at me…eventually I had to get up and leave my spot just to finish the call with her. I ask myself all the time why I ever married that woman in the first place.
People ask me what finally did it-why I’m not with her no more, and the truth is it was tea. My tea drinking pissed that crazy lady off for years and finally she snapped and almost tried to kill me in my sleep. She said I was nicer when I drank whiskey, but that when I went all crazy and started with tea instead…that’s when she says I lost it.
Pay her no mind though. Quitting with the whiskey and the vodka and rum and and and…quitting all that was the best thing I ever did. I know she’s right, though. I know if I’d not picked up the tea, I’d have never ended up out here in the elements. Most people think of a hobo as being a drunk, but I had to quit drinking to lose everything and my damned mind too. My brain never did me no good anyway. Useless it is-my damned brain.
The other thing I hate, and it was only a quarter of an hour after her call that that happened, is when I let my tea over-steep. I used to deal with it when she’d leave the bag in there too long, but I hated it. I was like a bull over there in Spain when he saw that red towel being waved round whenever she did that. I told her over and over not to leave the tea in there for more than the prescribed time. Did she listen? The hell she did. That woman wouldn’t listen if her damned life depended on it.
So here I am with her phone call still running through my mind and then my tea’s too strong on top of it all. It’s enough to make a man lose his marbles.
(blogger's note: this is complete and utter prose. Totally fictional. I'm neither homeless nor separated from my wife. I'm like Joni Mitchell in that song about playing real good for free. I live a comfortable life, and sometimes let my imagination get the best of me when I blog. Please don't worry, ok?)
Saturday, 10 April 2010
Thursday, 8 April 2010
Tea drinking in Hamburg
Have been in Hamburg now for several days and had a list of tea shops/salons I wanted to visit. There was quite a variety of the latter, from the Four Seasons tearoom to the tea stand near the Hohe Luft Brücke Hochbahn Station, and even the types of tea shops were impressive. Monday was a holiday (in Germany only the police and the nuthouse staff work on Easter Monday), so I had to wait until Tuesday to get started. That means I have three days to report to you.
Tried to start with Tea Embassy, which is allegedly near the main train station. I say allegedly, because I still haven’t managed to locate where this shop is. I spent an inappropriate amount of time searching, before I finally gave up and took the train to Wandsbek. Am so glad I did.
There’s a tea shop in this less-than-upscale neighborhood of Hamburg called Teehaus Shila. The owner has been in business for nearly three decades and was selling tea at fairs and conventions in West Germany/Western Europe even before that. Their specialty seems to be Ayurveda/Yogi teas, but they have an extensive selection of loose-leaf tea as well.
Before I arrived, I’d read about a special “Flugtee” (airplane tea) that the owner brings back from the plantations of Darjeeling. The other tea shops in Hamburg are promising that the first of the 2010 first flush teas should arrive in the next several weeks, while Teehaus Shila already has some on offer. It’s definitely an advantage. I tried some of this year’s crop of Darjeeling and am over the moon. This is definitely going to be a good year for tea and us tea lovers.
I also visited a tea shop nearer where my hotel is and was similarly impressed with his selection. He’s in the Colonnaden (Neustadt) and his shop is called Colonnaden Tee Contor. If you ever go there, talk to Peter. He’s incredibly helpful and knows his tea.
That was enough for one day.
Day two was the day I went to my favorite teashop. It’s in Hamburg-Altona and is called Claus Kröger Tee. He’s been doing it multiple decades, much like Teehaus Shila, but this guy is NOT a yogi tea specialist. Don’t remember seeing any Ayurveda tea there at all.
He’s clearly a northerner. Probably speaks Plattdeutsch, and wasn’t necessarily cold per se, but definitely reserved. My talk of tea blogging and www.steepster.com was utterly lost on him. In these situations I try to describe steepster as facebook for tea lovers. He could truly care less. Oh well. To each his own. He’s aged anyway.
Day three
But today was my tea salon day. I visited two exquisite tearooms, and they were nearly perfect for entirely different reasons. I knew my wife would like the Four Seasons, so we started there. It was everything you’d think it’d be. Very stately and reserved. The Halle where we took our tea was enormous and noticeably calm and quiet. A few times I laughed aloud and almost felt the need to apologize to the other patrons. No need. We were the only ones there. At some point some business men hurried through the tearoom to one of the adjacent conference rooms, but otherwise we were entirely alone.
You could see from their selection, which was impressive, that tea was a British endeavor. They had all the right gear for perfect High Tea. My Lapsang Souchong was served on his own little tea stand with a tea light and everything. There were digestive biscuits and they asked if I’d like lemon or cream, which I declined. The whole experience was exactly like something out of a Merchant/Ivory film. We talked of rebel uprisings in Central Asia and the dollar/euro exchange rate, which I suppose are the sorts of things one talks about in these surroundings.
In the late afternoon, I walked a short way up Rothenbaum Chausee to the Völkermuseum and turned right. Behind the Museum is a perfect copy of the oldest tea house in Shanghai. The sister cities of Hamburg and Shanghai arranged this collaboration in 2004. Although I’ve not yet been to China’s booming second city, now that I’ve been to this place I feel as if I’ve seen the very best of Shanghai.
It’s called the Teehaus Hu Xing Ting, and they’ve created such a truly beautiful place. They do tea ceremonies there, and have an impressive selection of both excellent teas and quite a few tea books to peruse if you’re there on your own, which I was. The woman serving tea, Ms. Huang, was a very helpful Taiwanese lady. She recommended an Oolong from Formosa (Taiwan) that I’d never heard of. Can’t wait to find and taste it.
This might have been the nicest tea-related day so far. These two salons really reminded me why I started this blog lark in the first place. I’m normally so stressed running here and there. Feel I need to accomplish years’ worth of work in a short time. I can really get myself worked up. Then I have a cup of tea, breathe deeply, and all is wieder in Ordnung.
Thank you all for reading this and other posts. I feel very fortunate.
Tried to start with Tea Embassy, which is allegedly near the main train station. I say allegedly, because I still haven’t managed to locate where this shop is. I spent an inappropriate amount of time searching, before I finally gave up and took the train to Wandsbek. Am so glad I did.
There’s a tea shop in this less-than-upscale neighborhood of Hamburg called Teehaus Shila. The owner has been in business for nearly three decades and was selling tea at fairs and conventions in West Germany/Western Europe even before that. Their specialty seems to be Ayurveda/Yogi teas, but they have an extensive selection of loose-leaf tea as well.
Before I arrived, I’d read about a special “Flugtee” (airplane tea) that the owner brings back from the plantations of Darjeeling. The other tea shops in Hamburg are promising that the first of the 2010 first flush teas should arrive in the next several weeks, while Teehaus Shila already has some on offer. It’s definitely an advantage. I tried some of this year’s crop of Darjeeling and am over the moon. This is definitely going to be a good year for tea and us tea lovers.
I also visited a tea shop nearer where my hotel is and was similarly impressed with his selection. He’s in the Colonnaden (Neustadt) and his shop is called Colonnaden Tee Contor. If you ever go there, talk to Peter. He’s incredibly helpful and knows his tea.
That was enough for one day.
Day two was the day I went to my favorite teashop. It’s in Hamburg-Altona and is called Claus Kröger Tee. He’s been doing it multiple decades, much like Teehaus Shila, but this guy is NOT a yogi tea specialist. Don’t remember seeing any Ayurveda tea there at all.
He’s clearly a northerner. Probably speaks Plattdeutsch, and wasn’t necessarily cold per se, but definitely reserved. My talk of tea blogging and www.steepster.com was utterly lost on him. In these situations I try to describe steepster as facebook for tea lovers. He could truly care less. Oh well. To each his own. He’s aged anyway.
Day three
But today was my tea salon day. I visited two exquisite tearooms, and they were nearly perfect for entirely different reasons. I knew my wife would like the Four Seasons, so we started there. It was everything you’d think it’d be. Very stately and reserved. The Halle where we took our tea was enormous and noticeably calm and quiet. A few times I laughed aloud and almost felt the need to apologize to the other patrons. No need. We were the only ones there. At some point some business men hurried through the tearoom to one of the adjacent conference rooms, but otherwise we were entirely alone.
You could see from their selection, which was impressive, that tea was a British endeavor. They had all the right gear for perfect High Tea. My Lapsang Souchong was served on his own little tea stand with a tea light and everything. There were digestive biscuits and they asked if I’d like lemon or cream, which I declined. The whole experience was exactly like something out of a Merchant/Ivory film. We talked of rebel uprisings in Central Asia and the dollar/euro exchange rate, which I suppose are the sorts of things one talks about in these surroundings.
In the late afternoon, I walked a short way up Rothenbaum Chausee to the Völkermuseum and turned right. Behind the Museum is a perfect copy of the oldest tea house in Shanghai. The sister cities of Hamburg and Shanghai arranged this collaboration in 2004. Although I’ve not yet been to China’s booming second city, now that I’ve been to this place I feel as if I’ve seen the very best of Shanghai.
It’s called the Teehaus Hu Xing Ting, and they’ve created such a truly beautiful place. They do tea ceremonies there, and have an impressive selection of both excellent teas and quite a few tea books to peruse if you’re there on your own, which I was. The woman serving tea, Ms. Huang, was a very helpful Taiwanese lady. She recommended an Oolong from Formosa (Taiwan) that I’d never heard of. Can’t wait to find and taste it.
This might have been the nicest tea-related day so far. These two salons really reminded me why I started this blog lark in the first place. I’m normally so stressed running here and there. Feel I need to accomplish years’ worth of work in a short time. I can really get myself worked up. Then I have a cup of tea, breathe deeply, and all is wieder in Ordnung.
Thank you all for reading this and other posts. I feel very fortunate.
Wednesday, 7 April 2010
cream tea and the tea mother
Cream tea
‘Who’ll be the tea mother?’
When I first started getting interested in tea, I met some friends who’d gone on and on about cream tea. I’ve since found out, and it’s worth describing. It’s important how this is done, so I plan on going into a bit of detail.
I can already hear several of you saying not so softly under your breath, ‘What’s the point, Lahikmajoe? Why can’t I just go back to enjoying my simple tea bag? You’ve ruined my tea drinking.’
Maybe when you hear about cream tea, you’ll feel differently. Maybe not. To be honest, when I finally had the opportunity to try it, cream tea turned out to be simply tea with scones, fresh strawberries (or simply strawberry jam) and Devon clotted cream. If you like those things, you’ll enjoy this. Supposedly, the origin of the cream is rather important. The fat content of the cream and the way it’s clotted has everything to do with why people rave about this.
Back to the story. My friends invited me over so that I could finally try it, and I gladly accepted. The first question they asked when I arrived was, ‘Now who’s going to play tea mother?’ I somehow controlled my first response, which was unflattering, and instead I simply asked, ‘What’s a tea mother?’
‘It’s whoever’s going to pour the tea,’ he responded. Oh, ok. I let one of them be tea mother. Each of them is more maternal than I’ll ever be.
So, if you get the opportunity, try cream tea. If you don’t like strawberry jam, scones, clotted cream or tea, then don’t bother.
‘Who’ll be the tea mother?’
When I first started getting interested in tea, I met some friends who’d gone on and on about cream tea. I’ve since found out, and it’s worth describing. It’s important how this is done, so I plan on going into a bit of detail.
I can already hear several of you saying not so softly under your breath, ‘What’s the point, Lahikmajoe? Why can’t I just go back to enjoying my simple tea bag? You’ve ruined my tea drinking.’
Maybe when you hear about cream tea, you’ll feel differently. Maybe not. To be honest, when I finally had the opportunity to try it, cream tea turned out to be simply tea with scones, fresh strawberries (or simply strawberry jam) and Devon clotted cream. If you like those things, you’ll enjoy this. Supposedly, the origin of the cream is rather important. The fat content of the cream and the way it’s clotted has everything to do with why people rave about this.
Back to the story. My friends invited me over so that I could finally try it, and I gladly accepted. The first question they asked when I arrived was, ‘Now who’s going to play tea mother?’ I somehow controlled my first response, which was unflattering, and instead I simply asked, ‘What’s a tea mother?’
‘It’s whoever’s going to pour the tea,’ he responded. Oh, ok. I let one of them be tea mother. Each of them is more maternal than I’ll ever be.
So, if you get the opportunity, try cream tea. If you don’t like strawberry jam, scones, clotted cream or tea, then don’t bother.
Monday, 5 April 2010
Dung tea?
It's been a while since I've talked about Oolong, and I have one I can highly recommend. For Westerners, the name is unfortunate, but ignore the fact that it sounds like cow patties, and you'll be alright. It's called Dung-ti Oolong. Can't wait to hear the jokes about this one.
'Dung tea? What're you on about now, Lahikmajoe?'
Trust me-if you're not yet used to Oolong tea, this is a good one to start with. Although it's lightly oxidised, it doesn't taste at all like green tea.
What is Oolong exactly?
Some people say it's a mix between green and black tea. That's an easy way for a tea seller to describe it to an uninterested customer, but more accurately: it's a little like a black tea but not fully oxidised. Some people talk of tea fermentation, and that's another word for oxidation. It has absolutely nothing to do with the fermentation they talk about when they ferment grapes to make wine. It's the same word for a different process.
Green tea has the least amount of oxidation (aside from white tea, which has almost none), while black tea is fully fermented. Oolong has been anywhere between 10-90% oxidised. That's why if you look at the leaves, they can occur in gradations from dark green to almost brown. Logically, the lighter the green, the shorter the time the process took place. My method is certainly not scientific, but I've found that it's accurate enough to differentiate between different Oolongs.
Tell you what. I know Sylvia's tried Oolong, because I gave her some (the first one's always free). If you've had Oolong, say something here about whether you liked it or not. If you have one to recommend, please do so. Would love to try some more.
'Dung tea? What're you on about now, Lahikmajoe?'
Trust me-if you're not yet used to Oolong tea, this is a good one to start with. Although it's lightly oxidised, it doesn't taste at all like green tea.
What is Oolong exactly?
Some people say it's a mix between green and black tea. That's an easy way for a tea seller to describe it to an uninterested customer, but more accurately: it's a little like a black tea but not fully oxidised. Some people talk of tea fermentation, and that's another word for oxidation. It has absolutely nothing to do with the fermentation they talk about when they ferment grapes to make wine. It's the same word for a different process.
Green tea has the least amount of oxidation (aside from white tea, which has almost none), while black tea is fully fermented. Oolong has been anywhere between 10-90% oxidised. That's why if you look at the leaves, they can occur in gradations from dark green to almost brown. Logically, the lighter the green, the shorter the time the process took place. My method is certainly not scientific, but I've found that it's accurate enough to differentiate between different Oolongs.
Tell you what. I know Sylvia's tried Oolong, because I gave her some (the first one's always free). If you've had Oolong, say something here about whether you liked it or not. If you have one to recommend, please do so. Would love to try some more.
Saturday, 3 April 2010
Navel gazing
Am finishing off a kilo of Assam Hajua. Sounds like I’m a drug addict, eh? I guess I am. Of sorts.
Tonight I had my birthday party and of the forty or more guests, six brought me some sort of tea. Not bad, eh? I was thrilled. And just like at other social events in the last several months, people wanted to talk with me about tea. What kind they should drink, why green tea was difficult to get used to, whether glass or china teapots are better…you understand.
This is exactly why I wanted to do this blog. Exactly.
To learn more about tea is a plus. No doubt. But I could’ve done that on my own without advertising to the bloggosphere that I was doing so. I could easily have read a book about tea, frequented tea shoppes or found a tea mentor. None of those things demanded my doing this blog lark.
The blog allows me to do several things. My friend J thinks all blogs are a bit of self-congratulatory navel gazing. Yeah? So? Have you seen my navel? Honestly?
My navel is something to be documented.
I can get others into tea the way I got into it. I still have a cup of coffee periodically, but for the most part I’ve made the switch. I believe I’m healthier as a result. No empirical proof of that, but I'm not nearly as stressed and am better able to handle the emotional fluctuations of my day. I attribute that entirely to my increased tea consumption. There’s no other change in my life that I can point to. None.
If anything my life has become more overwhelming in the last several months. I’ve left one client and been asked to leave by another one. Have made huge decisions about moving house and continue to drink more tea and breathe more deeply. Did I mention my undeniably intriguing navel?
If you still drink a lot of coffee and don’t have any adverse health problems as a result, keep doing so. If you’re in no way interested in tea but just come here for the gripping social commentary, I can tell you about some much better blogs/sites. But if you’re even remotely similar to me and want to know more about tea and its history, then keep reading, commenting and questioning. You’re certainly welcome to do all three.
Tonight I had my birthday party and of the forty or more guests, six brought me some sort of tea. Not bad, eh? I was thrilled. And just like at other social events in the last several months, people wanted to talk with me about tea. What kind they should drink, why green tea was difficult to get used to, whether glass or china teapots are better…you understand.
This is exactly why I wanted to do this blog. Exactly.
To learn more about tea is a plus. No doubt. But I could’ve done that on my own without advertising to the bloggosphere that I was doing so. I could easily have read a book about tea, frequented tea shoppes or found a tea mentor. None of those things demanded my doing this blog lark.
The blog allows me to do several things. My friend J thinks all blogs are a bit of self-congratulatory navel gazing. Yeah? So? Have you seen my navel? Honestly?
My navel is something to be documented.
I can get others into tea the way I got into it. I still have a cup of coffee periodically, but for the most part I’ve made the switch. I believe I’m healthier as a result. No empirical proof of that, but I'm not nearly as stressed and am better able to handle the emotional fluctuations of my day. I attribute that entirely to my increased tea consumption. There’s no other change in my life that I can point to. None.
If anything my life has become more overwhelming in the last several months. I’ve left one client and been asked to leave by another one. Have made huge decisions about moving house and continue to drink more tea and breathe more deeply. Did I mention my undeniably intriguing navel?
If you still drink a lot of coffee and don’t have any adverse health problems as a result, keep doing so. If you’re in no way interested in tea but just come here for the gripping social commentary, I can tell you about some much better blogs/sites. But if you’re even remotely similar to me and want to know more about tea and its history, then keep reading, commenting and questioning. You’re certainly welcome to do all three.
Thursday, 1 April 2010
How to clean a teapot?
So, it's almost Good Friday and I'm going to try something a bit different here today.
I'm going to bring up a #tea topic, and ask for advice. Because I live with a very fastidious German woman, I have my opinions based on her very strong views. But I want to hear new ideas. Your ideas.
How do you clean your tea paraphernalia? Your pot, your cups and saucers?
What tips or tricks do you have to wash away the tea residue that makes me sometimes wonder, "Are my insides also becoming this dark brown colour?"
I'm going to bring up a #tea topic, and ask for advice. Because I live with a very fastidious German woman, I have my opinions based on her very strong views. But I want to hear new ideas. Your ideas.
How do you clean your tea paraphernalia? Your pot, your cups and saucers?
What tips or tricks do you have to wash away the tea residue that makes me sometimes wonder, "Are my insides also becoming this dark brown colour?"
Floating above the Japanese clouds
If you haven’t noticed already, I’m a bit of an Orientalist. Well, to be more specific, I’m crazy about Japan. Nuts. If I acted on every thought, it’d be an obsession. I think when I was moaning about the winter several weeks ago and daydreaming about going to the Nuwara hills in Sri Lanka, my real thoughts were of going to pre-modern Nippon.
Maybe it’s because I went there when I was young and impressionable. Maybe it’s my fascination with Japanese history and custom. It’s very fashionable to be into China right now. I have absolutely nothing against China. Nothing.
But it just doesn’t do it for me. Maybe if I went there and met the people and saw the tea plantations and drank tea and ate Chinese shish-ka-bob (a la Kevin Rose) out of a rickshaw bar-b-que cooker…maybe then I could become more interested in China.
But as of now, I’m on the way to Japan in my thoughts. I’m above the clouds and flying through the air. It’s not enough to go to modern Japan. In my mind I’m floating back in time as well. To the time when tea ceremony wasn’t yet an institution. If we go back that long ago, this is the thirteenth century and we are Japanese monks.
Our brother monk, Dai-o, has been on a long journey to the Chinese monasteries where he observed and learned about the way the Zen monks in China prepare their tea. It’s so much more than the practical aspect of dunking leaves in heated water. He has shown us that the harmony between the people drinking the tea and the tools or implements that we use to make the tea is very crucial.
There are three things he referenced about the tea ceremony that were true back then and are still true today. Respect, cleanliness and tranquility. There’s no way that I can cover everything about this this in one simple blogpost. Am doing quite a bit of research about tea ceremony and might write an article on the topic soon. Stay tuned. Am enjoying this immensely.
Maybe it’s because I went there when I was young and impressionable. Maybe it’s my fascination with Japanese history and custom. It’s very fashionable to be into China right now. I have absolutely nothing against China. Nothing.
But it just doesn’t do it for me. Maybe if I went there and met the people and saw the tea plantations and drank tea and ate Chinese shish-ka-bob (a la Kevin Rose) out of a rickshaw bar-b-que cooker…maybe then I could become more interested in China.
But as of now, I’m on the way to Japan in my thoughts. I’m above the clouds and flying through the air. It’s not enough to go to modern Japan. In my mind I’m floating back in time as well. To the time when tea ceremony wasn’t yet an institution. If we go back that long ago, this is the thirteenth century and we are Japanese monks.
Our brother monk, Dai-o, has been on a long journey to the Chinese monasteries where he observed and learned about the way the Zen monks in China prepare their tea. It’s so much more than the practical aspect of dunking leaves in heated water. He has shown us that the harmony between the people drinking the tea and the tools or implements that we use to make the tea is very crucial.
There are three things he referenced about the tea ceremony that were true back then and are still true today. Respect, cleanliness and tranquility. There’s no way that I can cover everything about this this in one simple blogpost. Am doing quite a bit of research about tea ceremony and might write an article on the topic soon. Stay tuned. Am enjoying this immensely.
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