Exploring the World, One Sip at a Time

Tea, according to Wikipedia, is the world's most popular drink after water. It's no surprise then, that the consumption of camellia senensis has taken on various forms over the millennia.  Below is a selection of my own encounters with a few of the world's tea drinking traditions.

Matcha (Japan)

"Meanwhile, let us have a sip of tea. 

The afternoon glow is brightening the bamboos, the fountains are bubbling with delight,
the soughing of the pines is heard in our kettle. 

Let us dream of evanescence, and linger in the beautiful foolishness of things."

-Okakuro Kazuko in "The Book of Tea"

Monk and teaware, by the very talented Wu Wei Hai.

By far, the most common way in the world to prepare tea is simply to add hot water to the tea leaves and drink the resulting brew. Things work a bit differently, however, with the powdered green tea drink called matcha (Japanese: 抹茶). Originating in China, the practice of drinking powdered tea was spread to Japan by way of Zen Buddhist monks. While drinking matcha eventually fell out of favor in China, it never lost its popularity in Japan and over the centuries became very popular even outside of the monasteries. The Japanese tea ceremony, in which the preparation of matcha is an integral aspect, still remains an important cultural activity.

The art of tofu cuisine at
Fujino Kyotofu.

Although I had heard of matcha and had even eaten various pastries containing it, it wasn't until  I was actually in Japan that I had to chance to sample the legendary drink itself. After a wonderful but exhausting day running around and exploring the southern and central parts of Kyoto, I was starving. Low on energy and patience, I wasn't in the mood to wander further in search of a decent meal and thus popped into the sleek Central Railway Station. On the upper floors, high above the tracks of this massive structure, I came across a nice little vegetarian restaurant called "Fujino Kyotofu".

In Kyoto, the local culinary specialty is a style of cooking called shojin ryori, which is a strictly vegetarian cuisine that originated under the influence of Buddhism. Kyoto is known for its many shojin ryori restaurants and I had set aside some funds in my travel budget for a nice, fancy shojin ryori dinner. One of the most amazing dinners of my life was concluded with an unexpected item: matcha. I was excited. As the waitress started to prepare the matcha, I said to her, "Oh wow, matcha!" She was a bit surprised and amused but also a bit impressed and replied with a heavily accented, "oh yes...matcha!" After a few delicate sips of the frothy green suspension, I was hooked. Fortunately, I would encounter matcha a few other times during the rest of my time in Japan. The story did not end there though.

A bowl of matcha as prepared at Fujino Kyotofu.

The basic implements for preparing matcha.

I decided that I would invest in tools for making my own matcha. During a visit home, I managed to find a cute little shop in NYC called Kyotoya, which specializes in Japanese souvenirs, particularly from the Kyoto region. I picked up a bambo whisk, a stone bowl, and a special scoop for the powder. Though not nearly as elaborate as a full-blown tea ceremony, I now enjoy matcha whenever the time allows.

Ostfriesischer Tee (Germany)

"Wait and see and drink some tea."
 -East Frisian proverb

"Teelke" in the East Frisian city of Leer. Photo from photos.bilderblog.org.

When you put the words "beverage" and "Germany" together, your first thoughts probably jump to beer. Indeed, beer, also half-jokingly called flüssiges Brot (liquid bread) in Germany, has a long tradition in central Europe. Modern Germany may have only become a unified country in 1871 but its Beer Purity Law (Reinheitsgebot) dates from the 1500s. After beer, however, coffee is Germany's second most popular beverage. Tea ranks a distant third but in the northern region of Frisia, it actually reigns supreme, having developed a unique local culture.

Frisia (German: Friesland) is a cultural region that spans the northeastern part of the Netherlands and the northwestern part of the Germany.  A detailed history of Frisia's interesting history is way beyond the scope of the this post although this link has a great discussion on these topics as well as its tea culture. Over the centuries, the Frisians developed their own regional identity and were, at various times, caught between Dutch and German (Saxon or Prussian) influences. One of those influences was tea drinking, introduced by the Dutch in the 18^th Century. These days, tea drinking is a prominent part of East Frisian culture.

An East Frisian-style tea set (Wikimedia).

East Frisia's tea culture does not seem to be as widely known as some of the world's other tea traditions and I was actually quite baffled to learn that tea is so popular in (at least one region of) Germany. I was determined find out more.

At this point, let me say that while I've traveled to many different regions throughout Germany, East Frisia is unfortunately not one of them. At press time, I have still not actually had "real" Frisian tea in but I hope to experience it at some point. The story below should certainly be taken as a curious experiment instead of a real encounter with East Frisia's tea culture.

East Frisian Black Tea.

Not knowing any actual Frisians, I nonetheless asked around about how to prepare tea in the Frisian style. It all seemed quite manageable. I would need a strong black tea (obviously), some milk (or heavy cream), and special rock candy called Kluntje. In the supermarket, many brands market "real East Frisian tea" and not knowing any better, I decided to go with the oldest company I could find. My choice of brand, Bünting Tee, was a good one, as I discovered it's East Frisia's oldest and most well regarded tea trader. Kluntje are readily available at any larger supermarket. I was set for the experiment.

A traditional Kluntje.

There is a very specific method for preparing East Frisian tea. It begins with placing a Kluntje in the cup and then pouring the strongly brewed black tea, typically an Assam blend similar to an English breakfast-type tea, into the cup. I used a single, big Kluntje but supposedly one can hear the sugar "crack" when smaller pieces are used.

The next step involves slowly adding drops of heavy cream to the tea, which is supposed to create the appearance of cream "clouds" as they disperse through the liquid. I used milk instead and couldn't get any "clouds" to form but this blog has a great demonstration of the proper technique.

After everything has been added, there remains one final procedure. Do not, under any circumstances, stir the tea. With the milk and sugar at the bottom, as shown in the picture below, the first sips of the tea are actually quite bitter. As one continues drinking the tea, the taste becomes less bitter (and better!) and at the end, it becomes very sweet. Enjoying this sweet end is supposed to be the best part of tea drinking ritual.

It was very interesting to drink tea in this manner and I did enjoy it. Now I know the first thing I'll order if I should find myself in a cafe in East Frisia.

The difference between the upper (bitter) layer
and the lower (milky, sweet) portion is easily seen.

Masala Chai (India)

"Come oh come ye tea-thirsty restless ones -

the kettle boils, bubbles and sings, musically."

-Rabindranath Tagore

A chai wallah in Tamil Nadu (Flickr Commons)

In a country with a so many different languages, religions, and cultures, tea is perhaps one of the few things that all of India's people, regardless of social status, enjoy on a regular (if bordering on excessive) basis. Although tea was long known in Indian history, particularly in therapeutic and medicinal contexts, it wasn't until the British colonial period that tea drinking became widespread and it was only in the mid-20^th century that the tea drinking finally became an established part of Indian society. Tasveer Ghar: A Digital Network of South Asian Popular Visual Culture has a fascinating article on Indian tea's transformation from colonial luxury to popular drink. Indeed, Indian tea culture has spread far beyond the sub-continent's borders and one can find "chai" at pretty much any modern-style coffee or tea shop on the planet. The name "chai" is a bit of a misnomer though, as in India it is simply the generic word for tea. Outside of India, chai is taken to mean the traditional drink masala chai (Hindi: मसाला चाय). Here, masala refers to the mixture of spices that are used; most commonly cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and cardamom. In typically Indian fashion, masala chai recipes are as varied as you can imagine. Ask 20 Indian people for their masala chai recipes and you will get 50 different answers. But that's the beauty of the drink, actually. There is no formal ceremony or ritual surrounding its preparation. There is no "correct" way to make it and I think this point is one of the reasons for its widespread appeal.

A cup of masala chai with some
of its ingredients (Flickr Commons)

Myself being part Indian, I have drunk many, many cups of masala chai in my life, however, the best chai I've had the pleasure of consuming was in the southwestern Indian city of Cochi, in the lovely state of Kerala. Kerala is very different from the rest of Indian in many ways. It boasts the highest literacy and development rates in the country and has had a democratically-elected Communist state government for decades. They call Kerala "God's Own Country", in part because of its natural beauty but also because of the relaxed lifestyle and high quality of life enjoyed by its inhabitants.

The Teapot in Fort Cochin.

Traveling with my mother, we had arrived from Delhi in the late morning and were completely beat. Anything you may have heard about India's big, chaotic cities is probably true. The crazier the story is, the more likely it is the be true. Although we had a great time, we were in desperate need of some recovery time, hence the trip to easy-going Kerala. My mother and I definitely needed some relaxation after traveling around the Delhi region and after getting settled in our hotel, we went for a stroll in the historic Fort Cochin area of the city. Still tired and now hungry, we stumbled upon on cute little restaurant called "The Teapot". With a name like that, we couldn't pass it by.

The Teapot's cozy interior.

The fact that it wasn't a quite a "real" restaurant didn't matter a bit. The food was fantastic and the atmosphere was great. And then there was the tea. My mother and I both ordered masala chai and we were both blown away. It was amazing. As of press time, I have never tasted a more wonderful cup of chai. It wasn't just the wonderful mix of flavors from the fresh spices, that it was served in an awesome, traditional clay cup, or that it had the perfect amount of milk. After any long, tiring day, a good cup of day can really help you unwind. After a particularly exhausting day, a cup of tea this good was simply bliss in liquid form.

Me enjoying the most amazing masala chai at The Teapot.

***

"This cup of tea in my two hands,

mindfulness perfectly held.

My mind and body dwell,

In the very here and now."

 -Thich Nhat Hanh

P.S. Although I didn't write about it above, I'll take this opportunity to shamelessly promote my own recipe for Afghan chai.