Tea and me

When I started to think about my history with tea, I saw that it has been a long and winding journey that brought me to my passion for tea...

The Motherland

Tea has been a part of my life since before I could remember, in fact I can’t remember why or when I started to drink tea. I do remember that although Ireland is Europe's highest per capita tea consumer, (and 3rd in the world!) tea is not usually given to young children but I do remember drinking it as a teenager. As in  many other places, hospitality revolves around tea in Ireland – visits to relatives and friends can involve endless cups of tea. Unlike in many other tea cultures, at home its always served with milk and often with sugar! And notably the choice of tea available is generally an Indian/Kenyan style strong black tea or occasionally Earl Grey or Darjeeling if we are feeling sophisticated.

Continental Europe: A Tea Drought

After leaving Ireland I lived in Switzerland, like much of continent Europe it was a bit of tea black spot, coffee culture having a stronghold and Lipton tea being often the only option. I really dislike Lipton teas which I find oddly flavored and often both too strong and insipid at the same time! Since then, in Switzerland at least, Tekoe company has increased the options for tea and I see many speciality tea shops popping up in the country. Hurray!

The African Way Of Tea

After Switzerland, I lived in Rwanda for a while where icyai  has a treasured place the hearts of the people and is made, for preference, with 3 parts milk, 3 parts sugar, 1 part water and a little black tea leaves. Rwandans love their dairy products and it seemed to me that tea is another way to get as much milk into their day. Imported powdered milk is especially prized for tea given its longevity and creaminess (and of course its more practical when you don’t have refrigeration). 

During 2009 I spent some time in the bedouin areas of Egypt, where again tea pops up as an important social ritual and gesture of hospitality. The offered is strong, black and so sweet it might make your teeth crack! Tea is served in small hourglass shaped cups and poured from the kettle from a great height for practical and aesthetic reasons. The bedouin mix in delicious herbs to their tea, I don't know which but there was certainly a sage taste to it. 

The tea-from-a-height would appear to be a common thread in north africa (and india), I am a frequent visitor to Morocco (for desert retreats by RoadJunky) where I've seen it also practised and where tea is tongue in cheekily referred to as Berber whiskey. Like the egyptians its served strong, black and sweet...often with mint of course. 

China and Taiwan

....and then in 2010, I had a chance encounter in San Francisco's chinatown which opened up a whole new world of tea. [More details]