Tea Week day three: China tea set

 

Beijing, China. 2011

Today's true tea story comes from the birthplace of our venerable beverage: China. The Chinese don't go in for any of this milk and sugar sh*t. Theirs is the only country I've visited where tea is usually savoured pure; just leaves and hot water. But when it comes to faffing about on special occasions they can compete with Morocco or England any day. The ritual involves transferring tea and water between various containers and pouring the hot liquid over small china frogs (apparently to help them grow). And then drinking the tea.

Tea Week day two: No milk, 44 sugars

Mezouga/ Ouzoud/ Near Merzouga, Morocco 2006


Morocco's delicious take on the world's favourite hot drink is made with green tea, mint leaves, '44 spices' (none of which you can actually taste) and about as many sugars. The dramatic serving ritual involves pouring the tea into small glasses from as high as possible, then tipping the glass back into the teapot and repeating the process a few times before drinking. This breakthrough method of mixing means that more sugar can be dissolved into liquid solution than was ever thought possible with the stir-it-with-a-teaspoon technique.

Tea Week day one: Milk, three sugars and a bit of spice

Palolem/ Train station somewhere/ Mangalore. India 2010


Having cast off the nastier aspects of colonial rule, there are some British traditions that India continues to embrace: the sport of cricket, a comprehensive if unreliable rail network, and the notion that one should never be too far from a good cup of tea. Whether it's from a restaurant, a roadside stall or a man carrying a vat down the aisle of a train and shouting 'chai', chai is always available. It's made with milk, lots of sugar and a spice mixture that varies from season to season and region to region. 

Tea Weak

Travelling has taught me one thing about the nature of humanity. After we put aside the rest of our differences, there are essentially two types of nation: those for whom drinking tea is an integral and necessary part of everyday life, and those that prefer coffee.


This week's true stories will all concern tea and it's associated cultures around the world.

Communist workout party

Haikou, China. 2011

A Chinese university education is similar in many ways to a British one. Some of the differences though include that students sleep about 5 to a room, and while our 'fresher's weeks' involve heavy drinking and debauchery, theirs consist mostly of getting up early for rigorous army training. This is one of the reasons why China is taking over the world.

My brother is currently studying in China, and these pictures were taken in the university gym.

Things that go hump in the night

Merzouga, Morocco. 2006


Camels are quite photogenic. But in real life they are rather weird and revolting animals. The individuals on this desert trip were badly behaved even for camels. 


They kept making all kinds of particularly loud and disgusting noises, none of which sounded like they could be made by a living thing. Blocked drains, diesel engines and air stuck in a central heating system are the closest earthly sounds I can liken them to. Occasionally what looked like a mis-placed internal organ but is actually part of their palate would come ballooning out of the side of their mouths before deflating to hang flaccidly down the side of their faces. 


They kept wandering off over the sand dunes and Ahmed, the guide, had to go and retrieve them. After returning from one such trip he explained the reason for the strange behaviour. 'He is a very bad camel. Because now is the time for making baby. He want to err... to fuck'. That night I slept with one eye open.

Fairly casual follower of fashion

Madurai, India. 2010

“‘The Indians are the Italians of Asia,’ Didier pronounced with a sage and mischievous grin. ‘It can be said, certainly, with equal justice, that the Italians are the Indians of Europe, but you do understand me, I think."- Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts


Indian tailors can knock up any garment you like overnight for next to no money. But, before ordering, be careful to account for the relative flamboyance of Indian men's fashion. These jovial gentlemen made me a beautifully fitted shirt. Unfortunately on my return to the grey UK I realised that raw silk and oversized collars just don't look right on an Anglo- Saxon. Never mind though. It cost the same as two beers.