An Afternoon With A Tealover
Who knew we would one day become our parents, obsessed with tea and its many promises? I think it has everything to do with age and how our bodies change, or maybe it’s just another millennial trend that’s perhaps here to stay.
Anyway, last weekend Nneka (who’s one of the biggest tea lovers I know) and I had a tea date in her home, as we explored some types of teas and their unique benefits. Her love for tea started 5 years ago when she tried Tazo’s “Zen” tea once and was instantly hooked.
She described her experience with the beverage saying, “It contained lemongrass and spearmint and really just made me at ease. I also like to think it’s a form of self care, that’s how I stay sane.”
Meanwhile, I got into drinking teas because of my mum, it was our way of bonding. We would always have a cup right after meals, to her it was a way to flush out calories. To me it was this insane superstition that I grew to love.
Nneka led with Rishi’s green tea with jasmine. And like a teabag snub, we had them loose, steeped in water at 180°F temperature for 3 minutes. First off, because these were open and not in bags, it had a really strong floral smell and could be steeped one more time. Loose tea allows you get a full bodied flavour, and as Rishi recommends this particular tea is the perfect digestif after meals.
I also think it works as a pick-me-up for days at work when you’re not trying to drink overly caffeinated drinks like coffee. It also doesn’t matter what brand of green tea you get, although the ones with jasmine usually have an extra kick. I think the reason a lot of people say green tea is bitter is because they brew it at the wrong temperature. It’s delicate tea and doesn’t work well with boiling hot water.
For our second cup, we steeped the Omija Berry Blush in 200°F for 5 minutes. Totally off point, but this was really pretty to photograph, and looked like you could toast the leaves in olive oil and make a dressing out of it. Nneka thought it looked like zobo leaves, and should be left alone. Although she seconded the idea that berry teas are fantastic as iced teas, than hot/warm ones. It has this tang and zest that only works with loads of ice, fruits and maybe simple syrup.
Asians have the best tea blends for obvious cultural reasons, aside from the need to prolong their lives. Imagine a fusion of rice and other components you'll normally find in sushi but this time in tea.
It’s called Genmaicha (which originated centuries ago when Buddhist monks mixed green tea with the browned rice stuck to the bottom of their rice cauldrons in a gesture of humility and conservation.) and was brewed at 180°F for about a minute or two. It had the nuttiest flavour from the toasted sticky rice and tasted like it would be perfect in a soup or brownie.
Nneka: “I wasn’t sure what to expect. But this will serve as the greatest pick me up for gloomy mornings because of that strong nuttiness.”
Because think about it, what if the reason we all claim to love coffee is because of the potent smell and not the taste?
I’m sure by now you’re wondering what was soaking all these fluids up, nevermind as we had a box of pizza to help settle everything down. Sandwiches would be perfect too. And if you’re feeling very British, add some scones.
Although Nneka isn’t a fan of white tea, we moved to a brand called White Tea Rose Melange, steeped at 185°F for 4 minutes and she loved it. It had rose petals, peppermint, lavender leaves, green tea with jasmine and white tea. Nneka initially thought having jasmine and peppermint will be overdoing it, but because the peppermint in it wasn’t as pronounced as the jasmine, it worked.
Another fantastic blend of green tea that I loved and was most exciting to try was the Houjicha, which was steeped for 4 minutes at 185°F, and tasted really woody and smooth. The colour of this blend made Nneka so happy!
Nneka: “It’s green tea but roasted a bit more until the leaves turn brown, just like aged wine haha! Although it claimed to have notes of chocolate, coffee and roasted barley, it tasted quite bland but in a good way.”
Having to catch up with friends over simple things like tea, is a bold way to reclaim self-care. And if we were to rank this experience, it would be a solid 9.5/10 (because of the random NEPA changeovers that ruined boiling intervals) and our line up will be: Houjicha, Genmaicha, Omija berry Blush, White Tea Rose.
