Global Tea Time

 I got a new box of tea a couple of weeks ago. I got one new flavor of tea in that box. An oolong tea. I thought I had ordered a dark oolong, but when I opened the bag, I found a very familiar looking type of oolong.  It's a light oolong that is a slightly looser roll than other light oolongs I have had. When I double checked the website where I ordered the tea, I found that I had indeed ordered the light oolong tea. I had been debating between 2 oolongs, and thought that I had ordered the dark one. Oh well, I like light oolongs, too. This particular tea is scented with osmanthus flowers for a light, sweet flavor.  Osmanthus is a small, unassuming flower that grows on established osmanthus plants in eastern Asia. 29 different cultivars have been developed. I don't know which cultivar this one is scented with. In fact, I have no clue what osmanthus flowers smell like. When I opened the bag of tea, I smelled tea with a hint of something else. I did not get a strong floral ...

 The last stop I have planned is Kiribati . This republic of 33 coral atolls and islands in the central Pacific straddle both the equator and the international date line. There are several island groupings (Gilbert, Banaba, Line, and Phoenix islands) in this republic although the majority of the population lives on the Gilbert islands. Rising ocean levels from global warming are threatening these islands where people mainly depend on fishing and growing bananas, breadfruit, papaws, and taro. In my research, I found mention that tea is popular and is readily available at bars and restaurants. I didn't find anything specific about what type of tea they like, but the picture looked like it was green tea. Contrary to the popular pictures of "green" tea on the internet, the liquid made by steeping green tea leaves is not bright green. It's more of a bright yellow. That is green tea in the cup, note it is NOT green in color. I'm also working on a bobbin lace cat bookmar...

 I have 2 places left to visit. The Solomon Islands, and Kiribati. Yes, there were many countries that were left out, but these are the last 2 places where I found information about popular teas in the region. While I initially found kava tea at the top of the list, I also found a popular brand of tea with more traditional teas and flavors. I was intrigued to see that pu erh was at the top of the list.  Pu erh tea is a "newer" style of tea dating from the Ming dynasty (1368-1644). This type of tea became very popular in the early 2000s causing a sales boom. Since this time, the market has stabilized. Pu erh is made in 4 tea growing regions in southern China in a region close to Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, and Myanmar. There are 2 different ways of making pu erh tea. Both processes start with pan frying to inactivate enzymes, and sun drying to make a loose raw tea. These loose leaves can be compressed, and aged by storing for "raw" pu erh tea. The alternate method take...