Global Tea Time

France is billed as being one of the most historically and culturally important countries in the Western world. They have had colonies all over the world hence the reason French is widely spoken across the African continent. I did not realize that they are the most important agricultural producer of Europe, or that they are one of the oldest countries in the world. I guess that's why they have 156 pages of information at the above link. Sorry, I'm not reading through all of them. I studied French for 4 years in Junior High and High School. I had 3 different teachers, but the first one was by far the best. Sadly, I never had an opportunity to use my French, and it has been largely forgotten. A few months ago, I came across some old cooking videos from Julia Child. They were the ones where she traveled to France, and showed the food products there. There were also segments where she would make something with a top French chef or baker to show techniques that people could use at...

Today we travel to Scandinavia, more specifically, Denmark . They are at the end of a peninsula north of Germany, and they also have a group of islands stretching toward Sweden. When I went back to college in my mid twenties, there was a student in my program who was from Denmark. He studied abroad in this area when he was in high school, and fell in love with a girl he wanted to marry. So, he did all the paperwork to come back to this area to go to college, and they did indeed get married. I don't remember him talking about Denmark, and some people made fun of his accent, or made fun of him for asking questions in class. Sigh, people. Looking at the healthcare and social welfare system of Denmark really makes me wonder if he feels like moving to the states was such a good idea after all. Honestly, when we were in school I wondered why he would leave that wonderful system behind. In further reading, marriage has lost some social status (yay for all us single people), and domestic ...

According to the internet, there are 51 countries in Europe. That means that I should be spending close to a year there, traveling there by teacup. The reality seems to be that people in that part of the world really don't feel compelled to share anything meaningful about how people drink tea. After doing some research, I found that they are all very boring about their tea drinking (with a few exceptions). Most of the videos about making tea in Europe I have found are really snarky videos saying you take a tea bag, and pour hot water over it. Some are done in the style of the TV show " Drunk History ". Europe is going to be a challenge. I'm reminded of the beginning of Richard Dooling's short story "Bush Pigs" where he talks about the difference between Africa and Europe. In Africa everything is alive, and Europe is like visiting an old museum. While I'm still researching, I've found the usual scattering of countries were coffee or alcohol ...

Today we travel to the heart of central Asia, Tajikistan . They are bordered by Kyrgyzstan, China, Afghanistan, and Uzbekistan. Like many other countries in the region, it was part of the Soviet Union from 1929 to 1991. They share ethnic and linguistic ties to Afghanistan, as well as Iran. It is a small, mountainous country with temperatures depending somewhat on altitude. Much of the country is described as unsuitable for human habitation, but parts of the desert region are able to be irrigated to grow cotton. Most of the population is described as being rural, and about 60% of the population is under 30 years old. There were several forms of tea I found for Tajikistan. Tea with milk and an egg yolk was traditionally made for people who were sick. Green tea is served in summer, black tea in winter. I'm making this on a day with a winter storm warning for an impending blizzard, so black tea it is! Thankfully we are moving into green tea season now. That must be why I decided...

All the tea videos from Pakistan agree on using milk, water, and black tea. From there, things diverge a bit. Some people stick with the basics as listed above, and add brown sugar to the final product. Others add cardamom pods for additional flavor. One thing they all agree on is to boil longer for stronger tea. After reading a little bit about Pakistan , it makes sense that there would be so many different ways of making tea. They split off from India along religious lines, and was known as East Pakistan and West Pakistan until the 1970s when East Pakistan was renamed Bangladesh. The country is also described as a melting pot of different cultures, and has 5 main ethnic groups. It is a young country, with about 60% of the population being younger than 30. Here's my attempt at making Pakistani tea. 1/2 cup of milk, 1 cup of water, 4 cardamom pods, and 2 tea bags. Bring to a boil and simmer until it is the strenght you want. Easy, right? Today was one of those days. I st...

These days, I'm a little scared to Google Russia. They have been in the news a lot lately, and it has not been flattering. Maybe the person whose name is so frequently used in conjunction with Russia should start to refer to it as Pottsylvania. Nobody would ever catch on. Incidentally, I did watch the first episode of the "Rocky and Bullwinkle" reboot on Amazon Prime. Apparently Dream Works has taken them on. It was a little strange watching the 2 main characters fighting with each other, and the plot is a modernized version of the "Banana Formula" (H2O, NH3, C2H5, PDQU235, and a pinch of salt) episode from way back when. I guess this makes me old. Russia is about much more than spies and meddling. Technically they are one of our closest neighbors since there is only a two and a half mile gap between an Alaskan island and a Russian island where the international date line divides the days. Alaska is yesterday, and Russia is tomorrow . Actually, The Moth Radio ...

Thanks to the terrible weather we have been having lately (check out the selfie), I haven't been able to drive up to my favorite tea shop. While it's not terribly far away, it would take forever to drive up there in the crappy weather we've been getting. Now, thankfully, the bone chilling cold temperatures are gone, but they have been replaced by a thaw/freeze cycle that has turned all sidewalks and parking lots into virtual skating rinks because there is nowhere for the melted water to go. Sigh. I hate winter. On top of that, we have the time change to deal with this weekend. I still remember my Chinese friend asking why we did such a stupid thing in this country. I honestly have no answer for that. I guess that I will just have to drown my sorrows (in a nice cup of tea). While I can certainly find tea other places that are closer, I can't find my beloved Swiss chocolate tea anywhere else. Thankfully, they offer the option to order online. And, since they offer ...