You know that credit card commercial that says, "What's in YOUR wallet?" Well, today you may be wondering, "What's in YOUR teacup?" and the answer is that I honestly do not know.
Actually, I do know what's in my teacup, and it's all this stuff shown here — it's just that I don't know what all "this" is. You see, my friend Janet recently traveled to the Holy Land. When she joked beforehand she might have tea with the Bedouins, I laughed and said great, bring me back a teabag. Instead, she brought me back two huge bags of tea from Israel and Jordan. This is the tea from Israel, which is obviously some sort of spice blend. I get a strong sent of cardamom, but beyond that, I have no idea. Do you recognize anything in the blend? I'm especially curious about that beige pod-looking thing shown at front left. The steeped tea, pictured up top, is the color of honey and tastes like a great spiced tea, the sort of thing you see a lot at Christmas. There's also a bit of zip I am guessing comes from ginger.
And here is the tea from Jordan, which was a minty tasting blend and has more little black particles which I think might be traditional ground tea leaves. I have greatly enjoyed sipping these new teas from my friend's travels. Since so many of us are "known" tea lovers, do your friends bring you back tea from their travels? If so, what have you sipped that came from afar?
My daughter-in-law always shares the tea her parents bring back from London. A friend's daughter brought me some tea from Kenya once. I didn't care for it. It was very finely ground and I wasn't sure what was in it.
ReplyDeleteSome strange looking things in both teas, possibly bits of bark in the first?
ReplyDeleteMy daughter brought me canisters of tea bags from England a couple of years ago that were all very good.
The beige pod looks like it might be the cardamon shell (the seeds are probably blended in with the rest of the mix). Looks like there are some cloves in there and maybe some chunks of cinnamon bark - although it might be a little thick to be cinnamon? Also looks like some dried ginger (maybe the fibrous piece in the front?).
ReplyDeleteThe tea sounds wonderful - I always think of tea in the middle eastern regions as being green with mint and very sweet, so I've expanded my tea knowledge with something new this morning :-) !
Oh my! I drank tea in both Israel and Jordan, and neither looked like these. :-) Actually, I drank tea bag tea while traveling in the Holy Land, Wissotzky.
ReplyDeleteI concur with Kimberly... cinnamon, cardamom pods, cloves, and ginger pieces are the ones I can detect from the photo. What a nice spicy blend you have! Add some black tea, and you're well on the way to a great chai!
ReplyDeleteBTW, I forgot to mention that I really like that entwined double handle on the tea cup.
ReplyDeleteFriends have brought me tea from England, France, and Japan. I thought I spotted dried orange peel in the Israeli tea. Maybe I am just careless, but I don't care if I know all the ingredients in what I am eating or drinking. That's have the fun. If I am in a foriegn country and I love the dish, I don't even ask. I may not want ot know the answer.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Kimberly too. I think you have a lovely treasure!
ReplyDeleteI guess I am not so brave to try things I am not familiar with -- maybe a bit of a Tea snob! I have my favs and I am happy enjoying them!
ReplyDeleteI once received tea from Nepal. When I was in Scandinavia, I purchased "Prince of Denmark" (blend of Earl Grey and Jasmine) in Copenhagen, and "Soderblandning" in Stockholm as souvenirs.
ReplyDeleteIn Peru, I tried coca tea--a common beverage used to help relieve altitude sickness. It's illegal to take coca tea out of Peru because the coca leaves came from the same plant used to make cocaine, although the dosage of the stimulant is very mild so I didn't get high from drinking one cup.
I must say it looks kind of like tree bark or leaf litter. I think it would make a good amendment for a compost pile. The benefit would be that it would smell like cardamom, a definite improvement for any composter.
ReplyDeleteCould the bark be cinnamon? One of the best teas I've ever had came via a friend's travels. It was pretty to look at and wonderful to taste. Enjoy your new teas.
ReplyDeleteLOL. You are probably drinking hash or something, lol. JK. Not funny, I know.
ReplyDeleteWhat fun though, truly.
Angela, I am so so sorry I have been so absent. I promise I think of you daily - I am just crazy at the moment. I hope to post more and catch up on all I have missed.
Please know I care and miss you! HUGS!! Have a great weekend.