Drinking Tea

I've been knocked out sick since Thursday afternoon. This has led to some comic scenes in our house. Ones where our kitchen and dining room resemble movie sets, with every dish sullied and paper plates strewn about, every surface covered with some sort of food and empty milk cartons lying sideways on the counter.

My main symptom is a sore throat. The cure for this sore throat is hot drinks. Luckily, I reside in China, the home of tea.

Hot tea can be bought anywhere, and comes in three basic styles:
green tea - where the leaves are the least processed, and still look much like leaves
oolong tea - somewhere in the middle, although I don't understand the process
red tea - black tea, in the West; where the leaves are the most processed, and look more like herbs

You can order any of these three teas at a tea house, and you will be served. It is akin to ordering a glass of white wine at a restaurant. The wait staff will simply choose which variey for you. And the varieties are very, very many. I've found a few I like and can remember, although none that I don't like. Dave is the same.

Tea is served differently in China. There is no steeping, and the leaves are not kept separate. Leaves are placed in the bottom of a teapot. Hot water is poured on top. You immediately pour your first cup of hot tea. The wait staff generally refill the hot water in the teapot quickly. If you reach the bottom of your teapot, the dregs will be leaves. Sometimes you will see people with leaves in their teeth, and know they've just finished a thermos of tea.

This is the other notable thing about tea in China. It is drunk everywhere. Every taxi driver keeps a thermos of tea just under his right elbow, and drinks from it while he drives. Street vendors will have a glass jar sitting at their feet, full of hot water with leaves floating at the top. Ceremony is not the important part - just the tea.

Most teas have different powers, much like medicine. Some are for sour stomachs, some are for fertility, some are for old age. I'm quite confident there exists a tea for any conceivable ailment.

Traditionally, the Chinese do not order drinks with their meals. They drink tea or they drink soup, which is always a broth of some sort - never cream based. As fruit juices become popular, this is less true. Often you'll see a table at a restaurant with everyone drinking from tall, frothy, bright pink watermelon juices. They taste fantastic.