Sunday, January 20, 2008

Would you like a nice hot cuppa?

Ever since I figured out that drinking coffee was giving me stomachaches, I've been drinking tea. I have to admit, I'm not much of a connoisseur; at work I drink tea made from microwaved water with store bought tea bags. But at home, I do enjoy fresh tea made with a kettle and tea leaves.

My inlaws know I enjoy tea and are often at a loss for what to buy for birthday or Christmas, so as a result I have three tea pots. I received the third pot from my MIL this Christmas. While it was a really cute clay pot with bamboo on it, I kind of felt like it was a little extraneous. Today, however, I was reading my book on tea, and it described a special kind of pot -- a Yixing pot, which is made from a special kind of Chinese clay. You brew tea in this pot and never wash it (you just remove the leaves and rinse it out). The result is a tea that takes on a special flavor as the pot ages. I thought "Wow, that's kind of neat. I'd like to have a pot like that." Imagine my surprise when I found out that the pot my MIL had given me was a Yixing pot. So now I'm really excited. Not only is my new tea pot cute, it's also a special tea pot for tea connoisseurs. I plan to use it to brew my green teas. Too bad I don't really have anyone to share it with.

And, for a fun fact of the day: did you know the Irish drink more tea per capita than anyone in the world? They drink almost 4 cups per person per day. Second are the Kuwaitis, who drink 3.20 cups per day per person. So, next time you sip that cup of tea, think not of the Chinese or the (East) Indians, but the Irish and the Kuwaitis!

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

What about that awesome reindeer tea pot? Are you counting that among the awesome gifts from mom?

On a side note, I can understand why the Kuwaitis drink tea, since it's a big social thing for them. Plus, it's a dry country. I'm not sure about the Irish. Maybe it helps sober them up after a wee too much Guinness.

L said...

Oh, I forgot about the awesome reindeer tea pot! I guess I must have blocked that memory. :) That makes 4 tea pots, 3 from your family.

Alpha Monkey said...

That Yixing pot sounds pretty cool! I wonder if that's what my homies use. I've been drinking pomegranate, green tea from The Republic of Tea. It's instant tea bags, but really good with a spoonful of honey.

sv said...

I love this teapot post. very nice writing, and made me crave tea. I don't drink enough, and may be part of the reason India slid down that list.

Anonymous said...

Oh jesus the tea is forced into us at a young age so as to get everyone hooked on it, I think I am one of the few irish people who are meh about tea and hates guinness. Sounds like a cool teapot though