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the setup
(pics taken discreetly with my phone) Tuesday, May 26, 2009
First, let me say that today was not my first time buying tea in China. Really. That's just silly. But today was a big day for me. I went to this tea market I've been wanting to visit for many months. Not sure why it took me so long, but regardless, today was the big day. I went for a walk that landed me at this market and as I walked through it, I had no idea how or where to begin.
When I say tea market, I mean a series of streets and buildings fully devoted to the sale of all things tea. Inside the buildings, there are very small tea shops with tea sampling stations of various sizes and decor. Tea leaves, tea bricks (not sure if that is the proper name), tea pots and tea cups. Tea-ville. I was assuming this was what I'd find; but once there, I really was overwhelmed. All the signage was in Chinese, so fortunately I had a plan. I was going there to buy pu er tea. I was just introduced to this tea last week and have since discovered it is very popular in Shanghai.
It has supposed health benefits related to digestion and maybe a little weight loss. I'm game. I felt secure knowing that I was armed with at least one tea type to inquire about. And not surprisingly, the woman that eventually became my tea guide had other suggestions for me to try/buy.
I had my headphones on and I observed few customers and many a shopkeeper. I was peering and prowling and just checking out the scene. Finally, one woman said hello and stood up. I appreciated the effort, so she got my business! I'm easy. Talk to me, invite me in, I'm yours. I was kind of excited because I've only done the sit and sample tea thing a couple times and usually I'm in a rush. Today, I was on my own and had no reason to hurry. I told the woman I wanted Pu er and she showed me that she had many types. There was loose tea, brick tea, mini wrapped bundles, aaaaah. So many choices. We talked about the varying prices and I decided, based on no real reason, to go with a mid-priced but not bottom of the barrel grade. Or so I think.
She then prepared the tea for me.That was a very fun and highly involved process. First she boiled the water. Then she prepared the cups, using these tweezers all the while to handle the tea cups. She then made the tea and poured it through a filter and then dumped it all out. I was thinking "am I supposed to be doing this when I make tea?" I don't. I brew and drink. Hmmmn. So then she poured the tea into cups, dumped it out again, and then poured and filtered new cups of tea and FINALLY these were for drinking. She joined me in my first cup. Seemed part of the ritual. The tea was good. She kept giving me more. I wasn't sure if the objective was to drink the whole pot or if I was supposed to stop drinking it so she'd be able to stop pouring it. The glasses were teeny tiny so I drank a few and then stopped.
Next, she showed me another tea that I think she explained would make me super skinny in no time at all. I of course, after interpreting her words and gestures, was eager and willing to drink, buy, and possibly invest in such a magic tea. Obviously I bought some of this tea as well.
Finally, there was a third tea. I am not sure why she introduced it to me. I think she said it's good for the throat. Or maybe she said it makes you have to clear your throat? I bought a little bit to be polite but I think that tea had odd side effects for me. I felt a little funky after drinking it and honestly could not stop clearing my throat. If that was the intended effect, I guess it worked though I did not enjoy it. Ahem.
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