Tongba Tasting

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Tibetan hot Beer

Seeds are fermented with yeast for 2-3 days depending on the weather. Shorter time on hot days and longer on cold ones. The fermented seeds are then aged for 15+ days. To make Tongba, hot water is added to extract the flavors. Water can be refilled up to four times. Taste a lot like rice wine, but slightly sweeter. Prune endnote. Smooth. Often served in this wooden type of mug with a metal straw.


"Technology has made human interaction a thing of the past. The warmth and bond between human beings are quickly dissolving. Relationships are casual. There are no more warmth in any relationship. I tried to hold on to this, but even I will change in a world that is quickly changing. "Staying Gold," means being left behind on the curb with your heart. Being cold and isolated isn't also a good thing. A balance is desired....I find myself at the wrath of my loneliness. Such pain is so difficult to bare. After waking up in the middle of the night to find a guy in the next bed with a girl, my chest tightened. It felt as though I'd been punch in the gut. Trying to grasp for air..the pain of loneliness ate away at my heart...The feeling of not having what others can have so casually is excruciating...Now I understand how the pain of poverty is causing the people in countries I'd visited to behave a certain way. I feel your pain. There are no immediate resolutions or a guarantee future resolution to our problems. The best solution for the time being is to embrace the pain, let it burn as it eat away at our flesh. Eventually, this pain will become a source of comfort. As of right now...I accept my life as is."
Journal Entry: 04-10-2014

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