Tea

It turns out, after waxing poetical about coffee, that I will, infact, be working at a tea shop. While several coffees are offered, the store is decidedly weighted in favour of tea. Thirty loose teas are displayed in glass containers on the counter, behind the counter, in front of the counter. . . When drinking in-store, a customer is served the tea of their choice in their own individual tea pot with a teensy tiny milk pitcher beside.

I have been giving myself a crash course on all things tea-related. I have uncovered some interesting tidbits:

• Orange Pekoe is not even a tea. It is a term for grading, (categorizing), black teas.
• "Chai" means tea. So if you ask for a "Chai Tea" you are asking for a "tea tea."
• The two most expensive teas in the world are Darjeeling, from India, and White tea from China. The former tastes of almonds and wildflowers. The latter is thought to hold the highest amount of beneficial medicinal qualities of all the teas, including keeping the skin taut and youthful.
• Herbal "teas" are not actually teas. They do not contain any tea leaf at all. They are simply blends of fruit, spices and herbs. If you want a true tea that is infused with fruit or herb flavours, ask for a "flavoured tea" instead.

This evening I made myself a pot of Lapsang Souchong; a black tea from China that smells like smoke. I loved it. Campfire-in-a-cup. At this rate, I can see myself developing a whole new form of snobbery.