No.
I don't drink tea, with jam and bread. I drink tea while reading,
watching TV or toying with my android phone. Sometimes, I drink tea
when not a lot of customers visit the shop. But most of the time, I
drink tea when I feel cold, or to ease flu and the chills that you get
when you have fever. You can say that I drink tea for health and
medical reasons.
Drinking
tea originated from China. That is where my ancestors came from. My
father is a 100% tea addict. He never ends a day without drinking cups
and cups of his favorite tea. His current favorite is the one packed by
Unilever not Lipton, but the other brand with a chinese chariot logo.
Way back before when commercialized tea bags are not readily available,
my parents used to buy tea in Manila's Eng Bee Tin. But most of the
time, our tea stocks came from our relatives in China who brings them
here in the Philippines when they come and visit my grandparents. But
lately, given that tea is becoming an expensive product, gifting of tea
is not the trend anymore.
I
have just bought an unusual tea from an unlikely shop inside the mall.
I got two variants namely a "Ginger and Citrus Fruits" tea and a
"Cranberry and Ginger" tea. I tried the Cranberry variant, and it is
good...not the best, but a good taste for flavored tea. I've tasted
Twinnings and Dilmah brands when we stayed in hotels. English Breakfast
variant of Twinnings is one of the best in the tea-bagged commercial
teas. But nothing beats the classic natural dried tea leaves with
Jasmine blossoms and Green tea variants. However, the best-selling and
most famous of all natural tea is the Oolong Tea. It is the Black of
Teas. If we have Black Coffee, then we also have Oolong Tea. In China,
they have chilled Oolong Tea and Oolong Milk Tea. This is how Oolong tea
is considered as the classic of all classic teas.
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| Photo: fotohunter/shutterstock c/o www.mnn.com |
The
traditional tea drink is derived from the infusion of tea leaves. The
plant of the real tea comes from the genus Camellia. The top leaves are
dried, then roasted/heated to a perfect and ideal grade. From there,
the roasted leaves are infused in hot water to get the drinking tea.
Technically, there are different ways to get and produce the different
types of traditional tea from tea leaves. But I am not an expert on the
topic, the only thing I enjoy is drinking tea and trying out different
teas in the market. The non-traditional teas are the ones that use
other natural fruits, plants and other ingredients. Most of the time,
these teas are collectively called as Herbal Teas. The most popular
herbal tea, in my humble opinion, is Ginger tea. It is a favorite of
mine especially the one produced by Gingen. However, in the
Philippines, ginger tea is not a foreign tea. Ginger tea in our country
is called Salabat. It is naturally done by boiling ginger in water
until the desired taste is achieved. You either drink it pure or you
add sugar to make it sweeter. In more sophisticated version, you may
add Honey instead of suger.
A
lot of herbal teas are now scattered in the tea market. Chamomile tea
and Chrysanthemum tea are also gaining popularity. The two herbal teas
are marketed as a soothing and relaxing teas. But the natural dried
chrysanthemum flowers sold in chinese stores around Binondo Manila are
used for medicinal purposes as emphasized by traditional chinese
medicine. My mother used to give me Chrysanthemum Tea when I was a
child, especially when I had fever and cold. And the taste is good, but
again, not as good as Jasmine tea for an aromatic type of tea. hehe.
If you ever get a next time to visit the Philippines, do not forget to drop by Binondo Manila to get your naturally processed dried teas. Majority of these shops are along Ongpin street. But you may find other streets in the area interesting given that Binondo is one of the oldest Chinatown in the world. For other teas, don't forget to try our local salabat or ginger tea if they are offered in you hostel or the place that you visited here in the Philippines. But the best thing in returning from a trip, is to bring tea samples for you to enjoy after a Philippine vacation. Remember, tea is not just a drink with jam and bread...but it is a drink for all seasons.
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