Jenny Beattie - One Thing I've Learnt

Not for all the tea in China

 



Except I’m not in China, I’m in Thailand; but still, a western woman in an eastern culture. When I moved here seven years ago, Western tea was Lipton’s. That didn’t cut it with me; I’m a Brit. I needed hardcore builders’ tea.

 

I soon discovered that, set in my ways as I was, asking for a cup of tea was much more of a liability and that being served Lipton’s was a good result. I could be given Chinese green tea (which is lovely in its own right but not builders’ tea) or it could be Japanese tea, which is different again and powdery. I could get hot-ish water - getting colder by the second - with the tea bag waiting patiently on the side. Sometimes the tea was black (YAY) but it was presweetened or it was served with condensed milk or steamed milk…

 

Of course, I’m not just talking about tea here. When I moved to this new culture what I thought I knew about life was thrown upside down and shaken about. I’ve had my ideas challenged, my palette widened and my notions confronted.

 

And now, I’ll pretty much drink my tea however it comes.