My tea and I

I have just finished drinking the most phenomenal mint tea ever. I am usually not a fan of mint tea – I find it annoying and too minty. This one, however, was different.

The taste was incredible with a bit of sliced fresh lemon which my husband introduced. The pack itself was exciting with the adventures of the tea purveyor, I was instantly hooked.

I checked the ingredient and found that it also had Chinese gunpowder in it. Really? The tea is called The Adventures of William Whistle. The blend of the tea in question is Moroccan Mint Tea. William Whistle has this excerpt on the pack of the tea:

“Expedition no. 5. My latest flying visit to the mysterious and magical souks of Marrakesh provoked me to create an enchanting mint tea of other-worldly refreshment.

A combination of Chinese Gunpowder green tea, peppermint, spearmint and red safflower creates the ultimate of digestive delights to cool and soothe. With an unquenchable thirst for fine brews, I crossed treacherous terrains, navigated fathomless oceans and defied many a wild beast in pursuit of exceptional ingredients from the finest growers. Here’s a tea with a tale to tell…”

Before you begin to wonder, yes, it is just a tea just not like all others. As the side of the tea pack reads, the tea is for those “In pursuit of uncommonly fine brews”.
The story of my tea life started when I was quite young. I loved any cocoa drink and continued to drink hot chocolate until my mid-40’s when I suddenly developed a taste of tea which I am quite averse to. My husband who is a tea monger and tea aficionado had tried for nearly twenty years to get me to drink regular tea without success.

As a tea person like all tea persons all over the world, my husband has to have his tea well brewed with boiling water as is. If the kettle has been switched off even for a minute and you make tea for him, he knows that it did not boil by just a sip and he throws it all away. It has to cool on his own terms but it has to brew with roaringly boiling water for him to be satisfied. As for me, my tea has to be just a little over warm, I do not want it to be too hot for me to drink it. I am certainly not a real tea person but I have my moments.

As a new convert, I am now frontally into fruit teas. Blackberry and Blueberry, Blood orange, Ginger and Lemon, Blackcurrant, Redberries, Green tea and Raspberry. The packs are so sexy, they make you want to buy them. I am also into some interesting exotic teas like Constant Comment, Acai and Blueberry, Hazelnut and Orange tea, Echinicea and Raspberry.

Read also: Ishaku pledges to boost Taraba’s economy with tea

I have recently joined a friend in drinking afternoon tea at 4pm on Sundays when we are both in town, which always includes much to my delight cupcakes, scones, crackers and all sorts of pastries. These days, it’s once a month and we have started inviting a few friends of like minds to join. In some instances we even have chicken wings and gizzard. Tea has become the place to go in letting down my hair, joining my friends to catch up and look smart as I walk down the lane to the venue, sunglasses and all bathed in my favourite Jo Malone scent, my smile as wide as ever.

I am always rejuvenated after these tea events and I occasionally find new tea troves at these events after my favourite Ginger tea. I have the packeted ones – Ginger tea, I mean – but I have also learnt the art of the fresh ginger tea, fresh ginger properly blended served with fresh lemon and honey. I went to school in ABU Zaria. In the harmattan, the cold is biting, my nose is running and my fingers and feet have gone numb. It is at this time with the wind whistling in my ear that I stop by at the popular mai-shaye (tea vendor) in front of Amina hall (the female hostel) and have my morning tea. As I drink up, the steam rises to my face, my stomach warms up and the warmth spreads to my feet and fingers releasing them from stiffness and giving me the preparedness to go to school.

The mai-shaye himself is a sight to behold. He holds two metal cups and pours the tea from cup to cup to cool it a little bit before it is served. The accompanying loaf of bread for this mai-shaye tea is the icing on the cake. A chunk of the roadside loaf cut in half with a slap of butter in the middle is pure heaven on a Monday morning when the wind is howling.

Warm and snug, going to school is no longer that difficult. I walk to my class whistling and my mind and head are open to learning. The art of the mai-shaye, the support of tea, the importance of being warm. Today I have become a tea convert. I have bought fancy teacups for all sorts of tea-drinking times including for showing off when I want to. I have polka dot teacups for when I am feeling happy, plain cups in all colours for when I am feeling plain, brown for when I am a little down, red for when I am feeling chirpy. Then I have my mugs with witty words on them or a 1960’s lady on it. My favourite sits on my table with an inspirational saying: “Where there is a woman, there is a way!”

Well, there you have it. Tea, previously not so sure, now, yes please! Postscript: I just got a gift of fancy teas for the New Year in a hamper. Dry mint leaves, wow! Pure heaven!

 

Eugenia Abu