There are endless ways to shape tea, or compress it. Tea leaves can be shaped into needles, pearls, sticks, twists, old man’s eyebrows, birds’ tongues, melon seeds – there are many evocative descriptions in Chinese terminology.
Tea can also be compressed. This is mainly done with dark teas, but sometimes with white teas and certain black teas too. They become bricks, cakes or, as you can see here, simple balls.
It is not easy for us to get hold of the wonderful teas of Nepal, as the former Himalayan kingdom is not fully out of lockdown. Nonetheless, we received a number of tea samples by post and have made a very good selection. The teas should arrive in France in the coming days and weeks.
Today, I’d like to introduce you to Man Kumar Mukhiya, an old friend. Man Kumar comes from a farming family and is passionate about tea. He has successfully started up his own farm, with his own tea fields. Today, he dreams of producing the best teas in Nepal and making his plantation, Mai Pokhari, famous among connoisseurs. No doubt we will always be there to support him. I recommend his remarkable Mai Pokhari Red Summer, which we are really looking forward to receiving.
Right now it’s best to minimise your potential exposure to a vicious virus. Much better to be safe at home, drinking delicious teas. Admire the look of the liquor before shutting your eyes and swilling it around your mouth. Pay attention to the sensations, aromas and textures in your mouth, the flavours on your tongue and palate. Then, once you’ve swallowed, you’ll be transported by the lingering finish.
Staying at home is a wonderful opportunity to expose your senses to gastronomic experiences.
In Nepal, among people who are finding lockdown challenging are those who still have no roof over their head. In remote villages of this ancient Himalayan kingdom, I still come across isolated hamlets where the houses remain in ruins and have never been rebuilt since the last earthquake, despite all the international aid.
On the radio, I keep hearing that the Greens have done well in France. So I listen more closely. Green is my colour. Tea fields are green, tea leaves are green, the nature surrounding the tea plantations is green. Everything around me is green when I walk among tea plants, in an infinite variety of shades: yellow green, jade green, luminous green, matt green, dark green, pale green and everything in between.
In these landscapes I love so much, surrounded by green, I’m happy, I’m at peace. Everything looks rosy.
