My
first travels began at home, going back and forth from the kitchen to the
living room. As a child sitting next to my mother, I was amazed by how she
poured steaming water and tea leaves into the teapot. Simultaneously, we would
prepare a tray with warm scones, slices of bread, crackers, butter, honey, and
tomato jam. It was cold outside, so we had our tea by the fireplace. Those were
the days!
I
have always loved tea. Infusions of other aromatic plants never gave me as much
joy as real tea. I learned at home to take my tea without sugar, and only
rarely with a cloud of milk to mask any excessive bitterness. If I had a sore
throat, a spoonful of honey and a sliver of lemon peel were also acceptable.
However, in the 1990s, most tea in Lisbon was sold in teabags; if we ordered
loose-leaf tea in specialty shops, there were few variations of black tea and
lower-quality green tea. And it was difficult to find a nice Oolong.
Lisbon: As a
teenager living in old Lisbon, winter meant paying a visit to Casa Pereira.
This was a classic tea shop in the Chiado neighbourhood — small and beautiful,
with wooden shelves and three or four gentle shopkeepers in dark red uniforms.
Casa Pereira was where I bought tea as Christmas presents for my aunts, first
with escudo coins and later with euro bills. A very old man and his son ran the
shop, but as the son aged, it became clear that no one from the younger
generation was interested in continuing the business. Casa Pereira closed its
doors six long years ago, but I still remember the scent of that place — the
fragrance of roasted coffee, chocolates, and fine Ceylon tea.
Qatar: My first
contact with a different tea culture was years ago in Qatar. Upon arriving at
the hotel, I was served a welcome drink steaming from a small silver glass with
engraved Arabic motifs. The drink was warm and refreshing at the same time.
Moroccan, Tuareg, and Arabic people love green tea with peppermint to offset
the inhospitable temperatures of the desert. In regions stretching from North
Africa to the Middle East and Central Asia, they use a ratio of roughly 20–35%
dry green tea to 65–80% fresh peppermint. The water is hot but not boiling,
ensuring it doesn’t overcook the leaves and extracts only the best flavours.
You can easily prepare this at home. In Qatar, it feels as though no one lives
only in the present; you see deep contrasts between the past and the future: traditional
old souks and climatised shopping malls, the ancient treasures of the Museum of
Islamic Art facing glass skyscrapers across Doha Bay... and old-fashioned
hospitality served in a modern hotel.
Bangladesh: In
Bengal, there is yet another tea culture. Most tea in Bangladesh comes from the
northeastern plantations of Sylhet, near the famous Indian tea region of Assam.
The tea there is very affordable and the average quality is good. I visited
Bangladesh twice and travelled across the whole country, sometimes in climate
and sanitary conditions that are better left undescribed. Occasionally, my
overnight trips were in old buses that felt as though they might fall apart in
the potholes of the mud roads. Whenever the bus stopped, day or night, it was
time for black tea with milk and sugar. Sometimes spices were added to create a
version of "chai." It is a warm, aromatic, and comforting drink. When
tea is of high quality, it is a pity to add elements that mask its original flavour.
On the other hand, I agree with the English: milk and sugar are very helpful
for disguising the rougher edges of stronger teas!
Azores: Later, I
married my lovely wife. We went to the Azores for our honeymoon and visited the
idyllic tea plantations on São Miguel Island. Green and blue are the dominant colours
of this landscape, with hilly cultivars stretching toward the Atlantic Ocean
and a pale horizon stitching together the different blues of the sky and sea.
Tea has existed in the Azores since the early 19th century, when local farmers
asked Chinese tea experts to teach them how to grow, harvest, and process it. I
have returned since, and I always like to sit in the Gorreana tea shop, sipping
their Earl Grey while contemplating that small piece of paradise. For many
years, these were the only tea plantations in Europe, though climate change and
new technologies are now allowing other European countries to explore tea
cultivation.
Anyway,
my wife and I decided to try another very Portuguese approach to the tea
business: going East to source the best teas directly from China and Japan! But
that is a story for later. In my next posts, I will write about the teas I
tasted in different regions of China and Japan. Thanks for reading!
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