Sunday, May 17, 2015

Month of May Photo Challenge Day 17: Your “Morning Brew”

A cup of Genmaicha (roasted rice) green tea.

At work, I brew myself a pot of tea everyday. I usually stick to low-caffeine types like green or herbal. My current selection of teas at my desk include jasmine, chamomile, blueberry, peppermint, and Genmaicha. I'm not a coffee person, and a heavy dose of caffeine gives me the shakes when it leaves my body.

Roasted rice tea is often served at Korean restaurants as it aids in digestion, especially from meat-heavy meals. Tea plays a big role in Asian cultures, from ritualistic tea preparation and tasting ceremonies to wedding tea pours for one's parents. It represents the coming together of friends, family, and business acquaintances. In Chinese, the direct translation for one of the code phrases for inviting someone to dim sum is, "Let's drink tea."

I enjoy a cup of boba milk tea once in a while, but on a daily basis, I drink my tea hot and plain, a habit I picked up from my dad, who also brews himself a pot of jasmine tea everyday, with whole leaves floating straight in the pot. My tea is pretty diluted as I used to add just a splash from his brew to my water to flavor it. Jasmine remains one of my favorite tea flavors today.

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