or rooibos? I’ve lived in South Africa long enough to know that there are two basic types of tea to offer to guests. Even if I still don’t pronounce it in the correct Afrikaans fashion,is “normal” tea, Five Roses black tea to be precise, and rooibos our South African bush tea, full of antioxidants, no caffeine, and no relation to the tea plant whatsoever. If we’re feeling posh we have Earl Grey on offer too.
Our waitress did the honours, popping the infuser into the water at the right time and then telling us how long to leave it for. We sipped, enjoyed, feasted, tasted each other’s teas and chatted through a lovely afternoon until long after most other tea guests had left. Those sofas were just too comfortable. After drinking my whole pot of tea and a cup or two from the others I felt alert and clear-headed for the rest of the evening, on a tea high.That was then.
Now I learn that the insistence on having the water on the boil that I was taught back then isn’t the right treatment for many teas. For delicate scented teas, and green teas in particular, this is tantamount to abuse.
Next is the extravagantly named Jasmine Dragon Phoenix Pearls, a limited production tea that demonstrates how much of tea’s character and quality is down to the dedication of the farmers. Oolong tea leaf tips are sprinkled with thousands of fresh jasmine petals and left to infuse over 20 days, changing the petals perhaps seven times until the tea has captured the fragrance. The petals are discarded and the tea leaves are hand-rolled into small pearls to lock in the aroma.
Finally a rooibos tea flavoured with warm cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, a good pairing for the mini bobotie. We’re so relaxed by now that we could carry on chatting and tasting for hours, but Craig has to leave us as the first afternoon tea guests are arriving.
We’re back at that calm, connected energy again, something I’m beginning to love about drinking tea. Conversation with pauses. So little hurry that time often seems to be standing still. Everything at its own pace as the tea brews.
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