Recently I have gained an interest in Tea, and so have done some research regarding tea, and have been looking to expand my cultural awareness and knowledge and such. In my research i learned that Tea is a big part of most eastern and middle-eastern cultures. Recently I have had the opportunity to work close to some local nationals, one of whom is pretty fluent in english.
I began talking tea with him the other day, and he explained his view on tea and the basic tea culture of the Afghan people. We talked about this and that and so on. Today he invited me to have tea with him, and I accepted. It is a big deal. I had tea with him and his boss and the cook. Myself and three other joes where basically their guests, and it was a great experience. I learned a few things, and I think I grew a greater appreciation for why we are here.
Anyhow, the tea we drank was a green tea, and it was very good. The cook prepared it with just a touch of sugar, loose leaves in the pot.
He first brought the water to boil, then removed the flame and added the leaves and a touch of sugar. He poured about a teaspoons worth of liquid tea into the cup then swirled it and dumped, then filled the cup. This he did for each cup that he served.
Everyone was quiet as the preparation took place, but after all cups were filled and placed before us, the conversation started. The cook was very interested in us, He had never before served Americans, and was quite honored by our presence. Here, tea is something shared with friends, and so we were treated as such. The conversation was slow, but worth having. The tea that I drank was grown and processed right here in Asad Abad Afghanistan, apparently the only (or one of the few) place that tea grows here in Afghanistan. This is important, as tea is in most tea drinking cultures. It is good for the local economy and according to the cook; "It is the best it can be because it doesn't have to travel far to get into the kettle."
The tea was great, and the conversation was good. I was invited to join tea with them whenever the water is hot. So I will likely have tea a few more times before I go back to my regular location. I greatly appreciate the offer, and I feel as though it would be rude of me not to take them up on it.
I shared this with netsurfr, and he urged me to share it here, so here it is. I hope that yall appreciate it as much as I have. It is not common for me to get to have one on one contact with the nationals here due to my job, so it is a pretty neat deal for me.
Paul
I began talking tea with him the other day, and he explained his view on tea and the basic tea culture of the Afghan people. We talked about this and that and so on. Today he invited me to have tea with him, and I accepted. It is a big deal. I had tea with him and his boss and the cook. Myself and three other joes where basically their guests, and it was a great experience. I learned a few things, and I think I grew a greater appreciation for why we are here.
Anyhow, the tea we drank was a green tea, and it was very good. The cook prepared it with just a touch of sugar, loose leaves in the pot.
He first brought the water to boil, then removed the flame and added the leaves and a touch of sugar. He poured about a teaspoons worth of liquid tea into the cup then swirled it and dumped, then filled the cup. This he did for each cup that he served.
Everyone was quiet as the preparation took place, but after all cups were filled and placed before us, the conversation started. The cook was very interested in us, He had never before served Americans, and was quite honored by our presence. Here, tea is something shared with friends, and so we were treated as such. The conversation was slow, but worth having. The tea that I drank was grown and processed right here in Asad Abad Afghanistan, apparently the only (or one of the few) place that tea grows here in Afghanistan. This is important, as tea is in most tea drinking cultures. It is good for the local economy and according to the cook; "It is the best it can be because it doesn't have to travel far to get into the kettle."
The tea was great, and the conversation was good. I was invited to join tea with them whenever the water is hot. So I will likely have tea a few more times before I go back to my regular location. I greatly appreciate the offer, and I feel as though it would be rude of me not to take them up on it.
I shared this with netsurfr, and he urged me to share it here, so here it is. I hope that yall appreciate it as much as I have. It is not common for me to get to have one on one contact with the nationals here due to my job, so it is a pretty neat deal for me.
Paul
You must remember to bring home some of that tea.
