It's hard to single out a favourite area in Tokyo: as with any huge metropolis there's so much diversity it feels crazy to pick just one spot. But an area I absolutely loved was Naka-Meguro and what's more, I stumbled across it almost by accident.
There's no doubt that Kyoto is a pretty amazing city: attractive canals; the occasional glimpse of a Geisha; great food (even for a veggie) and far more temples than you could possibly shake a stick (or ring a bell) at. But the most significant thing about Kyoto for me was that it was where I finally learned to look up. Finding addresses in Japanese cities is basically a nightmare; and finding a bar to pop into for a quick drink is no mean feat either. But in Kyoto I cracked it.
It was a cold and miserable day in London last Monday (no big surprises there - it is February) so walking Jimmy, my beloved terrier, was a little bit more of an effort than usual. It's not helped by the fact that as he gets older - he's around 16 - he gets more reluctant to go out in the rain himself. Anyway, on arriving home, damp and ever-so-slightly gloomy, I discovered a parcel left by the postman. It had come from Australia so I knew it had to be the tea that The Likkle Girl who Wurves Pwetty Things had promised to send me. But I was expecting a few tea bags and this was a not inconsiderable parcel. What could be inside?
This morning as I walked, still bleary-eyed, into the kitchen, I was hit by a horrible realisation: we had run out of milk. Although this didn't pose a major problem for breakfast - fruit, yoghurt and granola is my preferred option at the moment - it did mean I couldn't start the day with my usual cup of tea. In the old days I used to like a latte first thing in the morning, but over the past few months I find I just can't wait for that first cup of lovely, refreshing tea. A fairly strong black tea with milk is now, definitely, my preferred way to start the day.
I don't know why it's taken so long for me to write this post. I have been visiting this shop for quite a while now but something has stopped me writing it about it. Perhaps in some deep part of my soul I wanted to keep it just for myself; or maybe I was wary of sounding a bit too fawning. Either way, it can't carry on. I cannot write a blog about tea and not talk about the wonderful Postcard Teas.
Regular readers will know that I have never claimed to be a tea expert, just a very keen enthusiast. My tea education is a constant source of pleasure and excitement and a recent discovery is no exception. I love all sorts of tea but if it's first thing in the morning, or I'm having a slice of cake, it has to be black tea. I have a few blends that I really love but if I'm going pure I generally stick to a malty Assam or a refreshing Darjeeling. Indian black teas are where it's always been at for me. If I'm in the mood I do like a Lapsang Souchong but on the whole I've always found black teas from China to be a bit lacking in depth for my taste.
I was recently shocked and embarrassed to discover that not only was there a mail order tea company I hadn't heard of but that it had actually won the award for best online retailer in the UK's Observer Food Monthly Magazine. Suitably ashamed I decided I needed to check out the Rare Tea Company forthwith.
What is that strange phenomenon when you hear about something for the first time and suddenly it seems to keep crop up everywhere? Well, that has been my experience this week with bubble tea. Until a week ago I had never even heard of this drink when I stumbled across a reference to it online. I did a little bit of research and discovered that it was a drink invented in Taiwan, apparently in the 80s, but now popular throughout South East Asia, the west coast of the USA, and Canada. It's a drink that seems to have countless variations. Some contain actual tea, green, oolong or black, some don't; some have milk or soy milk in, some don't; some have fruit or are purely fruit based, and some don't; etc. etc. But the one thing they have in common is tapioca. What?! I hear all you Brits saying, the disgusting stuff like frog spawn that we used to be force-fed at primary school? Well, no, not exactly. It is possible to get a bubble tea made with the small white pearl tapioca but the more common drink is made with large black tapioca pearls.
I was recently invited to dinner by a friend who is an amazing cook. Needless to say I was quick to accept the offer, not least because she is also a tea fan and I knew she'd have something interesting for me to try. Well, she didn't let me down. She had made the most amazing Asian food with dim sum, noodles, gyoza, pak choy, tofu and an absolutely delicious mango dessert. And the tea offering was pretty darn good too.
Why are most fruit and herbal teas so disappointing? They promise so much with their heady aromas and intense colours but when it comes to drinking them they are usually a big let down.
When my partner bought me a tea tasting day as a birthday present last year I was really excited. Although I was no regular tea drinker I had been to my fair share of tea shops, and even one or two Chinese tea houses; I was really looking forward to learning a bit more. But I was in no way prepared to discover a whole new type of tea. Of course I'd heard of green tea; white tea? - sure I'd even tried it; black teas? - well obviously, didn't we all grow up with them at home? But blue tea?- what?! When the Master Tea Blender gave it its other name, oolong, I realised I had heard of it but I really had no idea what it was.
