Of Course There's Time For Tea

One major point of this trip is to also consolidate tea knowledge and acquire new ideas. A girlfriend in Hong Kong is very learned about tea, and I had earlier begged her to allocate some time for a chat with me. I got more than that. Oh happiness.

I've also been hanging out at many tea shops, sitting quietly with the tea masters. It did take every ounce of etiquette not to retort to every other statement I disagree with. Bit my tongue and listened, sieving out what I wished to absorb, and keeping the rest in mind to be chewed upon later.

One evening, I took a long walk through the less glitzy streets of Kowloon, stumbled upon this gem of a scene in the middle of the lane- look at the tea set placed on the chairs! The owner of the nearby store must like tea. He saw me stare at it to sneak a photo. He came over and offered me a friendly cup of darkly roasted Tie Guan Yin. Totally unexpected. So lovely. :)