Tea in Tunisia, Matcha and Puer
Hi all! My first introduction to loose tea was in Tunisia (North Africa). At the cafe, tea was ordered as green, black, or half and half (half black/half green). It came in short glasses and was much stronger than the bag tea I grew up with.
At the office where I worked tea was brewed each morning in a small metal teapot on wood coals. I don’t remember the exact ratio but tea and sugar going into the pot was measured in handfuls. The tea was served in shot glasses, usually with nuts floating on top. Upon arrival at the office I would be offered a shot of tea and my job was to tell them which brew it was, first, second, etc. I got pretty good at it. :)
Unfortunately several years ago I became very sensitive to caffeine and had to cut tea, coffee and chocolate from my diet.
Recently I discovered I could stomach two or three cups of English Breakfast tea a day. A friend offered me some bag tea that he wasn’t drinking and after steeping I understood why. ;) The bag said “with matcha” which made me curious, so I looked it up and gave it a try. I found that I could tolerate the caffeine much more readily in matcha. :)
I’ve tried four different matchas and while I like them, I don’t think I’ve had the real thing. So I’ve got three matchas incoming from o-cha: Uji Matcha Kiri no Mori, Organic Matcha Kaoru, and Uji Matcha Manten.
Researching tea lead me to Puer. I’ve got the ripe puer tasting sample set coming from White2tea. I also threw in a couple raw puers: 2015 Little Walk, and 2015 Milk, Cream, & Alcohol. And just for good measure a white tea, 2011 Fuding Aged White Tea – Shoumei. I’ve never tasted a puer, so I have my fingers crossed. I also hope I can tolerate the caffeine…
Today a gaiwan and a couple tasting cups should arrive. I also have the Verdanttea 5 tea sampler on the way.
Anyway, I’m reading books about tea, watching documentaries about tea and reading a bunch online about tea. I guess you could say I’ve caught a bug. ;)
Welcome! Ahh I have good memories of drinking tea in Sidi Bou Said, I did study abroad in Tunisia! Now you’re making me want to make some mint tea with pine nuts!
Start slow with the matcha, you will be consuming the whole tea leaf, so the caffeine may hit you hard.
White2tea has EXCELLENT puerh, you made a great choice there. For the Little Walk and MC&A, try brewing with water closer to 190, the rest can be brewed at boil. Hope you enjoy them and continue on the journey!
Small world! :) I was serving in the Peace Corps. That was many years ago, in the late 80s. Our training was in Hergla. I lived in Kairouan for the first 6 months and then later in a couple small villages west of Tunis.
I forgot about the mint tea. Thanks for the reminder. :)
So far I’m doing well with the caffeine in matcha. I usually ingest a couple grams with no issues at all. Once I did two grams and about a half hour later another two grams. It didn’t set with my stomach well but I didn’t get a headache and the effects didn’t last long. I hope the batch from O-cha treats me the same. :)
Thanks for the puerh tea tips!
If you are looking for a tea with less caffeine get something with larger leaves and as few buds as possible. The concentration of caffeine is strongest in the buds, then small leaves, and large leaves and stems having the least caffeine. With matcha the thing is you consume all the caffeine. Also something like a hojicha will usually have less caffeine.
Then if you want something with almost no caffeine get tea from tea flowers. Just to warn you though, it tastes completely different. It is not something that everyone will like for the taste is nothing like regular tea.
Also, Verdant Tea sells a tea made from Camellia Crassicolumna, a near relative of the tea plant. I tried the sheng and the black tea. I liked the sheng not so much the black tea. Crassicolumna is caffeine free.
Thanks for the recommendations AllanK. :) I’ll check them out if Puerh is too much for me.
welcome! I also have a sensitivity to caffeine like Allan. I had to give up coffee & just drink loose leaf.
I think you definitely can! There are a few shou puerh I have tried now which have a coffee taste, also thick in body & with a slight bitter dryness which also mimics a good black coffee.
I am in love with Oolong as well, very intense rich flavour & aroma, and overall experience which grabbed me & didnt let go. And they come from lightly oxidised green to black dark roasted so I have a vast choice of what I want to drink..
I actually prefer drinking tea to coffee, its a lot more interesting
That’s very encouraging news Rasseru! I’m getting impatient to receive my teas. :) I’m hoping I get a package today from Japan or China. If not, Monday the 5 tea sampler should arrive from Verdant Teas. My gaiwan arrived yesterday, so I’m ready to go. :)
Literally your first time trying puerh? Like lots of acquired tastes it does take a while to properly gel with it, in my experience anyway.
Yep, first time. Trying new food is one of my favorite things. There’s not much I’ve come across that I don’t like. Thanks for the forewarning though, I’ll give it some time. :)
Ah, you will love it then. I consider myself adventurous in my cuisine as well & puerh seems like a constant journey as my taste & experience & brewing is always changing.
You’ve actually missed out the worst part about puerh by coming to steepster, thats the ‘buying cheap puerh from eBay part’.
Literally dont even attempt it yet, unless you want to experience what bad tastes like :)
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