Green tea and the state of a fruit tree. Mon. Sep 25th, 06
日本語の学生– show your stuff! (Japanese language students– show your stuff!)
Have you ever had green tea so strong it burned your mouth? I had the rather unpleasant experience today, thanks to Batdorf & Bronson. I popped in to study and wait for my bus. I ordered a cup of genmaicha. I wasn’t sure if I wanted a cup or something larger, so I asked what they served in. “A french press?”, I asked. (which would make sense for a coffee shop). He said, “It’s like a french press”. I said, “Oh, it’s like a french press, but not a french press?” He said, “Yeah, it’s kind of like a tea pot. It’s a tea pot, actually.” I said, “Oh, a tea pot. I see.” Somehow the footprint was too much for me. A french press is big, but not as big as a tea pot. As I planned on sitting at the bar, I needed room for all my books, etc. “I’ll just take a cup, then.”, I admitted. “How do you serve that?” “In tea bags, he said.” I frowned. “They’re nice tea bags.”, he said. “Oh,” I said “are they roomy?” He said they were. “We fill them ourselves. They’re Japanese. Like these little cloth bags.” I use these at home, so I understood. “Yeah, they’re roomy, I said.” “Yeah, they’re roomy.”, he agreed. “So, that’s what you want?”, he asked. I assured him it was.
As I was disgorging the contents of my bag he approached with my cup and a knowing smile. That odd smile made peek into the cup. Finally, everything made sense. The tea bag was filled to bursting with leaves and rice. Easily four tablespoons. When I pulled that monster out three or four minutes later, it took a fourth of the hot water with it. It was so strong, the tiniest sip turned my mouth inside out.
By the way, the pears have stopped falling. The tree has no more fruit. I should start looking for a new scarf.
