Cuisine and Culture

[brettbarker]

#candc Final

So our final day of cuisine and culture is upon us, and as they say, all good things must come to an end. This class without a shadow of a doubt has been the best class I have ever taken in my life. I really felt like I was immersed in the many cultures that we studied as I felt immersed through the food and the settings that we were in while we were eating them. I am truly grateful for all of the people that I have met and had the opportunity to get closer to over the last ten days. I could not think of a better way to spend two weeks that involves school, and frankly it didn’t even feel like school because it was something that I looked forward to every day and was excited to do! So to summarize, The first day of class, we were served English tea and were fortunate enough to have been given a presentation from Kathy Filby! I learned a ton about tea, more than I ever thought I would learn. It really made me want to drink more tea and actually invest more time in drinking it like the British do. The second day of class we went to Tigin Irish pub in St. Louis. This was similar to foods that I have had before, yet it was totally different at the same time. I tried some things that I never thought that I would try in my life and actually ended up liking them a lot! After Tigin we went to the Jewish federation of St. Louis to have a Seder meal. This was completely different for me since I have not experienced much with the Jewish culture. It was really interesting to learn about why they did it and what all of the parts of the meal stood for. Next, for dinner we went to Das Bevo in St. Louis which was a restaurant built by the Anheuser family that served traditional German food. This was quite familiar to me since my hometown is Swiss-German and my family is also quite a bit German. We had many of the traditional meals such as schnitzel, bratwurst, knockwurst, sauerkraut, and many other things. After the meal we got to tour the mill that was apart of the restaurant. On Thursday, we left at 5:30 in the morning for New Orleans. The drive was pretty long, but was so worth it. When we arrived, we went directly to a restaurant called Mother’s Restaurant. While we were there we had all kinds of Cajun food from jambalaya to gumbo to etouffee. This was my first experience with these Cajun foods and I couldn’t have been happier since I had it in the place where it all originated. That night we went to Preservation Hall. This was one of my favorite parts of the entire trip for me. While we were there, we experienced the Preservation Hall All-Stars play for us. This was the best live jazz I have ever heard in my life, and all of the people in the band were quite up there in age, but still played their instruments like i’m sure they always have. It was great to experience something that is so much apart of the culture in New Orleans and to hear some of the best of it in the whole city. The next day Friday was a great day. First thing in the morning, we went to Cafe du Monde and ate beignets and drank coffee. This was excellent and was one of my favorite individual foods from the whole class. It was even so good that we went back for more later in the day. We then were able to walk around the French Quarter and see what it was really like. I definitely was able to get a taste of the overall vibe of the city and see what life was like on a daily basis for some of the people of New Orleans. Next, we went to Dooky Chase for lunch. The food here was fantastic, but the part that I took away the most was that we were able to speak to Leah Chase. I will never forget this as long as I live because the advice that she gave us was so good. Also I was so fascinated by her fame in the city and some of the people that she has met over the years. At the age of 96 years young she still took the time to come out and talk to us. This made me really respect her and realize that she is one special human being who has obviously been doing something right all of her life. I want to be more like Leah. We then took a ferry over to Algiers and explored that neighborhood for a little bit before we went to dinner at The Maison. This was Creole food and was incredibly good. The soup that we ate had alligator in it which I didn’t know about until after we left. It was good! We were able to all hang out in that and engage in some really great conversations which I think is so important and is something that I really valued. Saturday was quite busy as we went on a swamp walk at the Jean Lafitte National Park and Reserve. It was really amazing to be able to walk through and see how the swamps really are! After that we went to Cafe Abyssinia for Ethiopian food. This was completely different from anything that I had ever eaten before, but it was incredible. The food was spicy, but just the right amount for me. After that we went to Bay St. Louis to an absolutely gorgeous beach right at the golden hour when the sun was just starting to set which was excellent for pictures! On Sunday we sadly had to head back home, but the ride home wasn’t too bad since we stopped in Memphis to eat at Central BBQ. This was like a bonus cultural meal and was top notch. We were also able to see the place where Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated which was very fascinating and surreal. It was a very big part of our history as a nation, and was good to be able to pay our respects to Dr. King. Monday was one of my favorite days since we were able to eat Dominican food at Ivan and Lourdes Estevez’s house. The food was all homemade by Lourdes herself and was absolutely incredible. It was probably my personal favorite meal if I only were able to choose one. I really liked how after we were done eating how we all went around and said a little something about ourselves. This was not a formality, but was because Ivan and Lourdes really did want to get to know each and every one of us. I really respected that and was something that I really liked about their culture. Later that night my group made our dessert as we were unable to prepare it Wednesday. We made Macrons and it was a blast. It was great to be able to learn to make something new from a different country and culture. Also they were delicious.Wednesday night was our dessert party. I really liked this since we were able to see what everyone else made and were able to appreciate their hard work and effort. Everyone did fantastic and I truly enjoyed everyone else’s desserts. They all did an fantastic job. Today which was Thursday, was the last day of class and the last two meals. The first thing we did when we arrived in St. Louis was go to Fontbonne University and hear about the Bosnian Memory Project and learn a little bit about Bosnian culture and were able to be educated about the conflict in their country and learn a little bit of what it means to be Bosnian. I really liked this as a history buff and was really moved by some of the stories we heard from Bosnians around St. Louis. We then had lunch at Grbic Restaurant. This was fantastic. It was a mixture of many cuisines from many different cultures. We learned at Fontbonne that there is no such thing as traditional Bosnian food since they have always been influenced by other countries. The atmosphere of the restaurant was great and really made you feel like you were in Bosnia. For our final culture, Italian, we went to The Hill in St. Louis. The Hill has been a cultural hub for Italian people since the late 1800s. The culture is so strong that the people who live there have influence in the city of St. Louis and what happens to their neighborhood. The Hill is home to many famous Italians such as Yogi Berra, Joe Garagiola, and four Italian members of the U.S. National soccer team that beat England in the 1950 world cup. We saw many places on The Hill including St. Ambrose church. We later went to play boccie ball which turns out to be incredibly fun, and wrapped it up by eating at Guido’s. We were served many courses in this meal, all being extremely delicious. I think that I had some of the best toasted ravioli and pasta that I have ever had in my life there. It stinks that this class cannot go on for another whole semester , but I am so grateful that I took it as it was one of the best cultural experiences of my life. It was incredible how many cultures that we were able to cover and still have this much fun. I would recommend this class to anyone. Thanks Doug and Deloy for being such amazing professors. This was a great interterm and can’t wait to see what this semester has in store!

https://freelymagazine.com/2017/01/07/what-food-tells-us-about-culture/ 

[brettbarker]

#candc Indian

For our Indian meal we went to Mr. Curry’s in Edwardsville. When we were walking up I was slightly thrown off guard because the restaurant was basically just a regular looking house. I was also surprised because I never knew that this place existed in Edwardsville. I live only twenty minutes away from Edwardsville and never knew it was there. For future reference though, I now know that it is there and I plan on coming back with my family in order for them to try it also. When we walked in, the house had been totally converted into a sit-down restaurant and was quite charming. Something that I really liked about this restaurant was that all of the food were in a buffet style. My favorite foods were a dish that had lamb in it, the naan bread, and there was food that was a kind of roll, but I did not know what it was called. I also really enjoyed some of the spicy sauces. It was pretty intense but it had a really good flavor along with a pretty good kick that numbed the tongue for a couple of seconds. When the sauce got almost too hot there was a delicious mango Lassi which was like a kind of yogurt or smoothie that took the heat right away. Although I say this about every meal, this meal was probably one of my personal top favorite meals. After we had our main course, there was also Kheer which is rice pudding which is made with Basmati rice. It was quite sweet and very tasty. There was also Chai tea available to drink which is one of my all-time favorite drinks. When we were all done the owner came out and talked to us a little bit about his home and why he wanted to open a restaurant here. The owner’s son was also there. The owner wanted his son to work there in order to learn about his own culture. The owner said that him and his family were from the Indian state of Kerala. This is in the southern part of India and is one of the smallest states in India. He said that the climate is similar to that of Hawaii. This sounds like a lovely place. No wonder he had his children live there while they were growing up. He talked a little bit about the religious influence in the state. He said that He really wanted his kids to grow up in Kerala in order for them to learn about other religions and learn how to respect and understand other religions and people. He said that this was important because the more northern parts of India are quite different from the other parts almost like they have their own cultures that are totally different from their own. This makes it very important to be able to understand other peoples’ cultures. I really respected this ideology and would be a way that I would want to raise my future children if I had the opportunity to live overseas. This meal was very enjoyable, and I felt very welcome and comfortable there as the owner had created a very friendly environment and I could tell he really cared about others by the way he made his food and how he treated the people who come to his restaurant.

https://www.thespruceeats.com/popular-indian-dishes-1957891 

[brettbarker]

#candc Asian

For this meal we went to the Joy Luck Chinese Buffet. Here we experienced something that I had never had before and had not heard of until quite recently. The main part of the meal was a hot pot. This is something that is very traditional in China. A hot pot is a mixture of foods that you are able to cook yourself in a boiling pot of water. They supply you with lamb, beef, pork, squid, prawns, tripe, cabbage, glass noodles, and many other things. When you would cook the meat, you would only have to put it in the pot for 10-20 seconds for it to be cooked. This actually blew my mind a little bit as I had never heard of meat cooking that fast before. We all tried to use chopsticks to try to embrace the culture a little bit more and try to get the most out of the experience. This was short-lived for us Americans as using a fork was much easier. I was a little unsure about some of the foods when they brought them out raw. I tried many of the things however, and I actually liked a lot of them. A little history about the hot pot is that it is thought to have originated in the Han Dynasty which started around the year 200 B.C.  Hot pot is not only in China however. Hot pot is also common in many other Asian countries including Japan, Cambodia, Thailand, Vietnam, Taiwan, and the Philippines. Hot pot became popular because many emperors enjoyed it and so the people followed suit. Another reason why it may have become popular is because the hot pot has the power to enhance friendship and unite family members or friends. Several people sit around a hot pot, talking and eating. They pick up food in one pot, which create a natural closeness atmosphere to them. The warm air is also considered to make people comfortable. In a hot pot there can be one section or many. In the one we had there was a divider down the middle that separated the normal water from the spicy side. The Chinese definitely know how to do spicy. There was a mixture of many peppers and chilies that packed a serious kick. On top of that you were able to make your own sauce with many of the sauces being spicy. If you ever feel congested go eat some food from a hot pot as it will definitely clear your sinuses. This cuisine was definitely the most unique and interactive cuisine that we have experienced. I thought the ability to cook your own food was really cool and interactive. It was definitely different from anything I have ever experienced and is something that I would probably want to try again. I really do admire this part of Chinese culture as it is very creative and really engages you with the people that you are eating and socializing with. I could really tell that everyone at the table was enjoying themselves and were engaging in good conversation, cracking some jokes, and just overall enjoying themselves.

https://lajollamom.com/chinese-hot-pot/ 

[brettbarker]

#candc Ethiopian

The final place that we stopped in New Orleans was at Cafe Abyssinia for Ethiopian food. This restaurant was definitely the most unique restaurant that we visited. Everything about this place was pretty new and unheard of for me. When we were served the food, it was served family style which means that they each dish on one big plate and everyone at the table shares each other’s food. The also do not use utensils, instead they use a bread called injera to eat. This bread is kind of like a sponge. You rip off a peace of the bread and pinch the food that you want and then you eat it. After trying this method, I think it is genius. Many of the foods were quite spicy and many of them were made with lentils and other various foods. After we were done eating the main meal, we were served baklava which is a dessert that is usually Greek and Turkish, but has found its way into Ethiopia thorough the influences of the Mediterranean. After all of that the man who worked at the restaurant who was serving us came out  and talked to us about the history, culture, and origin of Ethiopian food. I was very impressed by his knowledge, but was also impressed because he was from St. Louis and complimented me on my Cardinals hat! He told us that Ethiopia was one of the only African countries to never be colonized. This helped preserve their culture and foods. Ethiopia was founded in 980 B.C. making it one of the oldest countries in the world. However, Ethiopia does have many influences from other countries because of heavy immigration through their country. Ethiopia gets a lot of influence from the Middle East since they are so geographically close to the Middle eastern countries. Ethiopia is in the horn of Africa and is south of Egypt and west of the Arabian Peninsula. It is quite unheard of having a country that has such strong cultural roots that influences so much of their food. Ethiopia is a predominately Christian country with some of it being Islamic. Ethiopia is mentioned mentioned many times in the Bible which I think is very cool. This shows how old that their country truly is and how long they have been doing things in this way. It is possible that Jesus may have eaten similar food that I ate at the restaurant that day which is a very cool thing to think about. I think that the way that they do things is very simple, but also very beneficial. The man talking to us said that is considered rude to eat by yourself as meals are a very social time and should be shared with others. I kind of like this since meals should be a time to socialize and talk to one another. I really appreciated the culture of the Ethiopians and admired the way that they did things. In my opinion I would like to include Injera more often, but mixed in with the occasional use of forks, but for the most part I wish that I could eat with my hands more often!

https://www.foodwine.com/destinations/ethiopia/ethiback.html 

[brettbarker]

#candc Soul

The third cuisine that we tried in New Orleans was Soul food. For this cuisine we went to a restaurant called Dooky Chase. Dooky Chase has been open since 1941 and has been a staple of African-American culture in New Orleans ever since. This restaurant was set up like a buffet of all types of Creole and Soul food. Before we went up to get our food from the buffet, we were served a bowl of gumbo first. This was really fantastic. Then when we went up to the buffet, they had everything you could think of when it comes to soul food. My personal favorite was the fried chicken. It was easily the best fried chicken I have ever had in my life. After we had the main course, we were served peach cobbler which is one of my all-time favorite desserts so I was very happy. The thing that I liked the most about this place was that we were able to meet and speak with the owner Leah Chase. Leah Chase is the owner of the restaurant, and is a very famous chef in New Orleans and also the world. She just turned 96 and is one of the kindest and wisest people I have ever met. She sat and talked with us for quite a long time talking about her life, the history of the restaurant, along with a little advice and wisdom that she has learned over the years. It was an honor to meet her because she is such a respected and well known person who has also been in contact with some very respected and well known people as well in the past. In 1946, Leah married Edgar “Dooky” Chase II whose parents owned a stand on the street corner that sold lottery tickets and homemade po-boy sandwiches. It wasn’t until the 1950s that Leah began in the kitchen at the restaurant. Over time, Leah and Edgar converted the stand into a full sit down restaurant. During the 1960s Dooky Chase became a meeting place for African-American Civil Rights activists as it was one of the only public places in New Orleans that African Americans could meet. Leah later would house secret meetings and and strategy discussions for Martin Luther King Jr. This kind of stuff is so fascinating and cool for me because I am a huge history buff and I was able to talk to someone who was so closely involved in history. Leah is also a collector of art and her restaurant is considered an art gallery because of the amount of art that she has in there. An interesting little fact about Leah is that she was the inspiration for the 2009 Disney animated film The Princess and the Frog. Leah has also hosted many famous guests over the years. She has hosted two United States presidents in George W. Bush and Barack Obama, along with a few other famous names like Ray Charles and Hank Aaron. Meeting Leah and eating at her restaurant was probably one of the coolest experiences I have ever had in my life. I feel incredibly blessed to have been able to meet her and listen to the wise words that she had to say. She sounds like a woman who truly loves every person she comes in contact with and wants to make the world a better place by the things that she does. 

https://www.dookychaserestaurant.com/chef 

[brettbarker]

#candc French

On Friday in the morning, we got up early to go to breakfast. I was extremely excited because from what I had heard about the place, it was really good! When we watched Chef before we left for New Orleans, there was a scene in the movie where the main character Carl takes his son to New Orleans. While they were there, they went to Cafe du Monde and bought beignets. He said to his son to enjoy it because you’ll never have your first beignet again, and they are never as good as they are in New Orleans at Cafe du Monde. This immediately got me excited to try them to and let me tell you, they lived up to the hype. The Cafe du Monde has been around since 1862 and has been the same ever since. The Cafe is open 24 hours a day and only closes on Christmas Day and for the occasional hurricane. This was something that I thought was great. I loved how it was open 24 hours because you never know when you’re in the mood for a beignet. I loved the simplicity of the Cafe du Monde. I think that is where they really excel. Simplicity is key in all aspects of life and this is one instance where it really shines. The next thing I loved about the Cafe du Monde were the prices. For three beignets it is only three dollars including tax. It is also the same price for a small coffee. The only way I could really describe a beignet is as a personal funnel cake. This to me sounds like one of the best things on the entire planet as funnel cakes are one of my all-time favorite foods. When I ordered my food, I got the coffee black. I really enjoyed it because it was quite strong but not too overly bitter. It reminded me a lot of Cuban coffee which I could drink by the gallon every day. There is not quite anything else that screams New Orleans than the Cafe du Monde. A perfect afternoon includes getting an order of beignets and some coffee and taking a stroll through the french quarter or perhaps walking through the park next to the cathedral. This is exactly what we did and it really helped me feel like I was getting the total New Orleans experience. Later that day when we had some time to kill. Cameron, Clayton, Ethan, Jacob, and myself all went back to Cafe du Monde just to get some more precious beignets. This was probably one of our best decisions of the entire trip. Overall, this small glimpse into French cuisine was one of my favorites. I am definitely hoping to make it back to New Orleans sometime in the future. I already told my family all about it and they can’t wait to go! The Cafe du Monde is definitely a place that I will not forget and am waiting eagerly for the day that I get to go back.

http://www.cafedumonde.com/ 

[brettbarker]

#candc Cajun

As soon as we arrived in New Orleans we had our first meal while we were there. The cuisine that we were trying was Cajun at a restaurant called Mother’s Restaurant. This Restaurant has been around since 1938 and had a lot of character. One of the first things I noticed were that all of the staff and servers bringing out the food were all very kind and made it feel a little like home or like they had known you for a long time. That may have just been the Southern hospitality or maybe that’s a New Orleans thing. Either way, it made a good first impression with me. When we ordered the food, we were split into groups of four or five. I was in a group of four, so while we were supposed to have five entrees, our group only had four. The four dishes were Jambalaya, Crawfish  Etouffee, Shrimp Creole, and Chicken and Sausage Gumbo. The only thing that we did not get were the red beans and rice. Personally my favorite dish was the Chicken and Sausage Gumbo with the Jambalaya being a close second. I did also like the Shrimp Creole and the Crawfish Etouffee, but they just weren’t my favorites overall. It was all food that I found to be very comforting. I noticed in the restaurant that there was a lot of artwork and old posters on the walls. One that really caught my eye there and throughout the trip were the paintings of the blue dog. These paintings are very popular throughout the city of New Orleans. They were done by Cajun born and raised painter George Rodrigue. He based these paintings off of the French-Cajun loup-garou legend who’s name means werewolf. While we were walking around in the french quarter one of the days we walked past Rodrigue’s studio and there were a bunch of paintings of the blue dog. The dog could also be seen all around the city on buildings and on the street. I found it really neat and a cool little cultural detail about the city. Also, while we were in the restaurant we saw a parade start to break out. I found this to be so cool and really showed the personality of the city. I’n not too sure what the parade was for, but my best guess was because of the Saints game that was on Sunday. It was one of those spontaneous things that really showed what the city was like and I thought that it was very cool. Overall, I really liked the Cajun food. I am a big fan of seafood and spicy food as well so it was a great match. You can really see all of the direct influences in their food and I think that their cultures make a great combination of flavors. I am a little glad that I don’t live down in New Orleans simply for the fact that I would weigh much more and would probably not be as healthy because I would want to eat that every day. This was my first time having Cajun food and what better place to have it at then the place where it all originated!

https://www.thespruceeats.com/history-of-cajun-cooking-3052289 

[brettbarker]

#candc German

For the third meal that we ate, we went to Das Bevo in St. Louis. Das Bevo is a traditional German restaurant that was owned and built by the Busch family as a place for them to stay in between Grant’s farm which was their personal residence and the brewery. This trip would take almost a day back then as it was done with horse and carriage. As soon as we walked in I immediately saw the beautifully decorated dining hall with deer antlers mounted all along the wall that were meant for men’s hats. Another decorative part were the large wooden support beams that were capped with small gnome-like creatures that looked a  little spooky, but also really cool. The center of the room had a very large fireplace with many rocks from a quarry near Grant’s farm. The name of the restaurant is something that I wondered about where it came from. Turns out that Bevo was a non-alcoholic drink that was made by Anheuser-Busch during the time of prohibition as a “near-beer” alternative. Although this sounds like a good way for Anheuser-Busch to stay in business during prohibition, we were told that Das Bevo ran somewhat of a speakeasy from the basement so they were still able to sell their alcoholic beverages in secret. Now onto the food. I have experienced German food for a large portion of my life as the town I grew up and lived in my whole life is Swiss-German. Every year there are two Swiss-German festivals in town that serve German food so I have always been a fan of sausage, potatoes, and sauerkraut. The food that they brought us was very good. There was pork schnitzel, bratwurst, knockwurst, sauerkraut, potatoes, a pretzel with mustard, and spaetzle. I really enjoyed everything. The only two things that were different from what I have had before were the knockwurst and sauerkraut. I don’t think that I have ever had knockwurst, and the sauerkraut tasted a little different from what I was used to having back home. A couple of things that I really enjoyed were the pretzel with the mustard and the pork schnitzel. I think that the mustard really made the pretzel. I could taste a lot of horseradish in it which is something that I really like. The schnitzel was actually the second schnitzel that I have had in my life. The first time actually was only about two weeks ago. Over the first week of Christmas break I went to visit one of my teammates in Ohio. While we were there his girlfriend’s family cooked us a full German dinner since they are German. They served us many of the same dishes and it was just as enjoyable. Overall, I think that German food is among one of my favorite types of cultural foods. Since my hometown is partly German and my family is partly German, I guess I feel some sort of connection to it since it is a way for me to connect with my roots and see how my ancestors may have eaten. I think that it is important for people to connect with their ancestral culture and be able to learn about who they are and where they came from.

https://www.culinaryschools.org/international/german-cuisine.php 

[brettbarker]

#candc Irish

For our second meal, we had an Irish breakfast At Tigin Irish Pub. A traditional Irish breakfast consists of eggs, rashers (which is basically Canadian bacon), black and white pudding, bangers, and some cooked mushrooms and tomatoes. This meal seems similar to what many Americans eat for breakfast every day at first glance. However, if you look a little closer you will realize that they are actually quite different. When it comes to the eggs and the rashers, they are basically the same in America, but it really gets different when you look at the black and white puddings. Almost everything about this food is confusing and deceptive. First lets start with the name: pudding. This is in no way the same as what we Americans would think of pudding. Its almost the exact opposite actually.The black pudding is a mixture of blood and pig or cow fat along with some onions and a few different spices. I was a little hesitant to eat this and had to just not think about what was in it and just treat it like any other sausage. However, when I ate it, I actually really enjoyed it. It was actually one of my favorite things! Next was the white pudding. This is made pretty much the same as the black pudding except without the blood. I thought that this was pretty decent, but I did not like it as much as the black pudding. The next food were bangers. The reason for this name is because when they are done cooking in the pan they make a banging sound. The bangers threw me off a little because I was just expecting a regular sausage. Instead, the inside was much more refined and soft. I thought that it was quite good, but just different. I think my other favorite part of the meal were the rashers. I tried a little of the HP sauce per Kathy Filby’s recommendation, but didn’t find anything super outstanding about it to be completely honest. It just tasted like A1 sauce and ketchup. One of my favorite parts about this meal was the atmosphere. I thought that Tigin was very neat. It seemed like we walked out of American and right into a real pub in Ireland. I am a big fan of British culture which includes Ireland; I loved the decorations and the occasional Irish music being played. It just made me feel happy since I see the Irish people as a generally happy and joyful people who know how to have fun. The guy who helped us which I assumed was the manager and the lady who served us the food were both very friendly, knowledgeable, and informative. It definitely wanted to make me come back and try some of the other things that they have there to eat. I also noticed that they had a flag from my favorite soccer team Manchester United on the wall. I would love to come and watch a game there someday and really get the experience of watching a soccer game in a real British pub without having to go to Great Britain! Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this meal and can’t wait to go back!

https://www.myrecipes.com/extracrispy/the-taxonomy-of-a-full-irish-breakfast 

[brettbarker]

#candc english

For our first meal/food experience we learned+ what it would be like to have tea in England. Kathy Filby stopped by to talk to us about what traditional British tea time is like. Kathy is originally from Northern Ireland and spent time in England, so she has experienced tea time countless times. She explained to us the origin of tea itself going all the way back to the Chinese over 4,000 years ago. One thing that I learned and found very interesting was the fact that tea is only considered “tea” if it comes from a specific tree: The Camellia Sinensis. In the Chinese legend, it says that Emperor Shennong accidentally discovered tea when he was boiling water and leaves from the Camellia Sinensis tree fell into the pot. This is why it is so specific about what is actually considered “tea”. If it comes from something else it can still be called tea but it is not really legitimate tea. I just thought that any mixture of herbs and spices and leaves were considered tea and had no clue how specific it was. She then told us about the five different types of tea: Black, Green, White, Red, and Oolong tea. One of the most popular ones in England is black tea. She said that everyone drinks black tea. Since we are having an Irish breakfast tomorrow, she talked about Irish breakfast tea which is a black tea. There are many things I like about the cultural event in England that is “tea”. I really like how it is a time to relax and take a little break from your day. Kathy talked about how tea is the cure for everything. It doesn’t matter if you’re having a bad day, feeling homesick, or if you’re just tired, a cup of tea will always fix it and make you feel better. Another thing that she mentioned is that you basically can never refuse tea. If you say that you don’t want any, it basically means to the British that you are just being polite and you really do want one, so they’ll put the kettle on anyway. I would personally really enjoy the concept of tea here in America. It is definitely one of the British traditions that I wish we would’ve adopted, but sadly coffee is still supreme here in the States. I personally like both coffee and tea, but I think I like tea more. I do like how tea is in between each meal, usually two hours after the last one and two hours before the next one. This makes a lot of sense and it makes sure that you do not get hungry in between each meal. This is something I have a problem with as my metabolism is very high and i’m constantly hungry. This being said, tea is not just tea, there are snacks as well. Kathy talked about how they usually have little sandwiches and biscuits which are kind of like cookies to go along with the tea. We had scones and little cookies with our tea today. I had a chocolate scone which was very good and went well with the tea. I chose the Irish Breakfast tea and decided to put a little milk in it which is something I usually don’t do when I have tea. Overall, I really liked this experience. It was really cool to get to know the specific reasons and origins behind tea as it gave a bit more information as to why the British do this tradition almost every day. It really makes me want to experience it more often and hopefully I will be able to visit Great Britain someday to experience the real deal!

http://www.china.org.cn/learning_chinese/Chinese_tea/2011-07/15/content_22999489.htm 

#candc English