THE ANTIQUE FEELING

Teatime found me at a bakery contemplating a great red robe (大紅袍 'daai hung pou'). That being the tea (茶 'chaa') which I had bought on a whim after lunch. In a beautiful crimson hued cannister. The manufactury is listed as being in Fujian province, Amoy city, think bright neighbourhood, lakeside middle road 160. 福建省廈門市思明區湖濱中路160號 ('fuk kin saang, haa mun si, si ming keui, wu ban jung lou, yat-paak-lok-sap hou')。Sniffing around tells me they are opposite The Green Light Picture Book Repository (綠光繪本收藏館 'lok gwong kui pun sau chong gwun'). Illustrated books from all over. Worth visiting. All of this is near Amoy West Harbour (廈門西港 'haa mun sai gong') and the Amoy Museum (廈門博物館 'haa mun pok mat gwun').

Large parts of the text on the tin are in simplified characters, which I don't read, and none of it is in English.


廈門茶葉進出口有限公司

The manufacturer is given as 廈門茶葉進出口有限公司 ('haa mun chaa yip jeun chut hau yau haan gung si'; Xiamen Tea Leaf Import & Export company Limited). At the aforementioned location (福建省廈門市思明區湖濱中路160號).

There were, as you would expect, some words I could not read.

One in particular. In the compound "import and export" (进出口), the simplified character 进 in lieu of 進 makes phonetically no sense for a Cantonese speaker, and looks ugly.

This will not affect my appreciation for the tea.
I have not opened the cannister yet.
Probably tomorrow.

Great red robe is classically described as having dried leaves like twisted cord, variegated green and brown, yielding a rusty yellow brew, with a lasting aroma of orchids. It can be used for multiple steepings, gungfu cha style in a small earthenware teapot. Drinking it alleviates tiredness and benefits the circulation. I'll let you know if I feel like superman afterwards.

鍾馗

I am keenly looking forward to this adventure.
I've never had great red robe before.



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