Living our routine at home is so rote. Even when we strike out to get away for a short while from the norm while we’re not traveling, we frequently wind up gravitating toward it anyway, returning inevitably to our favorite spots, time and again with a force of habit stronger than gravity. We travel to experience the new and exciting, to escape from tired sights, to fill the roads within ourselves with people and places unfamiliar. Sometimes, though, finding a bit of home while we’re away can take our imaginations, quite happily, on a brief journey toward the familiar we’ve left behind.
One moment of memory-induced ecstasy occurred for me the last time I was in Sydney. Shortly after I arrived, as I was heading down George Street away from the train station, out of my left eye I caught a glimpse of familiarity. I turned my head and took in a sight that I thought I’d left at home – bubble tea! A pictorial sign in a shop window grabbed me by the hand and yanked me inside. Here, at ChaTime Tea House, I was once again amongst my beloved bubble tea, so beautifully similar to what I used to routinely enjoy in Chinatown in New York City.
Gooey glunks of jelly float around in a milky cold tea. Yum.
Standing on the verge of ordering a glass of this incredible cold tea with tapioca balls piled at the bottom, I noticed that the shop also offered a tea unknown to me. My excitement over a taste of home was overtaken by my love of the unfamiliar. I had never heard of this shop’s specialty before – Jelly tea! Since I was a “beginner” as the guy behind the counter dubbed me, he recommended I taste the Grass Jelly Roasted Milk Tea. I consented. The bizarrity of this tea from Taiwan combined with its genuinely good flavor was a great unexpected surprise. How can you not love tea with gooey glops floating around in it?
A yummy worm-like glob of jelly resting on my straw
Thumbnail photo by eschipul
Coffee with globs of grounds, OK. I’m still not ready for globs of anything in tea! How, um, Sabinaesque of you !
Cheers,
Mike
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Sabina Lohr Reply:
September 4th, 2010 at 01:07
Oh, yeah, globby tea – it’s the best.
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Maybe I need to become more adventurous when it comes to tea. I’m still with Mike on this one
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Sabina Lohr Reply:
September 4th, 2010 at 01:08
Maybe you can try it some time. Tea can be an adventure.
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OK, I’m now most disturbed. Sabina, you may have just ruined tea for this Englishman!
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Sabina Lohr Reply:
September 4th, 2010 at 01:09
I’m sorry to have disturbed you, Nick.
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Hm… not sure about this one, Sabina. After years in the USA, I finally managed to like cold tea. But jelly tea?
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Sabina Lohr Reply:
September 4th, 2010 at 01:09
Oh, yeah. Similar to bubble tea, it’s a drink and a snack in the same glass!
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Hehe, I still have yet to try bubble tea…I can’t seem to move past my orange pekoe for anything. That jelly kinda freaks me out, looks like…a slug.
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Sabina Lohr Reply:
September 4th, 2010 at 01:10
That is exactly what I thought! It looks like a slug, doesn’t it?
And I still don’t know what orange pekoe is.
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Wait–you like globs of things floating around in your tea? I think I’ll pass, thanks. LOL. I can, however, relate to the concept of being able to find comforting foods and drinks from home when you’re traveling. It helps beat homesickness.
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Sabina Lohr Reply:
September 4th, 2010 at 01:11
Yes, I guess I do like goop in my tea. It’s infinitely more interesting than tea without goop.
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Jelly in your tea? No wonder you had never heard of it before. Sounds not so delicious but good for you for trying something new!
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Sabina Lohr Reply:
September 12th, 2010 at 20:28
It was really pretty good, actually, in a strange way.
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