1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:11,520 Hi everyone, welcome to potluck food talks. Today we're going to talk about drinks. Can 2 00:00:11,520 --> 00:00:13,560 we talk about no drinks? 3 00:00:13,560 --> 00:00:19,800 What kind of drinks do you want to talk about? I mean, we just spent 20 minutes talking about 4 00:00:19,800 --> 00:00:22,720 coffee. I mean, what is there? Milk? 5 00:00:22,720 --> 00:00:28,840 No, man. Milk is for psychopaths. Haven't you noticed that all psychopaths in movies 6 00:00:28,840 --> 00:00:35,360 drink milk? Like, you know, Hans Lander, Alex in a Kroghborg Orange, Leon the professional. 7 00:00:35,360 --> 00:00:37,600 Leon is a psychopath. He's a nice guy. 8 00:00:37,600 --> 00:00:45,360 Well, he's just a professional hitman. We can agree on that. He's not a psychopath. 9 00:00:45,360 --> 00:00:47,720 So does that make every baby a psychopath? 10 00:00:47,720 --> 00:00:52,480 No, no, no, just milk lovers. You know, people that are, you know, like grown up people that 11 00:00:52,480 --> 00:00:55,640 have like a glass of milk, that's just psychos. 12 00:00:55,640 --> 00:00:58,400 Okay. So, so, so what's, what's coffee for then? 13 00:00:58,400 --> 00:01:04,240 For the holics or tormented souls like the Oracle in the matrix drinks coffee or Harrison 14 00:01:04,240 --> 00:01:08,240 Ford in Blade Runner also coffee drinker. 15 00:01:08,240 --> 00:01:13,680 Debatable. Debatable. Okay. What about, what about beer? 16 00:01:13,680 --> 00:01:21,400 Beer is for Hooligans, Game of Thrones characters, Homer Simpson, no Glamour there. Sorry, beer 17 00:01:21,400 --> 00:01:22,400 nerds. 18 00:01:22,400 --> 00:01:27,280 No Glamour there. This is ridiculous, Eric. What happened to you? I knew you when you 19 00:01:27,280 --> 00:01:34,480 were a craft beer aficionado. We spent many, many hours in craft beer bars. Yeah. Also 20 00:01:34,480 --> 00:01:38,200 beer is like a food, you know, it's like it's supposed to stay in Germany for hundreds of 21 00:01:38,200 --> 00:01:43,340 years, you know, it used to be a base food to kind of like on the same lines as bread 22 00:01:43,340 --> 00:01:45,200 and potatoes and stuff, you know. 23 00:01:45,200 --> 00:01:52,480 Well, and there is a beer nazism for sure. You know, like Germans invented this purity 24 00:01:52,480 --> 00:01:54,080 law for beer. 25 00:01:54,080 --> 00:01:58,880 For beer. I thought you meant in general. Yeah. Well, they did that later. Like a few 26 00:01:58,880 --> 00:02:05,800 centuries later. Yeah. But any beer that didn't compliment, you know, like the hops and different 27 00:02:05,800 --> 00:02:10,480 standard ingredients formula was banned and burned and destroyed. 28 00:02:10,480 --> 00:02:15,040 Yeah. Rightfully so. Rightfully so. Because it's like, yeah, of course, because it's like, 29 00:02:15,040 --> 00:02:19,000 look at the States, you know, where you look at your ingredients and it's like a million 30 00:02:19,000 --> 00:02:22,880 different things in them. Like bread should be the same. There should be a purity law 31 00:02:22,880 --> 00:02:30,320 for bread. No fucking emulsifiers and preservatives and keep your ascorbic acid out of the fucking 32 00:02:30,320 --> 00:02:35,840 sourdough, you know, it should be flour, salt, water, you know, that's basically it. And 33 00:02:35,840 --> 00:02:39,680 then add it as like, you know, seeds and stuff like that. It's okay. But base bread should 34 00:02:39,680 --> 00:02:41,040 just be that. 35 00:02:41,040 --> 00:02:44,520 I don't feel like talking beer right now. Any other suggestion? 36 00:02:44,520 --> 00:02:49,760 Okay. We could talk about wine. I don't know much of a wine elf, you know. 37 00:02:49,760 --> 00:02:55,360 I mean, you know, wine, I think about like, I don't know, like a lusty poet drinking 38 00:02:55,360 --> 00:03:01,800 its own blood, you know, Hannibal Lecter, interview with the vampire, Cersei from Game 39 00:03:01,800 --> 00:03:03,120 of Thrones, you know, like. 40 00:03:03,120 --> 00:03:06,680 I don't know if I would call Hannibal Lecter a lusty poet. 41 00:03:06,680 --> 00:03:07,680 No. 42 00:03:07,680 --> 00:03:08,680 But. 43 00:03:08,680 --> 00:03:09,680 Sort of. 44 00:03:09,680 --> 00:03:10,680 I mean. 45 00:03:10,680 --> 00:03:17,680 No. Well, interview with the vampire, I think for sure. No, like vampires drink blood. 46 00:03:17,680 --> 00:03:21,720 Interview with the vampire. Yeah. But what about what about the like soccer game Chardonnay 47 00:03:21,720 --> 00:03:27,080 Wine Moms? I mean, I guess they're lusty, but no, it's not poetic. 48 00:03:27,080 --> 00:03:30,400 No, pick a different one. 49 00:03:30,400 --> 00:03:33,360 Okay. Well, what about tea? I know you like tea. 50 00:03:33,360 --> 00:03:39,520 Tea is a good one. You know, like, I mean, if there is a character drinking tea in a 51 00:03:39,520 --> 00:03:47,400 movie, you know, it's always the wisest character. Like, Miyagi would drink tea. Gandalf, Professor 52 00:03:47,400 --> 00:03:48,400 X, Yoda. 53 00:03:48,400 --> 00:03:54,000 Does Gandalf drink tea? I know he smokes a lot of pot in the movies, but. 54 00:03:54,000 --> 00:03:58,560 Yeah, yeah. I know. You know, wizards, they do these kind of things. 55 00:03:58,560 --> 00:03:59,560 Tea is good. 56 00:03:59,560 --> 00:04:03,320 Yeah, we can talk about tea. Tea is like an amazing topic. Yeah. 57 00:04:03,320 --> 00:04:04,920 Tea is an amazing topic. Yeah. 58 00:04:04,920 --> 00:04:09,160 Do you have any favorite tea or way of drinking tea? 59 00:04:09,160 --> 00:04:15,960 Yeah, for sure. I mean, I have a very, very, I love tea in general. I love all sorts of 60 00:04:15,960 --> 00:04:23,000 tea and I drink a lot of tea, like a lot. But I have a very definite favorite tea, which 61 00:04:23,000 --> 00:04:29,360 is because of how I grew up. My grandparents, they spend a lot of time in Japan. And so 62 00:04:29,360 --> 00:04:34,320 when I was growing up in my in my households, every afternoon they would drink Japanese 63 00:04:34,320 --> 00:04:36,280 green tea, especially like Sencha. 64 00:04:36,280 --> 00:04:39,640 Ah, man, it's my favorite. I finally agree on something. 65 00:04:39,640 --> 00:04:40,640 Yeah. 66 00:04:40,640 --> 00:04:42,160 That's my fucking favorite tea for sure. 67 00:04:42,160 --> 00:04:48,080 It's so, so good. And like even when I just smell it, I just feel so filled with calm 68 00:04:48,080 --> 00:04:52,560 and like positive emotions, you know, and I especially like the like the ones that taste 69 00:04:52,560 --> 00:04:56,280 really grassy or almost like seaweed or spinach, you know. 70 00:04:56,280 --> 00:05:05,720 Yeah, for me, it's like roasted spinach and umami. So it's kind of like a dashi. Probably 71 00:05:05,720 --> 00:05:10,280 the dashi comes from tea culture. I could bet on that for sure. 72 00:05:10,280 --> 00:05:15,320 Yeah, it's delicious. I mean, like it's so good. And I mean, it's by far one of the best 73 00:05:15,320 --> 00:05:16,680 things that you could drink. 74 00:05:16,680 --> 00:05:21,780 And it's one of those things that if you do it right, it's amazing. If you screw it up, 75 00:05:21,780 --> 00:05:26,360 it's whatever, you know, like the right timing, right temperature, like everything has to 76 00:05:26,360 --> 00:05:33,520 be properly executed to have like a nice cup of nice tea of Sencha specifically. 77 00:05:33,520 --> 00:05:38,520 That's true. It can go wrong really easily and you can misbrew it really easily. 78 00:05:38,520 --> 00:05:43,160 It happens to me all the time. I became like a tea hipster a few weeks ago. I'm drinking 79 00:05:43,160 --> 00:05:47,720 lots of tea every day and different kinds of tea. And it happens to me all the time. 80 00:05:47,720 --> 00:05:52,440 You know, I forget and I over infuse it and then it's crap. 81 00:05:52,440 --> 00:05:53,440 And it's shit. 82 00:05:53,440 --> 00:05:54,440 You know, it's better. 83 00:05:54,440 --> 00:05:56,440 It's almost undrinkable. 84 00:05:56,440 --> 00:06:02,560 Exactly. And I feel like a fucking retard, you know, for forgetting my tea or not putting 85 00:06:02,560 --> 00:06:04,480 it in the timer. 86 00:06:04,480 --> 00:06:06,440 Have you tried cold infusing Sencha? 87 00:06:06,440 --> 00:06:11,040 Yeah, man. Yeah. Some of them I think is the best way to drink it. I had like a... 88 00:06:11,040 --> 00:06:12,040 It's so good. 89 00:06:12,040 --> 00:06:18,760 A present from a Japanese friend. He gave me two bags, one of Sencha traditional. The 90 00:06:18,760 --> 00:06:25,360 other one is like Sencha Earl Grey mixture. I think it's Sencha aromatized with Earl 91 00:06:25,360 --> 00:06:31,560 Grey and that one cold brewed. Man, I think it's my favorite tea in the world. It's incredible. 92 00:06:31,560 --> 00:06:33,560 Because Earl Grey is another one that I really like. 93 00:06:33,560 --> 00:06:39,120 Yeah, Earl Grey is nice. And not everybody's a fan of the bergamot, but yeah, super, super 94 00:06:39,120 --> 00:06:40,120 nice. 95 00:06:40,120 --> 00:06:44,440 I really caught on to like cold brewed tea when I was working in Japan. So when I moved 96 00:06:44,440 --> 00:06:49,440 to Japan, like I said, I grew up with this like tea culture and I was really excited 97 00:06:49,440 --> 00:06:52,520 because I was like, oh, I'm going to drink a lot of tea. And then I actually realized 98 00:06:52,520 --> 00:06:57,160 that in Japan, it's not that much of a big thing. Like you get a cup of like basic tea 99 00:06:57,160 --> 00:07:02,080 in a lot of restaurants, but it's not like a special tea. You don't really have tea houses 100 00:07:02,080 --> 00:07:11,240 like I was imagining it in my racial profiling Western mind, you know. But yeah, in the restaurant 101 00:07:11,240 --> 00:07:15,360 that I was working in, they were serving tea, but they didn't want to serve hot tea because 102 00:07:15,360 --> 00:07:19,960 they didn't want the temperature to affect the dishes. So they made several different 103 00:07:19,960 --> 00:07:25,200 kinds of cold infused tea, but they would add different things to the teas also. So 104 00:07:25,200 --> 00:07:31,520 for example, they had a green tea cold infusion where they would take chervil and like crush 105 00:07:31,520 --> 00:07:36,440 the stems of the chervil and put them into the cold infusion. And they would make this 106 00:07:36,440 --> 00:07:42,360 like super subtle complex infusions where when you would drink it cold, it was like, 107 00:07:42,360 --> 00:07:49,240 I can still sort of like feel the taste like in my memory because it was just so fine and 108 00:07:49,240 --> 00:07:51,600 like well crafted. 109 00:07:51,600 --> 00:07:58,240 I know there are like bottles of tea in Japan sold by the thousands of euros, which is, 110 00:07:58,240 --> 00:08:05,320 you know, like we in the West, we can expect that from wine, but from tea, something like 111 00:08:05,320 --> 00:08:07,520 we don't really get like how is that possible? 112 00:08:07,520 --> 00:08:12,680 Yeah, yeah. Because I mean, our cultural appreciation isn't there. I mean, like here in Germany, 113 00:08:12,680 --> 00:08:18,760 for example, you know, the teas that people drink, it's like black tea, completely overbrewed. 114 00:08:18,760 --> 00:08:23,200 There's no appreciation for the quality of the tea itself. Horrible teas and aromatized 115 00:08:23,200 --> 00:08:28,640 teas, you know, like Roy Bush and that sort of stuff. Like that's really sort of like 116 00:08:28,640 --> 00:08:32,840 a tea culture here. But I mean, it's not something that we have local. It's all imported and 117 00:08:32,840 --> 00:08:38,320 never caught on like coffee did, you know. So and then really, you know, with Japan and 118 00:08:38,320 --> 00:08:43,600 also China and probably also India, the best teas, they stay in the country, you know. 119 00:08:43,600 --> 00:08:51,080 For sure, for sure. Yeah. You know, I recently had my first trip to Asia and I was in Singapore 120 00:08:51,080 --> 00:08:58,400 and I went to this traditional tea house, Chinese tea house. Yeah. And this was for 121 00:08:58,400 --> 00:09:03,640 real like a life changing experience. Yeah. So first of all, the place, it looked like 122 00:09:03,640 --> 00:09:10,760 out of a Miyazaki fairy tale, you know, it was like, what is this? You know, like with 123 00:09:10,760 --> 00:09:16,200 individual rooms where you could walk into each room for your individual table and you 124 00:09:16,200 --> 00:09:22,680 know, and have your tea time. Yeah. And there was even a picture of Queen Elizabeth having 125 00:09:22,680 --> 00:09:28,520 tea there, like in the 80s, surrounded by Chinese tea experts. So they had this tea 126 00:09:28,520 --> 00:09:34,640 menu. They would also do like dumplings, but sweet dumplings, you know, like balls filled 127 00:09:34,640 --> 00:09:42,240 with marmalade and this kind of, but also salty, you know. Jumcha is like a tea food 128 00:09:42,240 --> 00:09:49,360 category I would say, or like a way of drinking and eating. So then this guy comes with this 129 00:09:49,360 --> 00:09:56,560 Kung Fu looking costume outfit, which is not... Sorry, sorry. What's that? That's the most 130 00:09:56,560 --> 00:10:03,120 racist thing you've ever said. The tea master came with the Kung Fu outfit. That's not, 131 00:10:03,120 --> 00:10:10,720 that's not. And I'll tell you why. No, I'll tell you why it's not racist or a prejudice. 132 00:10:10,720 --> 00:10:16,960 Because then I found out that the way of drinking tea he was teaching to us, it's called Gong 133 00:10:16,960 --> 00:10:26,240 Fu tea or Kung Fu tea, because Kung Fu means skill. So this is like a way of drinking that 134 00:10:26,240 --> 00:10:33,240 implies like a high level of skill in the drink. So they would show us like just a very 135 00:10:33,240 --> 00:10:38,880 little jar, a metal jar, where you would do the infusions with a timer and you had like 136 00:10:38,880 --> 00:10:44,680 two mini cups, one more like in a tube shape and the other one like a micro bowl. But I'm 137 00:10:44,680 --> 00:10:50,280 telling that this is like two tablespoons big each one, something like that. And so 138 00:10:50,280 --> 00:10:57,280 you would pour the tea in the first one. And this was just to smell the tube shaped one. 139 00:10:57,280 --> 00:11:01,520 So you would just smell and pour it into the other bowl. And then you would smell again 140 00:11:01,520 --> 00:11:06,160 in the empty glass and the smell would change. And of course, this is like wine tasting, 141 00:11:06,160 --> 00:11:10,840 you know, as you go on and on and on, the aromas change because you also change and 142 00:11:10,840 --> 00:11:16,000 you know, all the variables change. And this was all different types of Oolong tea, which 143 00:11:16,000 --> 00:11:19,880 is not specifically my favorite, but it was, you know, it's nice to have like, like an 144 00:11:19,880 --> 00:11:25,960 experience like this with Chinese tea, which are the, you know, the masters in command 145 00:11:25,960 --> 00:11:31,480 of tea. Yeah, yeah, for sure. I thought, you know, like Japan was the place, but China 146 00:11:31,480 --> 00:11:39,200 is the tea culture. China is and China and you have to add Taiwan also is nuts. Absolutely 147 00:11:39,200 --> 00:11:45,560 nuts. Yeah. And I mean like the two most common words for a tea, which are tea and cha both 148 00:11:45,560 --> 00:11:51,960 come from China from, from different regions and they got a acceptance in different regions 149 00:11:51,960 --> 00:11:57,640 as well. Like for instance, in all of Europe you say tea, but in Russia and other Eastern 150 00:11:57,640 --> 00:12:02,680 Europe countries you say cha, which is also interesting. Yeah. Super interesting. Or Mongolia 151 00:12:02,680 --> 00:12:07,400 or these places. Yeah. This way of that you described of drinking tea, where you have 152 00:12:07,400 --> 00:12:13,460 a brewing vessel with the teapot, a smelling glass and then a drinking glass. I think that's 153 00:12:13,460 --> 00:12:18,960 like one of the most beautiful and the most pure ways of drinking tea. And like, you know, 154 00:12:18,960 --> 00:12:25,080 the cool thing about Oolong is that, you know, with like Sencha, you know, it's like a very 155 00:12:25,080 --> 00:12:31,680 like not fermented or, you know, like very lightly roasted tea. Like it's, it's green. 156 00:12:31,680 --> 00:12:37,840 With Oolong, you have a huge spectrum of teas that are almost green and teas that are really, 157 00:12:37,840 --> 00:12:46,220 really darkly fermented. And you have a spectrum of aromas that is insane. I had a similar 158 00:12:46,220 --> 00:12:51,160 experience in what you described when I was in Japan and because I was looking actively 159 00:12:51,160 --> 00:12:56,760 for tea places and my roommate at the time was a very quiet Japanese guy. I was sometimes 160 00:12:56,760 --> 00:13:02,360 brewing tea at home because I'm also a tea nerd. And he, at some point he came to me 161 00:13:02,360 --> 00:13:08,840 and he was like, do you like tea? And I was like, yeah, I like tea. And he was like, no, 162 00:13:08,840 --> 00:13:16,060 yeah. So we're drinking tea together and like a secret society. And he was like, next time 163 00:13:16,060 --> 00:13:20,520 you have a day off, I would like to take you to see a friend of mine. And I was like, okay, 164 00:13:20,520 --> 00:13:27,280 sure. And we went into like a tea house, like a private tea house where you were in Ginza, 165 00:13:27,280 --> 00:13:30,520 like in the middle of the city and you would go up the stairs into a small apartment. And 166 00:13:30,520 --> 00:13:35,680 it was like a tea room with the little, the table where you pour the water into, you know, 167 00:13:35,680 --> 00:13:40,920 the like wooden carved table. And he did a tea tasting for us. And that was the first 168 00:13:40,920 --> 00:13:46,080 time I really tried Oolong. And it was crazy because we did exactly the same method that 169 00:13:46,080 --> 00:13:51,800 you were saying. We would take one tea, brew it several times, see how the tea develops 170 00:13:51,800 --> 00:13:57,560 after you brew it first time, only like 10 seconds, dump, smell, drink, then again, infuse 171 00:13:57,560 --> 00:14:02,120 it five seconds, dump it, smell it. And the tea would change the more you brew it. And 172 00:14:02,120 --> 00:14:07,080 there was some like mind blowing things. Like they had one tea and he was sort of like, 173 00:14:07,080 --> 00:14:11,520 okay, smell and like, tell me what you smell. And I smelled it. And it was like pure peach 174 00:14:11,520 --> 00:14:17,760 flavor. But like the sort of peach smell that you have when you have like almost like a 175 00:14:17,760 --> 00:14:22,160 peach iced tea, you know, like this like fake peach smell. And I was like, smells like peaches. 176 00:14:22,160 --> 00:14:25,720 And he was like, yeah. And I was like, is it peach flavored? And he's like, no, it's 177 00:14:25,720 --> 00:14:31,200 just tea, like nothing else, just tea. And there was another one where it was called 178 00:14:31,200 --> 00:14:36,680 Oriental Beauty, which had this really intense smell of like dates and orange and like insane, 179 00:14:36,680 --> 00:14:43,960 really, really heavily fermented, almost like a black tea, but so like light and flavorsome. 180 00:14:43,960 --> 00:14:44,960 Like it's nuts. 181 00:14:44,960 --> 00:14:49,560 Did they teach you somehow how to hold the cup? Because in the tea house where I was, 182 00:14:49,560 --> 00:14:55,000 for me it was, they would tell you, yeah, you have to grab the cup like this. And if 183 00:14:55,000 --> 00:15:01,360 you're a lady, you can leave your pinky finger exposed. If not, you have to hide it like 184 00:15:01,360 --> 00:15:06,960 for gentlemen. And this position of drinking it, you're going to make fun of me again. 185 00:15:06,960 --> 00:15:11,280 But this reminds me of the Drunken Master with Jackie Chan, where he's drinking and 186 00:15:11,280 --> 00:15:15,640 holding cups like in the same position, you know, like, and it's probably the Chinese 187 00:15:15,640 --> 00:15:17,600 way of holding tea cups. 188 00:15:17,600 --> 00:15:19,120 Is it like an etiquette thing? 189 00:15:19,120 --> 00:15:23,880 Probably, you know, like part of the ritual, like I don't know exactly where. And also 190 00:15:23,880 --> 00:15:28,760 all the Chinese stores that I visited, they would give you tea just at the entrance for 191 00:15:28,760 --> 00:15:32,320 free because it's something, you know, like typical from there. 192 00:15:32,320 --> 00:15:38,240 The other character that I found really intriguing and interesting is this guy called Kazuko 193 00:15:38,240 --> 00:15:45,840 Okakura. This guy, like in the mid of the 19th century, he's Japanese, obviously. He 194 00:15:45,840 --> 00:15:53,400 traveled to Europe where he studied fine arts and then to the United States and he returned 195 00:15:53,400 --> 00:15:59,560 to Japan. We're talking about end of the 19th century, 1890, something like that. And he 196 00:15:59,560 --> 00:16:09,000 wrote the book of tea to show us Western barbarians, the delicacy and the true art form of tea. 197 00:16:09,000 --> 00:16:17,460 So it was from an art study perspective, how tea is an art form, drinking tea, how teaism 198 00:16:17,460 --> 00:16:25,960 is a religion and all the grounds and ideas around that. Also, you know, I think like 199 00:16:25,960 --> 00:16:32,760 tea meditation and poetry really go together and that there is a lot of angles to go into 200 00:16:32,760 --> 00:16:33,760 that. 201 00:16:33,760 --> 00:16:34,760 Yes. 202 00:16:34,760 --> 00:16:40,320 So the interesting thing about this book is that Heidegger read that book and it was one 203 00:16:40,320 --> 00:16:49,160 of his first introductions into Eastern philosophy, Asian thoughts. And so at the same time, Heidegger 204 00:16:49,160 --> 00:16:54,840 is one of the most influential philosophers of the 20th century. So it's crazy like how 205 00:16:54,840 --> 00:17:00,120 tea had an influence on Western philosophy. Well, Heidegger, you know, like he had like 206 00:17:00,120 --> 00:17:06,320 this little controversy that he was a Nazi and that didn't help him so much. 207 00:17:06,320 --> 00:17:12,120 Yeah, but you know, nobody's perfect, you know, whole body's nerf-ricked. 208 00:17:12,120 --> 00:17:15,920 You had this story with poets and tea, right? You told me once. 209 00:17:15,920 --> 00:17:21,320 Yeah. So I mean, like what you just mentioned, it's a whole world to dive into this, not 210 00:17:21,320 --> 00:17:26,240 just the act of drinking tea and the health benefits and that, but also the philosophy 211 00:17:26,240 --> 00:17:33,520 behind it and the like tea culture, which is, which sounds kind of funny if you, if 212 00:17:33,520 --> 00:17:37,520 you don't, if you've never been in contact with that, but which is very, very deep and 213 00:17:37,520 --> 00:17:42,960 very profound and very, you know, reaching over many different countries and continents. 214 00:17:42,960 --> 00:17:47,320 And if you've kind of delved into that a little bit, you kind of know what it is that you're 215 00:17:47,320 --> 00:17:52,120 talking about with when you say that sort of like get teaism, that it's like a religion, 216 00:17:52,120 --> 00:17:56,360 I can immediately sort of understand what you mean, you know, as somebody who is completely 217 00:17:56,360 --> 00:18:02,720 new to this might not, but it's a very beautiful community of tea drinkers. And when you were 218 00:18:02,720 --> 00:18:08,400 saying that drinking tea was like very affiliated with poets and artists and stuff, you know, 219 00:18:08,400 --> 00:18:13,720 there used to be a practice or maybe there still is of poets and artists and like painters 220 00:18:13,720 --> 00:18:19,480 and stuff to sit somewhere and indulge in drinking tea. What I mentioned earlier, I 221 00:18:19,480 --> 00:18:23,720 was sort of like brewing small quantities and drinking and sipping and looking out and 222 00:18:23,720 --> 00:18:28,600 just kind of delving in your thought and keep brewing and keep drinking, keep brewing and 223 00:18:28,600 --> 00:18:34,480 keep drinking. And this continuous practice of like drinking tea, because tea has a different 224 00:18:34,480 --> 00:18:38,920 effect on you depending on how long it's brewed, whether it's calming or it's like gets you 225 00:18:38,920 --> 00:18:45,080 up and going, similar sort of to caffeine. But if you drink tea in this sort of way, 226 00:18:45,080 --> 00:18:52,440 you get into almost an elevated state of ecstasy of like, a really elevated state, you know, 227 00:18:52,440 --> 00:18:59,040 of dopamine and you know, just like happiness feelings and stuff. And artists would do this 228 00:18:59,040 --> 00:19:03,920 deliberately to get themselves like a little bit high on tea, to then sit there and look 229 00:19:03,920 --> 00:19:09,160 out into the countryside and draw and paint or to philosophize and write down poems. And 230 00:19:09,160 --> 00:19:14,720 yeah, that that was like an actual practice that we do in combination with drinking tea. 231 00:19:14,720 --> 00:19:18,920 And I think that's super, super nice. And it's like it works. I've tried it before, 232 00:19:18,920 --> 00:19:22,640 you know, when I would be sitting at home and I had like, you know, I would do this 233 00:19:22,640 --> 00:19:27,480 sort of little thing, brew, drink, brew, drink, brew, drink, and you get almost like ecstatic, 234 00:19:27,480 --> 00:19:28,480 you know? 235 00:19:28,480 --> 00:19:34,400 I mean, like I started meditating a few weeks ago, like I'm doing it every day and I incorporate 236 00:19:34,400 --> 00:19:40,520 the like I have this small Chinese jar and I incorporate it into my practice. And it's 237 00:19:40,520 --> 00:19:46,000 really, you know, like part of my personal ritual, having a super nice scene. And actually, 238 00:19:46,000 --> 00:19:51,800 I think it's the best way to enjoy it because you're absolutely concentrated and then you 239 00:19:51,800 --> 00:19:56,880 have a sip and it's like, oh man, this is so nice. Yeah, totally. And meditation is 240 00:19:56,880 --> 00:20:02,320 about focusing on something. And if you're focusing on taste, you know, what, what better 241 00:20:02,320 --> 00:20:03,960 way to do that? 242 00:20:03,960 --> 00:20:08,800 Absolutely. And like making tea is a kind of meditation in itself, I think, you know, 243 00:20:08,800 --> 00:20:13,680 I listened to a podcast from Andrew Huberman the other day where he was talking about diverging 244 00:20:13,680 --> 00:20:19,040 our paths of focus, of sort of like that it's very unhealthy, actually, like for example, 245 00:20:19,040 --> 00:20:25,120 in the morning, we're like making a cup of coffee and we're listening to something. And 246 00:20:25,120 --> 00:20:29,240 at the same time, we're like writing an email and that's actually not very healthy. It's 247 00:20:29,240 --> 00:20:34,840 much healthier to do one thing. If you make a cup of coffee, make a cup of coffee. And 248 00:20:34,840 --> 00:20:40,340 this is what I think is really cool about tea also is the, because it amplifies your 249 00:20:40,340 --> 00:20:45,480 enjoyment that much more also it's that you're taking everything in. You're looking at the 250 00:20:45,480 --> 00:20:49,560 tea because tea is very beautiful also, you know, you're brewing it, you see the leaves 251 00:20:49,560 --> 00:20:55,520 unfold, you smell it, you look at the color, then you drink it and you're in that moment. 252 00:20:55,520 --> 00:21:00,280 Right. And it's a, it's a, the ritual is the part of the meditation is part of the enjoyment 253 00:21:00,280 --> 00:21:04,840 of consuming it. And so it's like, it's like a bigger rounder picture, you know, 254 00:21:04,840 --> 00:21:10,640 there's also a myth. I, in the last episode, I talked about the myth of the origin of coffee. 255 00:21:10,640 --> 00:21:16,520 Well, when I started digging into tea, like I went to my friend Furkan and I told him, 256 00:21:16,520 --> 00:21:21,760 hey Furkan, you know, you're, you're Indian, what do you have to tell me about tea? So 257 00:21:21,760 --> 00:21:27,800 he said, well, first of all, like we Indians, we don't export tea because our demand is 258 00:21:27,800 --> 00:21:34,400 higher or consumption is higher than our production. So we import tea. He told me like Indians 259 00:21:34,400 --> 00:21:40,120 are not so like in general terms, of course, not so fine in terms of tea drinking. So it's 260 00:21:40,120 --> 00:21:46,480 like boiling and adding sugar, you know, like the typical thing. Well, if you ever try to 261 00:21:46,480 --> 00:21:53,840 replicate the flavor of this instant teas or the teas that you buy in, that's actually 262 00:21:53,840 --> 00:22:00,280 over infusing tea, which is super bitter and then balancing it with lemon and sugar, then 263 00:22:00,280 --> 00:22:06,040 you got this nasty flavor, you know? And he was the first person who told me like, you 264 00:22:06,040 --> 00:22:10,760 know, like Chinese are much more refined than Japanese when it comes to tea, which makes 265 00:22:10,760 --> 00:22:15,680 sense. You know, like, like tea was introduced to Japan from China. So, and he told me, do 266 00:22:15,680 --> 00:22:23,360 you know about the myth of the origin of tea? So there was this like the equivalent to Hippocrates 267 00:22:23,360 --> 00:22:32,000 in the West, and his name is Shen Don. It's like the oldest medic you will find in Asia, 268 00:22:32,000 --> 00:22:38,400 right? Like this ancient medic. So, and he would like, these things are interesting, 269 00:22:38,400 --> 00:22:44,720 like, you know, this alchemist stories, for instance, Ban-Marie, you know, having something 270 00:22:44,720 --> 00:22:49,600 in a water bath has nothing to do with Christianity, which is what most people would think, you 271 00:22:49,600 --> 00:22:55,240 know, Mary, the Virgin Mary, and so on. This was actually an alchemist who was the first 272 00:22:55,240 --> 00:23:05,600 one to coined that way of keeping things warm. And so her name was Mary. In the case of tea, 273 00:23:05,600 --> 00:23:13,840 this guy Shen Don, he was the one that introduced boiling water into hygienic practices. So 274 00:23:13,840 --> 00:23:19,280 he would like make his servants boil any water that he would drink, you know, we're talking 275 00:23:19,280 --> 00:23:25,840 about thousands of years ago. And the story goes that he was near a forest and a few dry 276 00:23:25,840 --> 00:23:31,440 leaves that were flying with the wind fell into his water. And the servant said, Oh, 277 00:23:31,440 --> 00:23:36,520 we're going to throw it away. And he said, No, let's drink it. And he discovered tea. 278 00:23:36,520 --> 00:23:38,040 Isn't it a nice story? 279 00:23:38,040 --> 00:23:46,040 Yeah, drinking drinking drinking random water. If he's so if he's so clean, so clean about 280 00:23:46,040 --> 00:23:52,120 his water, and that's a random shit place. He's like, this was like a magical forest 281 00:23:52,120 --> 00:23:56,760 with perfect fermented sensual leaves flying in the wind. Don't you get it? I want to go 282 00:23:56,760 --> 00:24:02,520 there, man. I want to go there. What about cooking with tea? Have you had good experiences 283 00:24:02,520 --> 00:24:08,280 cooking with tea? I mean, first thing that comes to mind is matcha. Me too. I'm not a 284 00:24:08,280 --> 00:24:13,400 huge fan. Not a huge fan. Matcha. Oh, man, matcha is so underrated. Honestly. Have you 285 00:24:13,400 --> 00:24:18,040 ever had like real matcha? Like frothed up just simple matcha? You would love it, man. 286 00:24:18,040 --> 00:24:23,320 I have like, after this experience in China, I was like, Oh, I have so many tea at home 287 00:24:23,320 --> 00:24:27,360 that I've gotten from you know, every time I have a business meeting with a Japanese 288 00:24:27,360 --> 00:24:31,960 they they give you like a present and most of the time is tea. So I had like 20 tea bags, 289 00:24:31,960 --> 00:24:36,360 really good teas at home. And I have a few matcha bags that I haven't tried yet. But 290 00:24:36,360 --> 00:24:41,880 I have it just on my to do list. Maybe I could do it today. I mean, the only place I have 291 00:24:41,880 --> 00:24:49,720 had matcha like and it was like really good was well in Japan, obviously, in the restaurant 292 00:24:49,720 --> 00:24:55,160 where I was working because everybody would get a bowl of matcha after the meal. But also 293 00:24:55,160 --> 00:25:01,160 going to other kaiseki places like really traditional high class Japanese restaurants. 294 00:25:01,160 --> 00:25:05,800 And man matcha if you like sencha if you like this like grassy flavor matcha so insanely 295 00:25:05,800 --> 00:25:11,400 delicious because it's that it has this like beautiful creamy foamy texture. But there's 296 00:25:11,400 --> 00:25:16,120 no like no dairy or anything. It's like super light obviously. But it also it has this nuttiness. 297 00:25:16,840 --> 00:25:22,040 And it's it's insane. But unfortunately, most of the matcha that you like get is really bad 298 00:25:22,040 --> 00:25:26,840 quality. Like when you buy matcha, you need to buy something that's called ceremonial grade 299 00:25:26,840 --> 00:25:32,920 matcha. Yeah, I have a few good ones because they're like in super little envelopes that look like 300 00:25:32,920 --> 00:25:38,440 drugs, you know, like and he gave me like five of those the guy that gave me the present. And he 301 00:25:38,440 --> 00:25:43,160 was like, this one is a very high quality one. So I have one of those that is supposed to be super 302 00:25:43,160 --> 00:25:47,800 good. Yeah, yeah, I definitely want to start actually like I want to buy a little little 303 00:25:47,800 --> 00:25:53,000 matcha whisk. Yeah, and start drinking matcha because it's also it's also one of the super 304 00:25:53,000 --> 00:26:00,120 healthy for you. Super, super healthy. I remember that there was a quote from I don't remember who 305 00:26:00,120 --> 00:26:07,400 like maybe Alan Sanderans, one of the novel cuisine chefs in France. And he was like, you know, 306 00:26:07,400 --> 00:26:13,880 this feeling of complaining of like, what have we done with our cuisine? You know, like at the very 307 00:26:13,880 --> 00:26:20,680 peak moment of the French cuisine? What have we done like this crazy combinations this and that 308 00:26:20,680 --> 00:26:28,680 ice tea sorbet for Christ's sake? What have we done? I've had like very good ice tea sorbets. I 309 00:26:28,680 --> 00:26:39,240 remember a recipe from this dessert book that he has sweet seduction. It's an amazing dessert, 310 00:26:39,240 --> 00:26:43,400 man. It's a super nice tea sorbet. I don't actually know which one you mean, I have to look it up. 311 00:26:43,400 --> 00:26:48,600 But this is like those kind of things like, you know, over infusing, balancing it with sugar and 312 00:26:48,600 --> 00:26:53,480 lemon. And then you have this icy flavor, which is what it is, you know? Yeah, yeah, for sure. 313 00:26:54,040 --> 00:26:58,600 I mean, I've done that with it is a really nice Japanese tea called hojicha, which is like roasted 314 00:26:58,600 --> 00:27:04,280 stems of tea, kind of like very smoky. Yeah, kukicha, right? Like the stems of the green tea. 315 00:27:04,280 --> 00:27:09,000 Okay, that's a different one. There's hojicha. You should try it. It's like, it's kind of really 316 00:27:09,000 --> 00:27:15,000 roasty and smoky. It's really, really delicious. And that infused in milk and an ice cream made 317 00:27:15,000 --> 00:27:20,520 out of that. Absolutely delicious. Also, another Japanese green tea that I really like is like a 318 00:27:20,520 --> 00:27:24,840 working class tea is genmaicha. I don't know if you know it with the roasted rice. Yeah, man, 319 00:27:24,840 --> 00:27:30,200 I love that. I love that. First time I had it was in Kokolo Ramen in Berlin. Oh, yeah. And I was 320 00:27:30,200 --> 00:27:35,400 what is this? Because it's like green tea, but it has also the rice grains are roasted, right? So 321 00:27:35,400 --> 00:27:41,240 they have this popcorn aroma. Exactly. Super, super nice. And I have at one point I put that 322 00:27:41,240 --> 00:27:46,920 into beurre blanc. Ah, nice. To like infuse. Nice. Yeah, yeah. Now you get this like tea 323 00:27:46,920 --> 00:27:56,760 and like also like roasted rice flavor. That was very delicious. But yeah. That's it for this 324 00:27:56,760 --> 00:28:01,720 week's episode of potluck food talks. If you like what we're doing, make sure to subscribe to the 325 00:28:01,720 --> 00:28:07,080 podcast so you never miss an episode. You can also find us on Instagram and TikTok as potluck 326 00:28:07,080 --> 00:28:20,360 food talks. The show airs every Monday.