TeaChat

I went to Sanjiang County, outside of Guilin, for an inspection tour of some sites, and as usual, found a way to bring tea into it. The area has a very high population of Dong Ethnic People (yes, I know, funny name). They are of the Black Dong Group (yes, even funnier name). They are known for their oil tea, which I really love, especially in winter, but few people who are new to it do because it is quite bitter. It is made by first frying tea leaves in oil and then brewing it. In a bowl, puffed rice, peanuts, and sometimes beans are added. It is generally eaten with a single chopstick to help shove the rice and peanuts into your mouth. It is a very bitter drink, but wonderful! I had it at two different villages. Unfortunately, it was very weak because the people I traveled with are not used to it. I do love it.

I did see a street that has shops selling nothing but oil tea, but it was not in the villages and I did not have time to stop.

Fascinating!

Thanks for posting.

IPT,

That sounds amazing! Do you know what kind of tea they were using and about how long they were 'frying' it? I really want to try this.

or even what type of oil they use....?

Either way... very interesting, thanks for sharing! (oh, if only we had smell-o-vision... )

Smeloo visione iphone 6?

Generally, they either just pick some fresh tea leaves off of a tree, or they have leaves that they just dried in the sun to use. It is not a special or particular type of tea leaf. It smells strong and bitter. It is certainly not for everyone. I will post some photos of the leaves I have.

haha, neat. That settles it - I am going to plant some tea bushes.

Oh, for oil, generally peanut oil is used, because it is the cheapest here, but any oil would work.