This day, 8 October, in 1975, Deng Xiaoping met with Prime Minister of Yugoslavia, Džemal Bijedić. Deng pointed out that the Third World is the foundation of...
I would normally have said no. But I was all out of tea that day.
Actually, I welcomed that big cup of coffee after another poor night’s sleep. The drink was ice cold, mercifully unsweetened and wrapped in the green of Starbucks’ gentle gorgon.
Among international brands, Starbucks is bucking a trend here, its China arm remaining wholly-US owned after other fast-food concerns have sold out to local firms. Starbucks has not splintered nor run away yet.
So it’s logical that my foreign colleague chose this brand for his gift to the...
From my days selling tea in the UK, some moments stand out in my memory. In one, a lady comes into our shop (a national chain) and takes from the shelf her usual packet of cheap Darjeeling.
The season is Spring. Coincidentally, we have just received a consignment of First Flush Darjeeling from Margaret’s Hope in West Bengal. I’ve only just sampled this new “premium” version for myself. The experience is an epiphany to me (as one who prizes Chinese tea above all others!) The difference between this and the...
Nanjing isn’t an English verb. It probably never will be.
Like Darjeeling or Wyoming, our brains probably have to work hard to stop thinking of these proper nouns as verbs. That “ing” ending is a red herring we all know better than to actually hear.
Shanghai, of course, is a verb. It’s a bit like “press-ganged”. If you’ve forgotten the meaning, go and check out the Charlie Chaplin film ‘Shanghaied’.
Japan is an English verb as well. If an object is japanned, it has been finished with a thick shiny lacquer;...
“Thank you for your tea.”
“I just tried it.”
“It has a very good taste and smell.”
As a proper tea nut, this is the kind of WeChat message I’m used to sending and receiving.
But this was odd. I hadn’t given any tea to my colleague’s girlfriend. So her message made no sense.
Then I remembered. Yes, I had given them some curry leaves earlier in the week.
With the huge minimum order of curry leaves purchasable on Taobao, I had given half to the only other person I know nearby who loves Indian...
