☵ Yumcha is exciting. Yumcha is glorious. Yumcha is all about the dim-sums, the trolley girls, the noise and the people. Lots and lots of people. Especially on the weekends.
☰ Somewhere in amongst it all is the tea. Usually Sow Mee white tea, Pu-erh or Ti Kuan Yin. All of them brewed fast and strong. To the tastes of the older folks that seem to live there. For those of you that did not know, Sow Mee is actually a white tea like Silver Needle or Pai Mu Tan. But they serve Sow Mee because it's cheap and has enough strong for those, said, old folks to be able to taste something.
☶ That's just the way it is.
☴ And because that's just the way it is, no matter how tasty or exciting the food, there comes a time in the many yumchas going, when somebody like me has had too much and most of the eating session is spent in the waiting lounge just outside reception.
☱ Nothing rude. And nothing cultural. I have seen lots of Chinese do it themselves: What is supposed to bring pleasure and happiness, is itself now a big drain. Too much social etiquette to handle.
☳ I bring this up because I want to show that even tea can have its limits. Just like coffee, soft drinks, alcohol and any other beverage that I have missed. We get jaded. That is why we lean heavily towards Tea Time equalling Me Time.
☷ In Hong Kong, there is a small and quiet trend happening for more gentile yumcha. A little dearer than the usually type. But in these places they serve better tea with more choices and the noise not so noisy. And if there is any lining up to do, it is done downstairs, street level. On the surface it is all about the quality and style, but really it has more to do with enjoying life in Hong Kong that transcends merely coping or barely surviving.
☲ You go there to NOT be seen. You go there to get back to enjoying what you really love. Tea Time meaning Me Time again.
