I am so excited to have a Kurdish tea!!
I loved drinking tea when I was in Iraq.
I am excited to use my $2.50 Iraqi scarf I picked up at a secondhand store. I actually found it about two weeks after I returned from Iraq. It is perfect! It even has Arabic writing on it.
While in Erbil, Iraq I bought two teapots
tea serving tray
12 teacups
12 saucers
12 spoons
rock sugar stirrers
boiled sugar
green cardamom
saffron
roses
tea perfume
cinnamon
dates
6 silver plated plates
and several kinds of Kurdish tea
When I came home I ordered the sugar container that we used in Kurdistan. I looked when I was there and I could not find one like it. When I got home I did a google photo search and found it for $10 on eBay. I love that it is just like what we used at the Center for tea.
I couldn't wait to share about the journey to Iraq, the things I saw, the people I met, and the tea I drank.
Pistachio treats I had in Erbil!
While drinking tea in Iraq they usually have sunflower seeds, dates, pistachios, or other nuts. I bought dates while in Kurdistan, so I shared those at the tea. I also had some great pistachio treats while in Erbil- so I ordered some from Amazon...and they were great!
I had regular sugar, rock sugar with saffron, and boiled sugar for the guests to try with their teas.
This is the blend of tea I am using for this tea. This is the tea that the family who I had dinner with the one night used. The man was kind enough to go to the store and buy me these teas.
I needed something to put my tea blend in. So, when I got back to the states I went to my favorite Tea shop. I knew that they had giant tins that they were getting rid of, they went with a new tin for their new store. When I asked them if they still had any tins, they actually had a Cardamom Black tin. How cool is that? My Kurdistan tea is now in a perfect tin!!
I had 8 friends from church over for a Kurdish Tea Party.
We sent a video to my friends who are in Kurdistan before the tea party started. Telling them hi.
They sent us a video back saying that they were now drinking tea too!
So much fun!
We also sent them a video of us clinking our glasses!!
I told my guests that in Kurdistan that clinking your glasses while you stir your tea is all part of the process. Not to be confused with in England, you are NOT to clink your spoon and teacup.
We did 5 rounds...the reason we moved the tea from Sunday at 2pm to Saturday at 10am, because of all the caffeine.
The first round of tea (Chai) was the straight up black tea with cardamon.
I started by pouring the first round. And I was trying to do what I learned and fill the glass up as high as I could. They say that if you don't fill the glass up the entire way, you bring shame to your family.
It made it super hard to pass the tea when the glasses were really full.
The next rounds I passed the tea around and let them pour the tea themselves.
This way too they could get the tea as strong as they wanted it.
It is important to strain the tea- fill it 3/4 full of tea...then finish with the hot water.
You have two teapots.
The smaller tea pot- holds the tea and water. It makes a tea concentrate.
The bottom, larger teapot, has the hot water, that you pour into the cup to finish off the tea.
The second round I added Ceylon cinnamon. It is literally tree bark, native from Sri Lanka. (The one most used in the US is Cassia Cinnamon)
The third round I added roses.
I could not believe that I actually liked the hint of rose in the tea. I never thought I would.
The tea seems to get better the more items we add.
I can totally see while people blend their own tea, and each Iraqi family has their own Kurdish Tea blend.
Jason will NOT be bringing shame to his family...see how full he got his teacup!!
The fourth round we tried the mix from my "spice guy" the tea that we don't know what is in it, lol.
We could see the obvious black tea, the cardamon, rose petals, saffron, and what looked to be maybe blue corn flowers.
Below is my spice guy and the secret blend of tea from him,
I loved trying teas with my friends. We told stories, gave thoughts on the tea, and laughed lots.
The fifth and final round had the saffron added in.
Can you have too many tea pots??? I think not!!
I didn't really notice much of a difference with the saffron in it. And this round I tasted a lot of the cinnamon. I guess that is because it had been in the teapot for so long. I liked the cinnamon in there for sure. Maybe if I added the saffron in sooner I would have noticed it more. That is the joy of playing with your tea! You can always try something new the next time.
Make tea and have friends over!! It doesn't have to be fancy. It can just be a time to get together and connect. Tea can bring people together. Tea doesn't judge...lol!
Things I learned about Kurdish Tea while I was in Iraq:
Tea here is called Chai. It is a black Ceylon tea with cardamon.
A teahouse is the second most visited place in Iraq, just after the mosques.
Tea is the number one drink in Iraq.
There are tea houses all over Erbil and some are for men only. The men sit around- drink tea, play games, talk business, and politics.
Tea houses in Iraq are called chai khana.
It is becoming more acceptable to women to be allowed in some teahouses.
Iraqis are said to drink 1 pound of tea a month. In 2021, Iraq was the largest importers of Ceylon tea.
Tea is for rich and poor, old and young. It is a part of the culture in Iraq.
In the 19th century the governor of Bhagdad turned all the coffee houses into tea houses.
But tea really gained it's popularity when the British army came to Iraq.
I've heard that people will start their day with Kurdish tea too. That if they don't they believe they will often have headaches and become dizzy.
If you buy tea along the streets here it is less and .50
Iraqi tea is served in a small cup made of glass called “Istikan” and this word means “East Tea
Can”. In other countries, I have heard them called Tulip cups, because of the shape.
Tea is made in a Samovar. The bottom kettle has the hot water, the top, smaller kettle has the stronger tea concentrate. You would fill the cup up with around 3/4 of the black tea and then the rest with hot water. You try to fill the cup up as full as you can.
When tea is served it comes on a saucer, with the cup and a spoon. The spoons can stick together. If a man receives two spoons that means he will have two wives.
To cool the tea, some pour the tea in the saucer to drink it. Some also keep the teacup in the saucer and lift the saucer up to drink from the cup, since the tea can be so hot.
There are a few things that can be added to this tea...a cinnamon stick, a rose bud, saffron, and even a tea perfume.
Tea is served with dates, sunflower seeds, pistachios, cookies, and other sweet treats.
The teaspoon is left in the cup when the tea is poured, if left out they think of you as inferior to them. (I also read that you never serve the spoon in the cup. It all depends on what part of Iraq you are from. When served in Erbil, it always had a spoon in the cup when it was brought to me. Yet, when I went to a Kurdish home, he made the tea without the spoon in it.)
People love the clinking of the teaspoon along the teacup as the sugar is stirred in. The clinking sounds are heard all over shops and bazars.
You will find kiosks of tea sellers on the side of streets, in the bazar, and all along the roads in villages.
Picnics always includes tea. People will grill their food over wood and charcoal and then put the kettle on. Some say tea over wood or charcoal is the best.
If you go to someone's house, it is rude for them not to offer tea. And you usually will have at least 2 cups.
Let me know if you want me to do a tea for you.
I will bring the tea to you. I am happy to do educational teas for groups, friends, co-workers, family, birthdays, showers, etc.
1 Peter 4:10-11, ESV
1 Peter 4:10-11, ESV
10 As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God's varied grace: 11 whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies—in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment