Ghost Street

 Now it's many weeks after the fact, but I haven't had the chance to mention a few tea adventures during my last week in China. A few days before I left, Kelsey and I traveled to a big eating district--an area of town called Ghost Street (Gui Jie). This name apparently comes from "Ghost fairs" or markets that would be held until wee hours of the morning, and the lanterns that kept the street lit would look spooky, like ghosts. (this would have been a nice post for Halloween, but alas, things come up.) We went to a place called Hua's Restaurant that was sort of made to look like an avenue from the inside and had really good food. Our dinner came out in courses--first, potato pancakes, then a chicken dish with fried rice, and finally a crunchy caramel-covered apple treat. 

But, before all that came a steaming pot of a beautiful, honey-colored jasmine tea. (I've already mentioned a conversion to non-black teas, and a particular fondness for one jasmine tea, so it was a no-brainer when the waitress gave us a choice between jasmine or oolong.) What was particularly interesting to me about this tea was the color--I hadn't expected such a rich gold color from a floral tea (yet more surprises!). And, being one who usually takes sugar with my tea, I was also pleasantly surprised that this tea needed no sweetener; it wasn't the least bit bitter. I suppose this is a trait of lighter teas, but I'll have to investigate it further. It suited the atmosphere, the food, and our conversation--a perfect dinner tea.