The gentle flavor with the natural sweetness expand and linger in the back of my mouth for quite some time, after a sip of my favorite Chinese tea, Pu-er cha, goes down my throat, warming my body and calming me down.

I had never cared about tea until I went to Malaysia, where I met Jackie. I was 14… or maybe 15 back then. Jackie had a little souvenir shop on the ground floor of the apartment building, where I lived. When I was 15 years old, I did not speak much English but some how, I managed to communicate with him. Jackie was a short Chinese Malay, always with a big gentle smile. I do not recall since when but I was always at his store drinking tea. He has introduced me different kinds of Chinese tea and tea sets.

In his store, there were displays of Malay crafts, like the Royal Selangor Pewter plaques, cups and containers, artisan’s batik fabric, and other little things like magnets and keychains. I also remember kites made of batik fabric on the glass window as display… I always wondered if they would actually fly in the sky…

Surrounded by those products, there was a counter where Jackie hid himself and his tea sets, and I was hiding with him, drinking tea. It was not that we were trying to be away from the eyes of the customers or anything but the counter was so tall that it hid us.

My favorite tea, back then, was TieGuanYin tea, which is a family of Oolong tea. I like this tea is because the flavor lingers longer in my mouth than Oolong tea, and I like the flavor of it too.

What I did not like much in the beginning was Pu-er tea. It has earthy flavor and I thought I am drinking mud water. What is funny is that Pu-er tea is my favorite tea now. Behind the earthiness, there is subtle freshness and sweetness. It reminds me of refreshing rainy day when the rain plays the natural music, the breeze brings the fragrance of the wet soil, and plants on the field are enjoying the shower from the heaven. By the way, ladies, it is said that drinking Pu-er tea helps with losing weight.

Just as the sound of rain, I like the moment when hot water is poured into the tea pot. Not only does it make nice sound, the smoky steam escaping from the tea pot is just pleasing to watch. When the tea is just right in the third cup, I can smell the flavor when water is poured into the pot. I can enjoy the flavor before sipping, and even after finishing the cup. The flavor remains on the cup.

After Jackie taught me enjoyment of tea, I bought Chinese tea set. Along with the Chinese tea ceremony experience in Jackie’s store, I took Japanese tea ceremony lessons as well. I also explored British tea. I found that in different culture, tea is prepared differently but, there are some commonalities.

Whether if if it is green tea, matcha tea, darjeeling tea, assam tea, infusion tea with dried fruit, or any other tea, good tea leaves have long lasting flavor in your mouth, just as Chinese tea. When the tea leaves are good, I do not want to ruin them. To get the best flavor out of the leaves, I moist them in the tea pot with a little bit of hot water first. After giving moist to the leaves, I pour the water to my cups and other china to to warm them. Then, I pour hot water in the tea pot to drink. This method works well for all the tea that I have tried. The last commonality, though my subjective feeling, is that they taste the best on a rainy day. They give me comfort.

Jackie, I do not know where you are, how you are doing now but I hope you and your family are well. I just want to say thank you for what you taught me and your friendship.