Today I found a Tea that really packs a punch! I have to say, that when perusing the aisles of an asian variety store in downtown Burwood, I was quite taken aback when I spotted this compact little green box labelled "special gunpowder". At first glance, I could see only the lid, which gave nothing away..."special gunpowder" and some chinese characters. I turned the box, and in french was Temple du Ciel, The vert de chine 'SPECIAL GUNPOWDER". I was still none the wiser?! The fact that it was amongst the teas, was a bit of a giveaway, and as it was only $1.90 for a box, I decided to buy it and investigate later. Then, as I was putting it on the counter to pay, I realised that on the OTHER SIDE of the box, in English, its said "Temple of Heaven, China Green Tea "Special Gunpowder". What a relief to find that instead of slipping some explosive contraband into the tea aisle, I had simply stumbled across a newfound pleasure. On investigation (googling wikepedia), I have found that Gunpowder tea is a form of green Chinese tea produced in Zhejiang Province of China in which each leaf has been rolled into a small round pellet. It is believed to take its English name from the fact that the tea resembles gunpowder pellets used for a cannon. As the name suggests, I expected a nice strong tea. The aroma of the dry pellets was really strong and deliciously enticing and after brewing it as usual in my favourite pot, I wasn't disappointed! I enjoyed a lovely strong brew. Oh, I love a nice cup of tea. The more varieties the better..but this was more about the novelty and amusement value of the packaging, along with the little adventure of investigating something new, rather than finding a new taste sensation. Cheap thrills for me today!
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LOL! Where'd you get the props from? Waaaay cool! I don't really like strong chinese tea though, I find it a bit too bitter, gimme strong english breakfast or something any day of the week though!
ReplyDeleteOh I gotta try this, I LOVE strong tea, in fact I usually use TWO teabags per cup to make it strong enough, what can I say, I love my caffeine!
ReplyDeleteThey look the same as Buddahs Tears from T2 only with a way cooler name!!
ReplyDeleteThe props are my 4 year olds (I had to wrestle them off him for the Shot!). I'll give you the box YY...I thought YOU would have tried it already. The leaves don't look too much like cannon balls to me though. I guess its all in the interpretation.
ReplyDeleteHaha I love the title of this and I would absolutely be similarly intrigued if I saw a package labeled gunpowder tea! :)
ReplyDeleteAnd we thought we'd heard the last of the chk chk boom girl! Unfortunately she has left this legacy behind. Yes, I too would have bought this except we have three cupboards full of tea already, no two packs the same! : )
ReplyDeleteLOL..yes you are truly the tea queens of the North! I thought I'd have to try hard to get one past you that you hadn't already tried!!
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