Wednesday, November 2, 2016

ÇAY TIME

TURKISH TEA -- SO MUCH MORE THAN A WARM DRINK

I'm not much of a tea drinker.

Iced tea in summer, sure.

Unsweetened please.

Hot tea?

Maybe only at a Chinese restaurant that brings it to the table. For free.

Turkish Coffee might be more famous.

Had plenty of it in Istanbul.

Thick, strong. Not my -- I can't resist here -- cuppa tea.

But çay, it's a whole different story.

Your hosts bring it to you.

There's an apple version if you're concerned about caffeine before bed time.

Vendors summon it for you in the storied Grand Bazaar.

Restaurants throw it in as lagniappe.

New friends bring it.

In tulip shaped glasses.

It's a ritual I very much miss.

And FYI, it's pronounced kinda like TCHAI.

A CHUH sound with a T crunched into it.

Then a long I sound -- like the UY in GUY.

Know you know.

ÇAY

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