Tea: The Cappuccino of BF

Yesterday, I learned about the tea making process with a bunch of other stagiaires. It is a popular passtime here since much time is spent in the whole process and really, the main point is the asthetic and the chatting that goes on. It has all the aspects of drinking alcohol socially, minus the alcohol, spending of money, and inebriation. I think I am going to pick up the habit once I get to site. It is a nice way to pass the morning or afternoon.

First, you must light the charcoal (charbon) and let it heat up. Then you place one tea kettle on the charcoal with water and let it heat up with the tea until it is bien cuit. The tea goes through an intense reboiling, reheating and sugaring process until the first tea is ready. The first tea is much like cappucino and the most important part is the foam (mousse) and the incredible thick and sludgy aspect of the first tea. Afterwards, you repeat the process of much pouring back and forth for the second tea and the third teas. Optional is the mint, which I really did enjoy.

I am not really doing justice to the whole process and describing all the steps, but I am sure one of th other stagiaires will blog about the actual process.

In other news, I am giving my first test tommorrow. We will see how that goes. Speaking of which, I am running out of time and need to finish writing up my exam and have the francais and the logistics of the exam reviewed by the facilitators to see if the test I am giving is comprehensible and also reasonable.