Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Pulling tea

Food is as much about the process as it is about the end product, the visual of how it is made as much as the taste. When I was in Malaysia, one of the favorite things I liked to drink--and watched to be made--was teh tarik. The name literally translates to "pulled tea" and the drink is generally known as the unofficial beverage of the country. (As an example of the great diversity and cross cultural influence inside Malaysia, teh tarik is originally a Mamak--or southern, Muslim Indian--cuisine, though it is consumed by all races.)

The drink is essentially black tea and condensed milk. Simple enough, yeah? But the way it's made is quite unique and entertaining to watch The mixture is poured back and forth repeatedly between two vessels of some type, from some height. It looks like a rubber band being pulled as it is poured. This helps mix the tea with the milk, gives it a thick, frothy foam head, and cools the liquid. It's fun to watch and even better to sip.

Check out this video. Nevermind the music.


And this one guy is getting a bit artsy with his pouring. Twirl, man, twirl with your teh!

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