The Lung Ching Episode

Inspired by a good pot of Pu Erh tea a few weeks ago and followed by Sigma Delta’s suggestion, I embarked on a journey to discover the teas of the world at teayana – the tea lounge in Jeddah. I have tried a few teas on the menu since, including a rare variety: the Lung Ching or the Dragon Well teas.

As the story goes, a Chinese village was facing a severe drought in 250 AD and a Tao monk advised the villagers to pray to the dragon living in a nearby well to end the dry spell. The villagers obliged, the rains followed – and the village of “Lung Ching” or “Dragon Well” entered the history of tea. A monastery bearing that name stills stands next to the well to this day.

During the Qing dynasty, Emperor Qian Long had the opportunity to taste Lung Ching tea at the Wugong Temple and he was so impressed that he had eighteen of the tea trees at the temple designated as Imperial Tea, reserved for the Emperor himself.

Lung Ching is amongst the rare, connoisseur green teas on offer at teayana. Other exotic teas in the menu include the Japanese Gyokuro, Chinese Hunan Oolong, Zheijang Yin Luo No, Tai Mu along, Formosa Jade Oolong from Taiwan and teayana’s own Jasmine Pearl tea.

“This is China’s most famous tea and simply the best of the Lung Ching variety. It has more than a thousand years of recorded history and was mentioned in the first ever tea book (Cha Ching) by Lu Yu during the Tang Dynasty.

The exquisite, fat but narrow emerald green tea leaves have a shiny appearance after being carefully hand fried in a large wok. The tea leaves easily sink to the bottom of the cup during infusion and a pleasant aroma arises which is refreshingly light with a hint of fruit and nut combined. The aftertaste is almost instantaneous, filling your mouth with a sweetness reminiscent of grape fruit. It may be enjoyed plain from morning to late afternoon and is best without milk.”

reads The Book of Tea at teayana.

Overwhelmed by the stories, recommendations and an undeniable charm of the stories, I order a pot of Lung Ching.

The tea arrives with a mini-hourglass that would indicate the perfect brewing time. I watch the fine grains of coloured sand seep through like a tiny waterfall, as the hot water in the pot slowly begins to turn to the colour of the morning sun.

After three minutes, I am ready to taste the exotic, light golden colour tea brewed from “fried” tea leaves. Never in my wildest dreams that I imagined tea would be brewed from ‘fried’ leaves!

The last few grains of sand seep through the narrow neck in the hour-glass as I eagerly wait to taste the tea. I resist myself from snatching a sachet of sugar on impulse, sometimes it’s hard to let go of the nasty habits of drinking tea Sri Lankan style.

I hold the cup with both hands and enjoy the warmth for a moment. As I take a deep breath, the Lung Ching fragrance titillates my senses. The aroma is gentle and inviting. I take the first sip and let it penetrate my taste buds. I love the first sip, and struggle to find words to describe the taste.

Grass.

Yes, Lung Ching tastes like green tea with a hint of grass. But, in a very good way.

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Camellia sinensis or the tea plant grows taller than 10 meters (33ft) typically, if left untrimmed. The No 1 “King Tree” found in the mountainous region of Pu Erh, China, is 2,700 years old, 25.6 metres (85 ft) tall, with a root diameter of 1.2 m (4 ft). These ancient tea trees are protected and the leaves are not allowed to be picked. Sri Lanka’s tallest tea tree can be found in Dambetenna Estate, Haputale and it is around 18 metres (60 ft) in height.

360° View: Sri Lanka, Lebanon and Saudi Arabia

Amaya Lake. Sometime in 2007. End of the break, time to leave.


Watching the Sunrise, somewhere in the Lebanese mountains. 2009. My good pal Fadi caught in the frame.


Saudi Arabia, 2008. Watching the sunset from a mountain top.


2006. Kaudulla, Sri Lanka. Elephant watching has just begun. Mahesh and Ranga with Arham – the amateur film crew. ;) I have combined the frames to create a huge image – almost 16 meters in length @ 72dpi.


270° View from a mountain top, somewhere in Buttala jungle, Sri Lanka. 2006.


Combining frames to create a single image kinda takes away the WOW factor, me thinks. And yes, these were shot without a tripod, hence the zig-zag look.

Sri Lanka Parliament: The revolution will not be televised.

Right or wrong, it is important to have an opinion. That’s one of the reasons why I admire people like Castro, Gaddafi and Putin – or even Obama to some extent. But not the lot that sound like Blairs and Browns.

One’s opinions and beliefs may not necessarily agree with someone else’s, but having an opinion and sticking to one’s beliefs are of paramount importance. This sets apart a leader, and a follower.

I was thinking. Yes, sometimes I do that. Why does the entire Sri Lankan populace seem to harp the same tune in unison – most often than not? Today, it would be the arrest of Fonseka, for example.

The biggest mantra in the last few elections has been “abolishing the Executive Presidency” and everyone seems to get so gung-ho about it. But, hang on a second, is that the biggest problem in our parliamentary system today?

Nope.

In my humble opinion, the biggest problem we have with our “elected representatives of the people” is the A-C-C-O-U-N-T-A-B-I-L-I-T-Y.

Or, the lack of it, rather.

We appoint the MP’s and give them responsibilities. But no one seems to monitor or evaluate their performance. True, the whole country – even the private sector – is not used to setting annual objectives and conducting evaluations on progress or performance, but then why is that everyone ganging-up on the President to criticise everything he does – be it right or wrong for the country? Who is holding the opposition responsible for their failure to keep the government in it’s rightful place? Why does media give us their opinion, not the facts (we know which is on whose side, don’t we?) so that you and I can make-up our own minds and form our own opinion?

Leave that aside.

Who is holding the hundreds of MP’s responsible or accountable for what they do, or don’t?

Accountability is what we need. That is what would clean-up the country, not a retired military man with a big mouth.

One solution would be to dissolve the Provincial Councils and revert to the electorate system where there is one solitary MP for each constituency.

An MP for every electorate, who will be responsible and accountable for the development of his area. If he doesn’t deliver his promises, voters have the ability and the power to throw him out, like we used to do in the 70’s.

The good old way would bring back a lean and mean Parliament, backed by a Civil Service that runs the administration of the country. The grama seveka’s, DRO’s, AGA’s, GA’s... they were part of an effective mechanism, which was much better than the current – politically appointed – provincial council system.

That would also bring back one responsible minister for education, not a handful. It would take the many different ministries responsible for healthcare under one roof, to make up one ministry.

And it would pave the way to downsize or minimize the Cabinet and let the MP’s do the work, instead of the talk.

I’d say, go back to the system of one constituency for every MP. Either dissolve, negate or relegate the Provincial Councils. The powers conferred upon the Executive President doesn’t mean much if the power of the parliament is back in the hands of the people.

What say you?

*The Revolution Will Not Be Televised is a poem and song by Gil Scott-Heron.