Jakarta Weekend of TEA!

I spent the weekend in crazy, hot, crowded Jakarta! I had a lot of fun and drank a lot of tea. Expect full reports upon my return home in August. Here's a teaser! I went to Harvey Nichol's Social House, the "IT" place to be in Jakarta these days. On day one, Friday June 18, I, along with friend Vero shared afternoon tea of delightful status! Despite using Lipton (Yellow Label) I thoroughly enjoyed the elegant and leisurely experience!

Saturday, June 19, I went with Vero and Widya to Tea Addict, a really cozy tea cafe located in the Kemang area of South Jakarta. We spent a while relaxing. They have over 30 special Tea Addict blends. I had Sweet Vanilla and Vero had English Breakfast...Widya had a cappuccino, for shame!

Yesterday, June 20, we drove up to Puncak to hike through the tea plantation! It was really beautiful. And then we drank tea straight from the source along with a breakfast of pisang goreng (fried bananas).

A weekend of great tea and friends! Get ready for a single review full of pictures for each! For now, enjoy the brief update.

-The Tea Gastronomer

Hello from Yogyakarta, Indonesia

Hello from Indonesia! I am sitting in one of the many lovely internet cafes that grace this wildly exciting city. The proprietor has just switched on an Indonesian cover version of Lady Gaga's Pokerface after having "I wanna make love right now now now" on repeat for 35 minutes...Anyway, I am quite enjoying the country. A real culture shock for me, but in a good way. And the good news is I am drinking lots of tea! I have multiple glasses of homemade es teh manis daily. And bottled teh hijau (green tea) is not only delicious, but extremely sweet. Central Java loves sweet tea! Also, you can buy tea powder and tea mixes at every convenient store. Photos to appear on my return to the states. Until then...Selamat Minum!

The Tea Gastronomer Heads to INDONESIA!

Here I go! I am departing in just a couple days now for a 2 month journey to Indonesia! I'm quite excited! I'll be spending my first month in the artist town of Yogyakarta on Central Java, where I'll be working with Papermoon Puppet Theatre, a modern puppet theatre company who I began collaborations with during their six month stay in NYC. Following that, I will venture over to Bali where I will train in traditional Balinese dance in the village of Pengosekan Ubud with the Gamelan and Dance group, Cudamani. I expect many exciting things to come out of this experience! I am psyched!

Oh...and near the end leg of my trip I will be heading up north to the Cameron Highlands in Malaysia to visit the tea plantations and sample straight from the source. Expect updates from me as I drink the many varieties of tea Indonesia has to offer. I wish you all the best! The next time I post will be from the another coast!

Indonesian Tehbotol (Tea Bottle)
Sweet Jasmine Tea

-The Tea Gastronomer