JUNE 08

Round, smooth, and a little fruity...examine the colour, and smell before taking a sip. Most of us do that with wine, but tea connoisseurs do the same with tea. The recent tea-pairing dinner with Ming Cha's Vivian Mak was an eye-opening and not to mention, very sober experience.

Each dish was paired with a particular tea. The Jasmine Blossom complemented all the cold starters, the Red Plum Classic brought out the sweetness in the crab meat rolled in bean curd, the Meng-hai Tippy Puer cut through the grease in the pan-fried pork buns, and the First Flush Longjin was just wonderful on its own. The teas are also said to have a variety of health benefits.

As a recent convert I encourage you to sample some this month. As Mak says, not all teas are created equal.

SP