Japanese Tea with the 14th Dalai Lama and Richard Branson
I had a 3 hour lunch today with someone I haven’t seen in years who just got back from London. No matter how you spin it, nothing beats tea when you are trying to have a great conversation. This especially rings true when you are trying to catch up with someone you haven’t spoken to in a long time. There’s a reason it’s the second most consumed beverage in the world.
Our lunch today at Maki Sushi in Thornhill was 3 hours long, meaning 3 hours of conversing. Only tea could have stirred the senses and driven the conversation to dance from literature to meetings with world leaders to traveling to learning new languages and to life. While I was eating lunch with Charissa she revealed to me that she met the 14th Dalai Lama twice! in Johannesburg and conversed with Richard Branson (he’s very shy) among other notaries. What was revealing of her London charm was when she confessed she put out her right hand in a dainty manner to greet the Dalai Lama instinctually as it is a British tradition when ladies meet gents. He didn’t kiss it though, he held it. I think if he kissed it, she would have made headlines around the world.
When trying to eat sushi and get so much conversation in, nothing chases down the meal better than Japanese tea. It’s the only pairing that fits. It’s like having Chinese tea with a Chinese meal, it works because it’s traditional, it’s historic and they complement each other so well that no other substitute would work. I had a vegetarian dragon roll (a tempura sweet yam, asparagus and avocado roll) with genmaicha or brown rice tea. Although this restaurant style genmaicha in the silver pot you see to the left was a very weak brew any tea is nice when you are super thirsty and you need help digesting all that sticky rice! Although you aren`t suppose to drink while eating because it hinders nutrient absorption, I rather sacrifice maximum nutrient absorption for a more complete dining experience. ?
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