...is the devil's workshop. Ever since Adrian and I had a conversation about making the gong fu tea ceremony more reflective of our own culture and less of an imitation of Chinese culture, I've been trying to come up with something, nay, *anything* that could be incorporated from our traditions. Then I found my propane torch (originally purchased for making crème brulée), and thought "Hmm... now what's more American than setting fires and blowing sh*t up?"Firstly: No, I am not seriously considering incorporating a propane plumbing torch into my everyday tea making routine. It might be entertaining every now and then, though. Of course, coming up with the idea of using a blowtorch is significantly easier than devising a task for it to perform. I don't think it is well-suited for delicately roasting tea leaves, and frankly there just isn't very much else that I could light on fire except for my bamboo tea tray, which I would prefer to keep un-charred, if possible. The best I could come up with is using it to prewarm a gaiwan or teapot (which it could do beautifully, with quite a bit of gusto to boot), but I'm a bit nervous about what would happen if I did. Unfortunately I have already thrown away my broken teapot, so I can't use it as experimental blowtorch fodder.
So, I plead to you, my readers. Get those gears turning and come up with ideas for how to use this thing. Who knows, maybe I'll even do a video montage of all the suggestions. :)
zomgz ru fer srius?
ReplyDeleteI know the porcelain would probably be ok...but it's not something I'd want to risk. Maybe jerryrigging it to heat a kettle? I bet you could get some mean erector set action going for a frame or something. Set a stovetop kettle over it...
Post-modern gong fu!
Ok, now that I've stopped laughing...and here I was thinking of trying to corner the market on bizzare tea experiments. I bow to you.
ReplyDeleteThe only thing I can think of is using it to heat the water.
I don't know about the blow torch, but you could paint your tea tray with something cool. Trick it out, yo.
ReplyDeleteGreat idea .. Cowboy Cha.
ReplyDeleteOnce in while, I use a small alcohol burner to pull additional flavor out of; Pu-erh.
You Bad Boy gas torch is a nice touch.
Large Scale Garden Trains, 1/24 scale: set-up a loop and serve your tea on flat-bed cars. It works, last Christmas I set it up, just be careful on how full the cups are. Go vintage cowboy 1800’s engine and cars….john
Here's an idea...
ReplyDeleteUse it to roast tea... but do something like this....
Have the leaves be spread out on a pan (cookie sheet type of thing) and then have it be supported by some metal legs -- and then torch the bottom of the pan.
Worth a try for your weak aged oolong, eh?
I have no idea what will happen. Just don't burn the leaves :)