I said, "Tea"

I work for a college of acupuncture and Oriental medicine, so I am exposed, however peripherally, to Chinese culture often.  A colleague of mine recently went on a trip to China for the college, working as a student advisor during a three week period.  Upon her return, she walked into our office and, without preamble, asked me, "Tea or stone?"  Ever eloquent, I responded with something like "Huh?" or "What?"  Thankfully, she was unperturbed and simply repeated her mysterious query.

I love tea, so it was an easy choice.  Upon making my selection, she presented me with a mini canister of tiny green pebbles - precious Oolong tea from the Yellow Mountain in China.  I thanked her profusely and later opened the little canister to smell the tightly wound and dried tea leaves.  The scent was extraordinary.  They smelled like earth, verdant and rich.  I couldn't wait to soak them in some hot water and sample the tea.

They unfurl when they soak in hot water and give away some their green tint to delicately color the water in which they are immersed.  What is surprising is that one little pebble, one tightly wound leaf, can produce such a strong, significant tea flavor.  Oolong is a fascinating tea, somehow delicate and strong simultaneously.  At one time, tea was traded with the same precious values that characterized tulipomania in the 17th century. I count myself lucky that my oolong cost me nothing more than making the right choice when asked 'tea or stone?'.