Expensive Chinese Tea

China’s Drinkable Antique: the extravagance of Pu erh

June 18, 2021

As tea was farmed and dried in the mountains of Southern China, it was shipped out on long, difficult journeys to the west towards India and the east towards Beijing. It would arrive in large cities in the teapots of sophisticated and influential households at the end of its journey, but on the way, exposure to time, the elements, and perhaps the sweat of pack animals transformed the tea. When a long leaf variety from the Camellia sinensis var. assamica plant was subjected to these conditions, the buyers found the flavor to be exquisite. Pu erh was born.

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Gum and Beer Cap

Chew to Brew: Saliva Alcohol

June 13, 2021

Simple sugars from fruit juices can spontaneously ferment without the addition of anything thanks to natural yeasts in the air. Starchier foods that we produce in much larger quantities, however, will not ferment without some help. Before specific yeasts and bacteria were isolated and reproduced in fermentations that were able to break down starches into simple sugars, saliva was our only option.

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Instant Makgeolli powder

24 Hour Alcohol, Just Add Water!

June 6, 2021

Makgeolli is a thousands year old Korean tradition. The past 100 years have seen the rice wine fall out of favor as brewing was illegalized and rice consumption was rationed by the government. Recently, the drink has made a comeback as a health fad. And now you can brew it at home in just 24 hours!

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Ice Water

On the Rocks or On the Stove: Cultural Preferences for Water Temperature

May 26, 2021

In research on rats, the critters invariably prefer to drink warm water. In fact, rats will drink more water if the water is warm. Another study focused on rats drinking cool water concludes, “that experience, rather than any innate tendency, is the basis for the usual preference of rats for cooler water.” Perhaps all creatures naturally prefer warm water, but can learn to enjoy cold water as well. Americans must just be taught to like iced water! But humans aren’t rats. 

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How to Build a Backyard Moonshine Still

Building a Backyard Still

May 25, 2021

Figure out what kind of still you think you can build with your god-given abilities and resources. If you can weld, you can make pretty much anything. If you can solder, you can piece together a still as well. If you can’t do either of these things, call a friend who can. Consider, as well, what kind of alcohol you want to produce. Vodka? Make a reflux still. Gin? Maybe stick to a pot still.

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Liar's Dice or Chui Niu

Lying in Chinatown: How to play Chui Niu

May 24, 2021

Chui Niu or Da Hua Shai is a staple at Chinese karaoke bars and drinking parties. The game, called Liar’s Dice in English is all about lying and calling your opponents bluff. Learn how to play!

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North Korean Beer

North Korean Beer

May 23, 2021

North Korea today produces Korean staples like makgeolli and soju. North Koreans themselves are also avid home brewers, particularly in the countryside where the dregs of beer mashes are fed to pigs. Since the early 2000s, however, the government has consistently attempted to control this homespun tradition. Due to the government’s strict import restrictions and the population’s relative poverty, many North Koreans have to brew their own beer if they want to drink any at all. 

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Slaves cutting sugar cane on Antigua

New England, Rum, and the Slave Trade

May 21, 2021

In the correspondence regarding these cargoes, the owner literally measures a human’s worth in gallons of rum: “toutching first upon the Windward Coast, where I would have you dispose of your Cargo if PoSsible. & purchase your Slaves, even sopose you give One Hundred + fifty Gallons Per head [sic]” The letters even use the word “to slave” meaning to fill the ship’s hold with a cargo of humans.

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Greek Drinking Games

Greeks and Their Drinking Games

May 21, 2021

While the Greeks were not necessarily drinking to get drunk, they still had their deal of fun and revelry when it came to wine. Much like the Greeks of college campuses today, they were known to play several games which revolved around alcohol. These games, to varying degrees, involved wine. 

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Eating Yeast

The Heyday of Yeast: World War I

April 14, 2021

During the war, the burgeoning international trade of the late 19th and early 20th century dissipated to the point that many nations had to look internally for their basic needs. Yeast, an all important ingredient in the bread and beer that western civilization relies on, was a focal point of this supply chain disruption. The story of yeast in World War I was everywhere a story of culinary ingenuity and homegrown innovation.

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