The biggest event of our Calcutta stay was a party thrown for us at my
inlaws' big apartment. Forty of our closest relatives showed up to
meet us.

Among the fascinating people there was an actor and director with one
foot in noncommercial theater and another in the Bengali soap opera
industry. I had a long, wide-ranging conversation with him, and one
thing that intrigued him was the idea of sitting around with your
friends for hours drinking multiple steeps of different teas.

Shyam and I were also talking about the perplexities of Bengali and
English, so we tried to figure out a word for the mental state that
comes from hours of tea drinking. Well, "mawd" means alcohol, and
"matal" means drunk, so...

Both of us simultaneously shouted "Chatal!".

(Thanks, Ripon, for some timely technical assistance.)

/Lew
---
Lew Perin /
http://www.panix.com/~perin/babelcarp.html
BRO wisdom: SLOW DRIVE LONG LIFE

LOL!

--
~~Bluesea~~
Spam is great in musubi but not in email.
Please take out the trash before sending a direct reply.

"Lewis Perin" > wrote in message
news
> The biggest event of our Calcutta stay was a party thrown for us at my
> inlaws' big apartment. Forty of our closest relatives showed up to
> meet us.
>
> Among the fascinating people there was an actor and director with one
> foot in noncommercial theater and another in the Bengali soap opera
> industry. I had a long, wide-ranging conversation with him, and one
> thing that intrigued him was the idea of sitting around with your
> friends for hours drinking multiple steeps of different teas.
>
> Shyam and I were also talking about the perplexities of Bengali and
> English, so we tried to figure out a word for the mental state that
> comes from hours of tea drinking. Well, "mawd" means alcohol, and
> "matal" means drunk, so...
>
> Both of us simultaneously shouted "Chatal!".
>
> (Thanks, Ripon, for some timely technical assistance.)
>
> /Lew
> ---
> Lew Perin /
> http://www.panix.com/~perin/babelcarp.html
> BRO wisdom: SLOW DRIVE LONG LIFE

LOL!

--
~~Bluesea~~
Spam is great in musubi but not in email.
Please take out the trash before sending a direct reply.

"Lewis Perin" > wrote in message
news
> The biggest event of our Calcutta stay was a party thrown for us at my
> inlaws' big apartment. Forty of our closest relatives showed up to
> meet us.
>
> Among the fascinating people there was an actor and director with one
> foot in noncommercial theater and another in the Bengali soap opera
> industry. I had a long, wide-ranging conversation with him, and one
> thing that intrigued him was the idea of sitting around with your
> friends for hours drinking multiple steeps of different teas.
>
> Shyam and I were also talking about the perplexities of Bengali and
> English, so we tried to figure out a word for the mental state that
> comes from hours of tea drinking. Well, "mawd" means alcohol, and
> "matal" means drunk, so...
>
> Both of us simultaneously shouted "Chatal!".
>
> (Thanks, Ripon, for some timely technical assistance.)
>
> /Lew
> ---
> Lew Perin /
> http://www.panix.com/~perin/babelcarp.html
> BRO wisdom: SLOW DRIVE LONG LIFE

This is a real phenomenon in China that is talked about often in
teashops, and I have experienced it once myself.

There was an afternoon where I went to the local tea market in Dongguan
and drank tea for about 6 or 7 hours without eating much that morning.
The feeling was akin to drunkeness but not quite the same. It was
basically a feeling of dizziness coupled with feeling very giddy.

I was told by a shopkeeper that eating some candy can cure you of tea
drunkeness.

The teas I drank for 6-7 hours:

Tie Guan Yin
Ren Cen Wulong
A Li Shan
Foshuo Shan
3 different types of Pu'er (sheng and shu included)
Various types of green teas, some without names.
White tea

Awesome day.

"Mydnight" > writes:

> This is a real phenomenon in China that is talked about often in
> teashops, and I have experienced it once myself.

Do you have a Chinese word for it?

> There was an afternoon where I went to the local tea market in Dongguan
> and drank tea for about 6 or 7 hours without eating much that morning.
> The feeling was akin to drunkeness but not quite the same. It was
> basically a feeling of dizziness coupled with feeling very giddy.
>
> I was told by a shopkeeper that eating some candy can cure you of tea
> drunkeness.

Maybe so, but you'd probably crash fast. I find it's better to eat
foods that don't hit your bloodstream all at once. They should of
course be fairly neutral tasting, or at least they shouldn't linger on
the palate, if you're going to use them *while* drinking good tea.
Last weekend, at a six-hour session with friends, there were a few
snacks that helped manage the Chatal phenomenon; what really impressed
me were Walker's oatcakes.

/Lew
---
Lew Perin /
http://www.panix.com/~perin/babelcarp.html

In article . com>,
"Mydnight" > wrote:

> This is a real phenomenon in China that is talked about often in
> teashops, and I have experienced it once myself.


hey mydnight - did you make your long jing trip yet....?

do tell....i am dying for some accurate info on this
years
crop.............................................. .................p*

Walker's oat cakes are awesome, I agree...I wanna find a recipe for making
oatcakes at home.

Very good point about the food eaten with tea...I've been thinking more
about this lately and wondering if I should actually brush my teeth before
drinking good tea, but the toothpaste would impart it's own flavor. How to
get a neutral palate before drinking is what I wonder, but the oatcake idea
is a good one.

Melinda

--
"The country has entered an era in which
questions are not asked, for questions are
daughters of disquiet or arrogance, both
fruits of temptation and the food of sacrilege." Djaout
"Lewis Perin" > wrote in message
news
> "Mydnight" > writes:
>
>> This is a real phenomenon in China that is talked about often in
>> teashops, and I have experienced it once myself.
>
> Do you have a Chinese word for it?
>
>> There was an afternoon where I went to the local tea market in Dongguan
>> and drank tea for about 6 or 7 hours without eating much that morning.
>> The feeling was akin to drunkeness but not quite the same. It was
>> basically a feeling of dizziness coupled with feeling very giddy.
>>
>> I was told by a shopkeeper that eating some candy can cure you of tea
>> drunkeness.
>
> Maybe so, but you'd probably crash fast. I find it's better to eat
> foods that don't hit your bloodstream all at once. They should of
> course be fairly neutral tasting, or at least they shouldn't linger on
> the palate, if you're going to use them *while* drinking good tea.
> Last weekend, at a six-hour session with friends, there were a few
> snacks that helped manage the Chatal phenomenon; what really impressed
> me were Walker's oatcakes.
>
> /Lew
> ---
> Lew Perin /
> http://www.panix.com/~perin/babelcarp.html

"Melinda" > writes:

> Walker's oat cakes are awesome, I agree...I wanna find a recipe for making
> oatcakes at home.
>
> Very good point about the food eaten with tea...I've been thinking more
> about this lately and wondering if I should actually brush my teeth before
> drinking good tea, but the toothpaste would impart it's own flavor.

You can brush your teeth with baking soda when you don't want to leave
an aftertaste.

/Lew
---
Lew Perin /
http://www.panix.com/~perin/babelcarp.html

> You can brush your teeth with baking soda when you don't want to leave
> an aftertaste.

Then chew a Vitamin C and enjoy the fizz.

OK, back on topic... I'm getting increasingly persuaded that tea-drunkenness
is a combination of CNS excitation from all those alkaloids with a radical
drop in blood sugar from whatever in tea does that. I'm no MD, but it seems
consistent. Interesting that Asians prescribe carbs to limit drunkenness
from both alcohol (jook or congee) and tea (cookies).

-DM

> You can brush your teeth with baking soda when you don't want to leave
> an aftertaste.

Then chew a Vitamin C and enjoy the fizz.

OK, back on topic... I'm getting increasingly persuaded that tea-drunkenness
is a combination of CNS excitation from all those alkaloids with a radical
drop in blood sugar from whatever in tea does that. I'm no MD, but it seems
consistent. Interesting that Asians prescribe carbs to limit drunkenness
from both alcohol (jook or congee) and tea (cookies).

-DM

"Dog Ma 1" (reply w/o spam)> writes:

> > You can brush your teeth with baking soda when you don't want to leave
> > an aftertaste.
>
> Then chew a Vitamin C and enjoy the fizz.
>
> OK, back on topic... I'm getting increasingly persuaded that tea-drunkenness
> is a combination of CNS excitation from all those alkaloids with a radical
> drop in blood sugar from whatever in tea does that.

Or from simply not eating for hours.

> I'm no MD, but it seems consistent. Interesting that Asians
> prescribe carbs to limit drunkenness from both alcohol (jook or
> congee) and tea (cookies).

Regarding alcohol, the eminent Russian authorities on the subject I've
consulted prescribe fat, not carbs.

/Lew
---
Lew Perin /
http://www.panix.com/~perin/babelcarp.html

The Chinese is Cha Zui (sounds like dray...could be spelling it wrong).
My last weekend trip to Fangcun market left me a little bit in the
same way, but some sugar did help.

The Chinese is Cha Zui (sounds like dray...could be spelling it wrong).
My last weekend trip to Fangcun market left me a little bit in the
same way, but some sugar did help.

The Chinese also say that Pu'er tea can help fight drunkeness and it is
often the tea that is given to you at KTV (Karoke) or in some bars
after you've been drinking for a long time.

The Chinese also say that Pu'er tea can help fight drunkeness and it is
often the tea that is given to you at KTV (Karoke) or in some bars
after you've been drinking for a long time.

A very interesting post Mydnight! What you describe almost resembles
hyponatremia, or water intoxication. Mild hyponatremia can induce
dizziness and a feeling akin to alcohol intoxication.

I never connected drinking too much water with drinking too much tea,
but certainly it would be so. Not to say that you were suffering from
hyponatremia. Although, your post does make me wonder if avid over
zealous tea drinkers could suffer from water intoxication.

Kim




Mydnight wrote:
> This is a real phenomenon in China that is talked about often in
> teashops, and I have experienced it once myself.
>
> There was an afternoon where I went to the local tea market in Dongguan
> and drank tea for about 6 or 7 hours without eating much that morning.
> The feeling was akin to drunkeness but not quite the same. It was
> basically a feeling of dizziness coupled with feeling very giddy.
>
> I was told by a shopkeeper that eating some candy can cure you of tea
> drunkeness.
>
> The teas I drank for 6-7 hours:
>
> Tie Guan Yin
> Ren Cen Wulong
> A Li Shan
> Foshuo Shan
> 3 different types of Pu'er (sheng and shu included)
> Various types of green teas, some without names.
> White tea
>
> Awesome day.
>

A very interesting post Mydnight! What you describe almost resembles
hyponatremia, or water intoxication. Mild hyponatremia can induce
dizziness and a feeling akin to alcohol intoxication.

I never connected drinking too much water with drinking too much tea,
but certainly it would be so. Not to say that you were suffering from
hyponatremia. Although, your post does make me wonder if avid over
zealous tea drinkers could suffer from water intoxication.

Kim




Mydnight wrote:
> This is a real phenomenon in China that is talked about often in
> teashops, and I have experienced it once myself.
>
> There was an afternoon where I went to the local tea market in Dongguan
> and drank tea for about 6 or 7 hours without eating much that morning.
> The feeling was akin to drunkeness but not quite the same. It was
> basically a feeling of dizziness coupled with feeling very giddy.
>
> I was told by a shopkeeper that eating some candy can cure you of tea
> drunkeness.
>
> The teas I drank for 6-7 hours:
>
> Tie Guan Yin
> Ren Cen Wulong
> A Li Shan
> Foshuo Shan
> 3 different types of Pu'er (sheng and shu included)
> Various types of green teas, some without names.
> White tea
>
> Awesome day.
>

Fangcun! Nice place! I'd love to be there getting "intoxicated" with tea. I
think that the "strange" feeling you have after drinking too much tea might
be due to an overdose of caffeine, mixed with the excitation for being
there, tasting so many teas.
I think that the Chinese saying "Wine does not make people drunk, it is
people who make themselves drunk" applies also to tea.
Livio


"Mydnight" > ha scritto nel messaggio
oups.com...
> The Chinese is Cha Zui (sounds like dray...could be spelling it wrong).
> My last weekend trip to Fangcun market left me a little bit in the
> same way, but some sugar did help.
>
>

Fangcun! Nice place! I'd love to be there getting "intoxicated" with tea. I
think that the "strange" feeling you have after drinking too much tea might
be due to an overdose of caffeine, mixed with the excitation for being
there, tasting so many teas.
I think that the Chinese saying "Wine does not make people drunk, it is
people who make themselves drunk" applies also to tea.
Livio


"Mydnight" > ha scritto nel messaggio
oups.com...
> The Chinese is Cha Zui (sounds like dray...could be spelling it wrong).
> My last weekend trip to Fangcun market left me a little bit in the
> same way, but some sugar did help.
>
>