Start with tea

Every day starts with чай

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This* has to start somewhere. Let’s start with tea, чай in Ukrainian - pronounced “chai.” Ukraine is a tea country, a preference shared with every nation eastward to the Pacific Ocean. West of Ukraine sprawl the coffee countries. Ukrainians also love - and have available on every corner - excellent coffee, but tea is the national comfort drink. Yep, just as in the UK, tea is the warm beverage to chat or commiserate over with friends and family. But, different - Ukrainians add lemon and ginger “to build immunities.” Adding sugar or honey is standard. If I fail to add sweetener my Ukrainian friends are taken aback. They assure me the sugar is free of charge. When I again decline, they raise eyebrows, concluding their American friend is an eccentric. Another difference: Ukrainians do not add milk to tea. That would be shocking.

I do start every day with tea, black tea, chorney chai. My preferred brand Amed claims to be London-based and sells typical British blends: English Breakfast, Irish Breakfast, Earl Gray. I go with the more basic Classic Black. I add ginger-root and fresh mint, always available in the renok - the farmer’s market.

Black tea, green tea and fruit tea are standard options in every cafe, drinks-kiosk and restaurant. An individual cup may come with a teabag. But, often you can order a pot of loose-leaf tea.

To summarize, on the subject of tea this country is civilized.

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*What is “this?” Welcome to Native Cpeaker, the stories, thoughts, and images of an English teacher/cartoonist/illustrator in Ukraine. I’ve been in Ukraine since fall, 2021. I have a lot of material, anecdotes and ideas. Some of it I’ve shared on social media or in email to friends and family. Social media is ephemeral and some friends/family don’t participate. I’d rather have everything in one place, available to all, and affixed, especially since I’m now working on my many cartoon/comics sketches and drafts. I’m not doing them in chronological order, so they won’t be presented that way. This one is done, so I’m starting here.