Hw 34 Typical Tea in Iraq

After reading the next installment of blogs in Riverbend’s “Baghdad Burning” I learned about the custom evening tea in Iraq. Riverbend explains that this isn’t as formal as it seems although tea is very important to her culture. “Iraqi tea isn’t a simple matter of teacups and teabags. If you serve “teabag tea” to an Iraqi you risk scorn and disdain a teabag is an insult to tea connosisseurs. It speaks of a complete lack of appreciation for the valuable beverage (Riverbend 108). She then goes on to explain the three stage process which includes boiling water and adding a certain amount of tea leaves to another kettle. Finally, the tea leaves are boiled and the tea kettle is placed on a low burner. This routine differs from family to family. Tea in Iraq is very important to their culture, tea is drank at every part of the day and also sold by many people for money. It is a big profit for Iraqi people and there are many different kinds of tea. The color of the tea has to be just right before the family sits down and enjoys evening tea. When evening tea begins the family sits around a table and talks about what is going on. Riverbend states “before the conversation officially begins you can hear the gentle music of small steel teaspoons clinking against the itiskan or teacup as the tea is stirred. Ulike the typical family conversation around the world “How was your day dear?”doesn’t get a typical answer in Iraq”(Riverbend 109). After this riverbend explains how it depends on who your asking the question to be cause the answer differs.