by jessica yoon
When I began this site over six years ago (already, gasp!), online and social media were not exactly what they are today. Instagram didn’t exist yet and the number of popular food blogs could be counted on fingers. My own online presence has evolved over the years, from actively creating content here to being more present on social media. I’m still learning about who and what I want to be online, but I’m beginning a slow crawl back here to my home base.
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On a number of occasions I’ve mentioned something about a tea seminar. It was an assignment I headed this past week to teach a class about tea to a group of power bloggers. Although little in comparison to everything else I’ve done at my job, it was my first solo “gig,” so it felt huge! To be honest, I had no interest in giving a seminar, but I agreed to take on the optional project because I personally wanted to learn more about tea. Haha, it was a bit selfish in some ways, but I think that it actually made me work harder; make it something better than if I had just thought of it as extra work (which it totally was!). Because it was a side project, I had to prepare for it mostly on my own time and during the weekends, but it was totally worth it. I’m nowhere near to being a tea expert, but I feel like I definitely got the basics down. And plus, I never knew teaching could feel so rewarding!
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I’m only back in Paris for a few days and then I’m off to Korea! I’m super excited about spending the holidays with my family, but before getting too ahead of myself, I just want to relax and enjoy being in Paris sans all the responsibilities that come with being in school.
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One of my favorite beverages is the citron tea, or yujacha, 유자차. It’s different from regular teas because it is not brewed from dried leaves but from a marmalade like syrup. The citron is a very unique fruit because it is rarely, if ever, eaten peeled. The pulp is dry and little in proportion to the amount of pith and peel. However, it is a very fragrant and nutritional fruit. Many Koreans drink it during the winter months because it is an excellent source of Vitamin C and is also believed to be a natural source of antibiotics. When a cold is caught, instead of orange juice, Koreans give the advise to drink some citron tea.
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