A cup of coffee in the morning, iced tea on the porch on a hot afternoon or a glass of wine with dinner – favorite beverages like these are part of the fabric of daily life. Favorite beverages were also the medium for sharing at Tea Time with the International Students, the Sept. 13 Community Hour at Perkins (CHAP). The annual event, organized by the Office of Student Life, welcomes new and returning international students.
Five international students from Kenya, Nigeria, Brazil, Canada and South Korea, and another student, formerly of Sierra Leone, shared favorite teas and coffees from their native countries. Two dozen Perkins staff, faculty and students were at the gathering.
Eno Afon brought a Nigerian drink called Zobo, which she prepared at home especially for the Tea Time. Zobo is served cold and made of hibiscus flowers, ginger and pineapple juice. This refreshing beverage helps keep Nigerians cool in the country’s very hot climate and has medicinal properties. To make the Zobo, Afon purchased dried hibiscus leaves – which give the drink its characteristic deep red color – and added fresh ginger and pineapple juice. Afon noted that she would usually make the drink with more ginger, but in deference to American taste, she used just a little.
Fernando Berwig Silva, a second year M.S.M. student, explained how Brazilians make yerba mate, a caffeinated drink made from with leaves from the Ilex paraguariensis tree steeped in hot water. This is the most popular type of mate drunk in the southern regions of Brazil. As with Argentine and Uruguayan mate, it is drunk in a mate gourd, with a bombilla and hot water. Brazilians share the drink with a communal straw; Berwig Silva brought the vessel and straw used to serve the drink.
Mykayla Turner, a second-year M.S.M. student, shared a pot of maple flavored coffee, served at Tim Hortons, a popular (and ubiquitous) chain of coffeehouses in Canada.
Eunbyul “Stella” Cho, a third-year M.Div. student, served tea and Maxim Mocha Gold, a sweet instant coffee that’s popular in Korea.
Julius Mutembei Murithi, a first-year student, described how to make Kenyan tea with tea, water, and milk.
Sylvester Chapman, originally from Sierra Leone, described a popular drink in his native land called bush tea, considered curative for a variety of digestive troubles. Sierra Leone, he said, is a small country, home to just 7 million people.
The Perkins student body includes a total of 19 international students this fall. Students hail from Hong Kong, India, Tanzania, Indonesia, Mexico and Singapore, in addition to those countries represented at Tea Time.
Over the past several years, International Students Tea Time has become a regular fall semester tradition.
“It’s a way of introducing our international students to the rest of the community while giving them a chance to share about their cultures and traditions,” said Tracy Anne Allred, Assistant Dean of Student Life. “The tea is the medium for sharing about their lives, their cultures and their families. We want them to know how their presence truly enriches the entire Perkins community.”