Day 25, Tallinn, February 3rd 2012

Tea 25: China White Monkey, Majasmokk, Tallinn

So, a belated post!  Went out last night and didn’t get chance to write this until this morning.  Yesterday was yet another freezing cold day, and I think today is going to be even worse!  But the sun still shines and that makes me happy, and I will be heading for Tartu later, hopefully on a warm bus!  I headed out around mid day again, this time I wanted to go back to the sea so I went down by the big old concrete Soviet Concert Hall ‘Linnahall‘ and looked out into the mist.  The sea is covered by this low lying but dense mist, this is apparently caused when the sea temperature is warmer than the air temperature, and you get this spooky, slow moving mist about 5 feet tall and dense as a cloud.  After I totally froze out next to the sea, my hands aching, even my toes through my big boots suffering a bit, AND my scarf freezing to my face!, I more or less ran back into the old town in search of a cup of tea and some warm sanctuary.  I went to this cafe called Majasmokk, a fairly old school, traditonal looking cafe selling various cakes and pastries and lots of Kalev chocolate goods (which I actually managed to resist).  I had a mushroom and pepper flakey pastry thing, and a cup of China White Monkey tea.  This tea is very interesting, quite a strong, nutty flavour comes out from the delicate green leaves.  They don’t seem to colour the water much, and so I was expecting a tea more like your standard White tea, but, as I said, it is surprisingly stronger and not like most white teas at all.  I thought for a while I was drinking a different tea, or that the filter had another flavour stuck in it, but after a bit of research it seems that is how it should be.

After warming up, and then psyching myself up, I ventured back outside.  After walking a little way the mobile phone Ingrid had lent me rang and she was on the other end, she had finished work early and was coming to meet up with me in town.  I escaped the cold and went into a shopping mall while I waited.  Looking through books and windows and pretending to be shopping.  I met Ingrid and we went straight to another cafe, this time the chocolate cafe, Pierre Chocolaterie, tucked away down a little side road in the old town.  We both had the same, a rum and raisin hot chocolate!  It was very good, warming and tasty, with raisins in the bottom and a decent hit of rum. The cafe itself is nice and cozy, full of cushions and wooden furniture, soft lighting and dark walls.  A lovely little place, but for treats only as it is a little expensive.

We then headed back for home, though via the supermarket to buy some food.  Another couch surfer and one of Ingrid’s friends were coming for dinner before we all went out to a couch surfing meet.  I cooked, the request from Ingrid was a Shepherd’s Pie, but it would seem that it is basically impossible to find any kind of lamb in Estonia, it had to be Cottage Pie.  I was quite pleased with the outcome, a nice tasty filling and I did my favourite thing, to put leeks in the mash potato topping, makes a big, yummy, difference!  Food eaten, and all of it was, we all hopped in a taxi and went to the Red Emperor, a bar somewhere in Tallinn, it was dark and I was in a car so exactly where it is I could not say.  We hung out there for a while, playing giant jenga, and watching people play pool, also laughing at the guy who was asleep on the sofa when we arrived (at about 10) and still there when we left at around midnight!  Poor guy!  We then went to a club, somewhere nearby the Linnahall again, danced for a few hours, to music that I’m more used to hearing in adverts and in my imaginations of bad mid-nineties clubs, than in today’s clubs.   There were a little too many people for what was a very small space, but the little group of us that had gone managed to keep our dancing circle going and the music began to improve eventually.  We left at around 3:30 and got in another taxi home.

Today I am traveling to Tartu, hopefully some point soon, though I have to pack, but will try to fill you in later!