Pickled Tea of the JingPo People

The Jingpo or Kachin people are an ethnic group who largely inhabit northern Myanmar (Kachin State). They also form one of the 56 ethnic groups officially recognized by the People's Republic of China, where they numbered 132,143 people in the 2000 census.

JingPo people like to use fresh tealeaves to make a very special food: pickle tea. They pick up the tea in the rain season, put them in a bamboo sift, until it is dry and shrink slightly, and knead the leaves gently. Then they put the leaves in a bamboo container, add some salt and chilli pepper, and pound the mixture to be solid, seal the container at last. Two or three months later, when the color of the leaves turns to yellow, the pickle tea will be ready to serve.

The JingPo people put the pickle tea in a pottery pot, pick it out whenever needed. Some people also add some flavor to the pickle.