#tea tracker

Due to repeating events lately, I'm starting to write down whenever I forget my tea and only remembered it after it got cold. (Maybe it will help me remember. Or it will remind you of your tea.)

Follow TV host Adrian Jalaludin as he discovers the stories behind each cup of tea in the travelogue Tea Tracker.

Not your local teh tarik: The rambunctious Adrian says that the best tea he has had so far is the Kangra tea from India.

By SETO KIT YAN 

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ONE would have imagined that a travelogue about tea culture would be a safe and sedate affair. Not so when you have the rambunctious Adrian Jalaludin on the job.

With the TV host on board, Ntv7’s Tea Tracker has a little bit of everything for everyone who loves tea, culture or travel.

Though he was not initially a tea drinker, Adrian found himself quickly converted, thanks to the “once in a lifetime experience”.

“Hosting Tea Tracker opened my eyes to the rich and vibrant culture, tradition and history of tea in the countries I visited,” shared the 27-year-old History major during the launch of Tea Tracker in Petaling Jaya, Selangor, recently.

The 13-episode travelogue is sponsored by Malaysian tea producer, Sabah Tea and produced by Linda Salim, an experienced producer and news presenter for Ntv7’s News And Current Affairs.

The show takes viewers to 10 locations in countries like China, Japan and Taiwan, where the host explores some 20 different teas of the world, including the Chinese tea, Tibetan butter tea, Japanese green tea, Indian masala tea, the bubble tea from Taiwan, and lahpet or pickled tea from Myanmar.

“I had to do some research to prepare for the show but I also learnt a lot from the locals,” said Adrian, who also introduces fascinating traditional practices like China’s Gongfu tea ceremony and the Long Beak Pot tea ceremony, Taiwan’s Wu-Wo (selfless) tea ceremony and the Japanese tea ceremony dubbed “the way of tea”.

But, that is not all. With a host like Adrian, be prepared for spontaneous activities as he would sometimes climb trees, and dive into streams to catch fish with his bare hands.

“It was more casual and laidback in nature. Unlike other shows, I did not even have to consciously look into the camera while hosting,” said the dashing bachelor, who has helmed a wide range of programmes including Astro SuperSport’s football magazine show FourFourTwo, Ntv7’s youth talk show Cube, and Mediacorp’s game show Brain Juice.

However, even with his adventurous nature, Adrian did experience some setbacks during his two-week trip in China and India.

“I suffered breathing difficulties while filming in China during the cold winter. I was climbing the Great Wall and tried to make it up 400 steps without stopping,” shared the host, who had to take a day’s rest to recover from an asthma attack. His journey took him through the vast landscapes of China, where he wandered through Beijing, Chengdu, Lijiang, Shangrila Zhongdian and Urumqi in the first six episodes of the half-hour programme.

“I was quite careful about what I ate and drank but when we traveled to India, I was hospitalised for food poisoning. I had to be warded for four hours before we could resume filming,” said Adrian.

India (which he visits in episodes 11 and 12) was also where he discovered “the best tea he had ever tasted” – Kangra tea from the northern part of the country. “It’s also very expensive and hard to find,” said the gregarious host as he praised the tea for its aroma, flavour and colour.

Adrian just wrapped another shoot recently which saw him emceeing the Malaysian leg of the Asian Food Channel’s A Taste Of Finland tour, featuring the chef Sara la Fountain.

Catch Tea Tracker on Ntv7 at 7.30pm every Friday. Don’t fret if you miss any of the exciting episodes as they will also be made available on tonton.com.my.

(source: thestaronline; story also in > The Star > Star2 > TV > page 23 > on Monday 4 June 2012.)