'Istikan' tea

For those of you who like to eat Mid-Eastern food, you may came across 'istikan' in the beverage section. It is a famous black tea popular among Mid-Easterners. I was told the history of the name 'istikan' by my dear neighbour, Omar Ganim, Iraqi born Qatari while having lunch at 4.30 PM in Naeb, Ampang. Istikan originated from India, (main exporter of tea to the Mid-Eastern region) was actually picked up by locals after hearing the British saying 'east can', referring to the Indians(east) drinking the tea from small(can), hence as it goes through the tongues of locals... 'Istikan'. Sounds Arabic.

What? Lunch at 4.30? Yep, Omar told me, back in Qatar they only work from 7 until 1 PM, and they are done for the day, so lunch is always at the end of office hrs. He was buying me lunch for a small favour I did for him. The food was great, as usual, but what was more satisfying was the conversations that I had with him.

He is an Economic Analyst for the Qatari embassy. His insights on local and global economy and politics were very juicy and delicious just like the food that we had. If you want to know what we discussed, you need to bring me out for 'Istikan' la. Too sensitive and controversial to be published here.