Every time I visit Taiwan to see my grandmother, she will cook my favorite soy sauce marinated eggs, or roasted lamb chops for me. She says that she is too old to eat such greasy food, so she will take out her treasured aged teas, which include Oolong, Iron Buddha, and her most precious Narcissus tea. She would nibble at a bit of the meat, and most of the time, she would just sip her tea from a porcelain cup, while chatting with me about my school and recent events in my life.
She used to say that her aged teas were older than I was by many years. Sometimes I would take a sip, telling her that I found it quite bitter. She said that if I allowed the strong taste to linger in my mouth for some time, I would find the aftertaste sweet, that it would have an appetizing effect that it would make greasy food less filling. These aged teas are full of memories, even though they were too bitter for me. Shortly after my grandma passed away, I wrote a letter to her to thank her for her soy sauce-marinated eggs and her words of encouragement. I think I will try those aged teas again someday, and maybe one day I can learn to appreciate them.
每次我回去台灣看阿嬤時，她都會煮我愛吃的滷蛋或烤羊排給我吃，她說自己年紀大了，不習慣吃的這麼油膩，這時就會看到她將珍藏的許多『陳年茶』拿出來細細品味，有些茶種是烏龍，鐵觀音，甚至她口中珍貴無比『老欉水仙』，她小口小口的吃肉，大部分的時候慢慢用瓷杯泡茶，喝茶，陪我聊學校和生活中的事。 她說這些陳年茶都比我年紀大好幾十歲，我有時好奇拿來嘗一口，說很苦。她說不會，滋味渾厚，苦後回甘，比較開胃，解油膩。這些『阿嬤的茶』對我充滿回憶，但是我不能說我喜歡。現在阿嬤過世了，我寫了一封祝福的信給她，有一天我會再嘗試這些『陳年茶』的，也許我終究會愛上也不一定。
濃濃的思念阿嬤之情躍於紙上，令人觸景傷情，但又溫暖滿懷。
雖然阿嬤已逝，但是她的慈愛仍留在每一個晚輩的心中，如同這些陳年老茶，在厚重中保有回味的滋味，且順口潤喉又甘甜。
滷蛋是平民百姓都吃得起的食物，讓愛也在平淡中常常保有「擁有」的滋味，而羊排炙烤過程的繁瑣，也代表背後一份對孩兒孫輩愛的給予。
食物能喚醒味蕾，卻也能透過此記取許多珍貴的親情。阿嬤的陳年茶留了下來，也是懷念阿嬤的一份真情所在與遙念。
阿嬤珍藏的陳年茶，濃濃的祖孫情。
茶愈陳愈香，終有一天格主也會體會到老茶裡的沉香韻味----。