The ojaria, or oja bar, doesn't see as much use as it once did. Native Muskaptilians are fewer, and immigrants do not always care for oja. But it remains, for the ones who still want it, for the ones who are old enough or have a bit of coin to spare.
Oja is a gourd, native to Muskaptilo. It is a drink, it is a tea, it is something to burn or something to chew. The gourd can be dried and dyed, turned into a vessel out which the tea can be enjoyed; or else it can be shaved off, turned thin or brittle or into a paste to be consumed. In its natural state, it is extraordinarily bitter; tea is graded on the amount of honey a person prefers to be added to theirs, some enjoying theirs so thick it can barely be sipped through the filtered straw.
It is not a hallucinogen and it is not addictive, except perhaps in the way that all pleasant things can be addictive. It is relaxing, can be used as a sleep aid or a pain reliever, and some say it makes food taste better. This may only be because the oja itself tastes so awful. Tea from a gourd is common in evenings, and when it is smoked it is usually through a waterpipe, all blown glass and silver. More delicate constitutions prefer it as incense, but that is much less common.
Fatima Anoja was a dancer, when she was young. She and her mishtara did poetry readings at the ojaria, and they were a marvel to watch. She is older, now, and her mishtara is dead, and she will not dance nor recite without him.
A gourd of tea is three coppers, a full pipe five, and honey trifles can be had for a copper apiece. There are stools at the counter, but most sit at the short-legged tables that fill the room, embroidered cushions on which to sit that may be rearranged at a whim. There are other kinds of tea, and it was once the most popular way to while away the long and rainy nights, to order a pot of tea and a pipe for the table to chat about nothing for hours.
A few still do. But the ojaria is as much a hobby as a business, these days, and Fatima is always happy to see her regulars.
Oja is a gourd, native to Muskaptilo. It is a drink, it is a tea, it is something to burn or something to chew. The gourd can be dried and dyed, turned into a vessel out which the tea can be enjoyed; or else it can be shaved off, turned thin or brittle or into a paste to be consumed. In its natural state, it is extraordinarily bitter; tea is graded on the amount of honey a person prefers to be added to theirs, some enjoying theirs so thick it can barely be sipped through the filtered straw.
It is not a hallucinogen and it is not addictive, except perhaps in the way that all pleasant things can be addictive. It is relaxing, can be used as a sleep aid or a pain reliever, and some say it makes food taste better. This may only be because the oja itself tastes so awful. Tea from a gourd is common in evenings, and when it is smoked it is usually through a waterpipe, all blown glass and silver. More delicate constitutions prefer it as incense, but that is much less common.
Fatima Anoja was a dancer, when she was young. She and her mishtara did poetry readings at the ojaria, and they were a marvel to watch. She is older, now, and her mishtara is dead, and she will not dance nor recite without him.
A gourd of tea is three coppers, a full pipe five, and honey trifles can be had for a copper apiece. There are stools at the counter, but most sit at the short-legged tables that fill the room, embroidered cushions on which to sit that may be rearranged at a whim. There are other kinds of tea, and it was once the most popular way to while away the long and rainy nights, to order a pot of tea and a pipe for the table to chat about nothing for hours.
A few still do. But the ojaria is as much a hobby as a business, these days, and Fatima is always happy to see her regulars.
The following 1 user Likes Tindome's post: megs
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The Ojaria [Open] - by tindome - 11-28-2014, 02:48 AM
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