Yesterday, I was craving some tangerine peel tea, you know, the kind that’s supposed to be good for digestion and all that. So, I thought, “Why not try making some ‘chenpi’ myself?” I mean, how hard could it be, right? Famous last words.
I started by grabbing a bunch of tangerines from the fruit bowl. I figured I’d use the peels and eat the fruit – win-win! I carefully peeled all the tangerines, trying to keep the peels in large pieces. It was kind of therapeutic, actually, until I got to the last one and accidentally ripped it into a million tiny pieces. Oh well.
The Drying Process
Next, I needed to dry these peels. I remembered seeing somewhere that you can just leave them out in the sun, so I arranged them on a baking sheet and put them on my windowsill. It seemed logical at the time. We had gotten good sunlight that entire week prior.
Now, here’s where things went a bit sideways. The sun, which had been gloriously shining all week, decided to take a vacation. For the next three days, it was cloudy and gloomy. My poor tangerine peels were just sitting there, getting all soft and sad. I started to worry they’d go moldy before they dried.
I decided to take matters into my own hands. I moved the baking sheet to my oven, set it to the lowest temperature possible, and propped the door open a bit. I figured this would create some airflow and help them dry faster. This actually seemed to work! After a few hours, the peels were starting to curl up and harden.
But, I got impatient to test a batch. I used some of the peels to brew a quick cup of tea. The rest of the peels I took out and allowed to cool.
The Final(for now) Product
- Appearance: They look… okay. Some are nicely curled, others are just kind of shriveled. The color is a bit uneven, but hey, it’s homemade!
- Smell: They definitely smell like tangerines, but with a slightly more intense, almost medicinal aroma. That’s probably a good thing, right?
- Taste: Ok, not bad. A little bitter, but not gross!
So, there you have it – my “chenpi wuwa” adventure. It wasn’t perfect, but I learned a lot, and I ended up with some… well, let’s call them “rustic” tangerine peels. I’m going to keep drying the rest and see how they turn out. Maybe I’ll become a chenpi master yet! Or maybe I’ll just buy it next time. We’ll see.
