Tea Ball
CW: This article talks about the passing of mothers in "comfort food".
History
Nobody is quite sure when tea balls were first invented, but their presence has been recorded worldwide for thousands of years. In Aricos, tea balls have been made for up to two thousand years, and are traditionally made with fermented tea leaves, ground up into a paste, and then mixed into a dough, with a tea-flavoured icing piped into fluffy squiggles all over the balls after they were fried in a boiling flower oil.Traditional Tea Ball
Traditional tea balls are very small, much smaller than they are made today. These ones are made from a tea-infused dough, then fried in flower oil. The type of flower may change the scent of the tea balls, but not by much. Generally, the tea will overpower the scent of the balls.
These tea balls, made in Aricos, are considered the traditional kind. They were some of the first tea balls ever recorded, and are extremely popular to this day. Many stalls in the Aricos Spice Market will sell traditional tea balls, hand-made with love.
Variations
There are endless versions of tea balls that have been made throughout history, throughout the planet. These can range in size, texture, and flavour. A common alternate tea ball is the mega tea ball; its comical name represents the great size of these foods. The world record for the largest tea ball is one metre in diameter, and was consumed by a total of fifty-two people.Comfort Food
These bite-sized snacks are considered a comfort food for most. Tea balls are the signature food of mothers. Cilvarthians are a semelparous species, meaning they only have one reproductive episode in their entire lives. After laying eggs that take a great toll on their body, they are unable to live much longer. In an effort to make the most of the time with their children, mothers typically make tea balls.
Tea balls remind people of their mothers, which makes them a globally reminiscent and heartwarming treat.
This is a fun food! I like the little squiggles on it and the competition of enormous tea balls XD The mother dying so soon is sad, but I love that you're having a sentient species having to go through that and the tradition that arose from that, it's a wonderful little detail.
Thank you so much! I'm glad you enjoyed the article <3 My world is generally quite light and happy so I wanted to include some more sadder tones to it, and I am glad to see it was received well!