Your tea drinking habits

[NicheGuy]

I start my day with fresh ground coffee, hot and robust. However, I do like tea year round and my favorite is Constant Comment from Bigelow. For folks unfamiliar with this tea it has a hint of orange and spice but that doesn't stick out, it's the perfect balance of real tea flavor.

About tea "in the pot" - when I was in the Army and stationed in Germany my budget living off base was very tight and I discovered a little device with a lid you would place loose leaf tea in. It had a chain and hook so you would submerge the container part in fresh boiled water in a covered tea pot and brew your tea fresh. You had to be careful not to brew too long or use too much tea but I thought it was wonderful.

Now my wife spent some time in England and she remembers PG tea and I found some here in the States. That I didn't like nor did she. I think certain moments in time, age and circumstances touch us in the taste buds and they are never quite the same years later. But Constant Comment is something I've loved for many years and continue with it today.

 

[Arch]

Now my wife spent some time in England and she remembers PG tea and I found some here in the States. That I didn't like nor did she. I think certain moments in time, age and circumstances touch us in the taste buds and they are never quite the same years later. But Constant Comment is something I've loved for many years and continue with it today.

The flip side to that...

I worked on a dig which was a field school with some American students, who came over to the UK for 6 weeks to study archaeology. One year, one lad's Mum (or Mom, I guess!) sent him a food parcel. Mostly it was Herseys chocolate and stuff (and the less said about the British opinion of that the better!) but there was also a box of teabags! I think they were Red Rose brand. He got very excited, and we had to get the pot out and make a brew there and then.

We Brits all they just tasted like our teabags, maybe a cheap brand, but he swore it was a big deal and he could taste the difference!

We just thought it was amusing that the lady seemed to think that he wouldn't be able to get tea. In the UK! Did Boston Harbour never happen!?

 

[Annetteb]

The flipiside to that...

I worked on aindig which was a fieldschool with some American students, who came over to the UK for 6 weeks to study archaeology. One year, one lad's Mum (or Mom, I guess!) sent him a food parcel. Mostly it was Herseys chocolate and stuff (and the less said about the British opinion of that the better!) but there was also a box of teabags! I think they were Red Rose brand. He got very excited, and we had to get the pot out and make a brew there and then.

We Brits all they just tasted like our teabags, maybe a cheap brand, but he swore it was a big deal and he could taste the difference!

We just thought it was amusing that the lady seemed to think that he wouldn't be able to get tea. In the UK! Did Boston Harbour never happen!?

I guess not for her anyway. I know that a person may not be able to get tea in some countries, but really come on.

 

[Arch]

I guess not for her anyway. I know that a person may not be able to get tea in some countries, but really come on.

The funny thing about it is that we Brits are convinced that you can't get a proper cup of tea in the US. (Or France. Or anywhere else, in fact!)

The other funny thing is that we regard the way we make tea as the right way (of course we do!). But it's different from either the Chinese or Indian methods, the countries we 'borrowed' tea from.

But then 'our' tea has seen us through two world wars and every year of lousy weather, so we must be doing something right!

 

[Annetteb]

Yeah that is definitely true. I feel that it doesn't matter where you are everyone makes tea differently. I live in the south and a lot of people who come here from the north have never heard of iced tea. I know it's different from hot tea but it's not very prevalent in the north I guess. My sister's husband is from Virginia and he had never had iced tea before. I was shocked.

 

[Arch]

We have a habit of referring to 'Proper Tea', which is standard hot tea usually with milk, and then 'All other sorts of tea'.

Hence the joke: Why do Marxists drink herbal tea? Because Proper Tea is theft....

Iced tea isn't a big thing over here, where hot tea tends to be something to drink to either to refresh yourself, or to warm yourself up. For cold drinks, we tend much more towards fruit based squash or cordial.

 

[zestery]

Yeah that is definitely true. I feel that it doesn't matter where you are everyone makes tea differently. I live in the south and a lot of people who come here from the north have never heard of iced tea. I know it's different from hot tea but it's not very prevalent in the north I guess. My sister's husband is from Virginia and he had never had iced tea before. I was shocked.

I live in California, and we definitely have iced tea but what we don't have is 'sweet iced tea' apparently. I mean, you can obviously put sugar into it but my Southern friends tell me it is Not The Same

 

[Annetteb]

It seems the same to me but hey who am I to argue with experts.