Hello everyone in the UK,
i hear that the English are quite a bit slower to jump onto the health bandwagon than tea drinkers here in Uncle Sam's Land. However, that's not the question.
The question is:
Do you think Brits prefer a weaker green tea or a stronger one?
What about for you, and are you typical (...in your tea drinking at least!)?
old west tea
P.S. Do Brits generally mind being called Brits? It's not quite the same as Yanks (over here) but Yanks don't seem to mind.
well I like tea and have been aware of the health benefits of a lot of what I drink be it tea, green, black or herbal since childhood. Probably down to being of central european extraction. I am a European, even though born in England. . I tend to drink Georgian tea and some chinese teas (mainly phoenix Dancong, and a lightly scented Jasmine Mao Jian) Also drink a variety of organic herbals, some of which I grow and those that I cannot grow I buy.
I do not dring the dark english breakfast types, or what I used to call "English" tea when I was young, far too harsh on the palate.
scramble
It sounds like you have a neat curiosity about tea.
Have you lived much in the UK? I'm trying to get a sense of tea drinking habits in the UK for a project .....what do you think Brits like their teas flavored with when they go for a flavored tea:
berries maybe? lem> old west tea wrote:
I have always lived in England.
Not sure that I am able to say what the English drink mainly. But maybe you could approach some of the web shops that sell tea in the UK and ask them what their best sellers are. I personally buy from
If you google speciality teas UK you should get other UK web shops.
regards
scramble
old west tea wrote:
To answer your last question first, there's really no such thing as being a "Brit" here. We think of ourselves as "English", "Scottish", "Welsh", "Irish". Never British, though our passports say "British". The only time we ever hear the word is from Americans. ;)
Regarding green tea strength, the overwhelming majority of Brits (sic) just drink whatever the supermarkets sell, as you'd expect. That's, almost without exclusion, low-grade tea in bags. The flavour and aroma of these things is beyond mundane, and the concept of "strength" isn't really applicable to the way the average person here drinks green. Not that very many people drink even that "green", of course. The vast majority drink assam/ceylon blends. The rare few might take whatever mediocre offerings are available from Twinings or Whittards.
In the last few years, a horrific trend towards drinking "herbal teas" has come about. These are mostly flavoured bags of rosehips, lemon, ginger, &c., often made by Twinings or their ilk, and are called inspiring names such as "Strawberry Soother".
I visited an undergrad friend of mine recently. She said, "Ooh yes, I'm MAD about tea! I collect it, in fact!" She proudly showed me box after box of Twinings herbal teabags. I sniffed back the tears.
Toodlepip,
Hobbes
I've not heard of "Georgian" tea before. Do tell more! It's bringing to mind ornate architecture.
Toodlepip,
Hobbes
It comes from the Republic of Georgia, is hand made tea, sold by my favourite on line vendor. As cited in my last message.
scramble
Scramble, I checked the nbtea website and I am not seeing Georgian tea on it. There are a few people on this list that have been looking for some authentic Georgian tea for quite some time. Could you be more specific as to how you got it or when or where? Thanks.
Melinda
Does this involve putting a hard brown sugar rock on your tongue while drinking the hot tea? I like it.
Mel> Scramble, I checked the nbtea website and I am not seeing Georgian tea on
Try:
Hobbes and scramble,
Thanks for your suggestions and opinions. I think I'm getting a better picture of tea drinking habits in the UK.
I wonder... do you think straight Assams are drunk much (I notice Assam is usually mixed with Ceylon or something else)?
Is Darjeeling the only straight black tea people tend to drink over there?
Straight Assam is probably more popular than straight Darjeeling. I don't have a reference for you, but Assams usually find their way into bog-standard teabags, whereas Darjeeling (whilst still usually bog-standard in quality) is perhaps one step up the ladder. I wouldn't expect the level of refinement for "the average person" to be too high in any endeavour in most countries (excepting those with fabulous culinary traditions - France springs to mind).
Toodlepip,
Hobbes
We have a very popular blend called "Yorkshire Tea Hard Water" along those lines, which is actually rather delicious. As its name suggests, it's great for the large number of British (sic!) cities built on chalkfields.
Toodlepip,
Hobbes
Very Interesting, Hobbes and toci...
I think you both agree that straight Assam is widely drunk in the UK. What I ponder is:
(I understand 'everyday' British black tea is often largely Assam but not marketed emphasizing its origins, correct?)
~ ~ ~
And now for the technical question you've all been waiting for.... (drum roll please)
How do you suppose a black tea is blended when the aim is to have a delicious tea brewed with hard water?
HobbesOx> We have a very popular blend called "Yorkshire Tea Hard Water" along
Hello Melinda, There is a tea stoe is Austin called tea embassy that has a website
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