The Varying Levels of Tea Lovers
Tea drinkers seem to love tea in varying degrees of intensity, with extremes on both ends. The lower end buys boxes of teabags from the grocery store, the kind that just say the ingredients are “black tea.” They might drink a green tea now and then, but it’s probably that sweetened stuff in the bottle. They might have tried white tea once, but were confused because the beverage looked yellow, and never tried it again. They don’t know a true tea from an herbal tea and don’t really care as long as it tastes good.
Next, we have the tea appreciators, the ones who know loose tealeaves steeped in freshly boiled water taste best. The also know that this isn’t always obtainable, so being reasonable people, they will tolerate tea made from teabags. It isn’t ideal, but there are a few high quality teabags around, so they’ll take what they can get. They’ve even been known to drink an herbal tea now and then, even though it isn’t “really tea.”
There are varying degrees of tea appreciators, but for the most part, they just want to get along. They don’t care what tea you drink as long as they can drink what they want. They aren’t the type to look down their noses at someone sipping a first flush Darjeeling. They know a second flush has a fruitier flavor and a better color. They just don’t care that much. Good tea is good tea to them and they don’t need to have the best.
Near the other extremity, we have the tea purists, the ones who are the connoisseurs of tea. They are tea the elitists, the creme de la creme of all tea drinkers. To them drinking tea brewed from teabags is like drinking out of the dog’s water bowl. They often have one special tea such as sencha or pu-erh that is the only tea they will drink. Never say the words “herbal tea” in their presence unless you want a good tongue-lashing.
But, at the very extreme we have the tea obsessed, those who live to drink tea. Some of them build their entire lifestyle around tea. A green tea drinker might, for instance, adopt the ways of a Buddhist monk. Others might be enthralled by various black teas, unable to live without a continuous supply. Unfortunately, black tea has more caffeine than green tea and can lead to some odd behavior. If you want to see just how odd, watch the video and see.
brewed on Feb 18th, 2010
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