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BS: A proper cup of tea: nothing like it!

DigiTrad:
A PROPER CUP OF COFFEE
I'D RATHER MAKE COFFEE THAN LOVE
MAKIN' COFFEE

mg	01 Jan 03 - 04:10 PM
Nigel Parsons	01 Jan 03 - 04:17 PM
GUEST,Q	01 Jan 03 - 04:52 PM
McGrath of Harlow	01 Jan 03 - 05:05 PM
GUEST,Anita Best	01 Jan 03 - 08:42 PM
gnu	01 Jan 03 - 09:08 PM
Stilly River Sage	01 Jan 03 - 10:13 PM
Sandra in Sydney	02 Jan 03 - 06:42 AM
JennyO	02 Jan 03 - 06:59 AM
McGrath of Harlow	02 Jan 03 - 10:22 AM
PeteBoom	02 Jan 03 - 11:17 AM
JennyO	02 Jan 03 - 11:36 AM
CarolC	02 Jan 03 - 05:02 PM
McGrath of Harlow	02 Jan 03 - 05:13 PM
Cluin	02 Jan 03 - 05:21 PM
GUEST,Q	02 Jan 03 - 05:40 PM
Cap't Bob	02 Jan 03 - 10:11 PM
Stilly River Sage	03 Jan 03 - 12:07 AM
Haruo	03 Jan 03 - 12:30 AM
Haruo	03 Jan 03 - 12:39 AM
Stilly River Sage	03 Jan 03 - 02:08 AM
JennyO	03 Jan 03 - 06:11 AM
Hrothgar	03 Jan 03 - 07:28 PM
McGrath of Harlow	03 Jan 03 - 08:20 PM
GUEST,Q	03 Jan 03 - 08:34 PM
Haruo	03 Jan 03 - 08:49 PM
Haruo	03 Jan 03 - 08:52 PM
GUEST,Q	03 Jan 03 - 09:29 PM
GUEST,Q	03 Jan 03 - 09:40 PM
JennyO	03 Jan 03 - 10:27 PM
CarolC	03 Jan 03 - 10:55 PM
Stilly River Sage	03 Jan 03 - 11:15 PM
GUEST,Q	03 Jan 03 - 11:15 PM
Haruo	03 Jan 03 - 11:53 PM
CarolC	04 Jan 03 - 12:36 AM
GUEST,Q	04 Jan 03 - 02:59 PM
McGrath of Harlow	04 Jan 03 - 03:22 PM
GUEST,Q	04 Jan 03 - 04:19 PM
CarolC	04 Jan 03 - 04:40 PM
McGrath of Harlow	04 Jan 03 - 05:24 PM
GUEST,Q	04 Jan 03 - 06:34 PM
Haruo	04 Jan 03 - 09:08 PM
GUEST,Q	04 Jan 03 - 10:14 PM
Stilly River Sage	05 Jan 03 - 12:08 AM
EBarnacle1	05 Jan 03 - 01:12 AM
Cluin	05 Jan 03 - 08:33 PM
GUEST,Q	05 Jan 03 - 08:51 PM
GUEST,Q	05 Jan 03 - 09:20 PM
gnu	05 Jan 03 - 09:46 PM
Little Hawk	05 Jan 03 - 09:47 PM

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Subject: RE: BS: A proper cup of tea: nothing like it!
From: mg
Date: 01 Jan 03 - 04:10 PM

I am just dying for a real bottle of ice cold coke now...the nectar of the gods...never understood tea or coffee or beer..

mg

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Subject: RE: BS: A proper cup of tea: nothing like it!
From: Nigel Parsons
Date: 01 Jan 03 - 04:17 PM

Then there was the woman who commented on the introduction of tea bags (this was a long time ago):
"It's marvellous to get the tea in a measured quantity. But those bags are a bugger to open!"

Nigel

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Subject: RE: BS: A proper cup of tea: nothing like it!
From: GUEST,Q
Date: 01 Jan 03 - 04:52 PM

Someone queryed about Market Spice Teas. Available by mail order from Market Spice teas

Taylors Yorkshire Gold available from the same place. Taylors Yorkshire
Several others also sell these brands by mail.

Google always your best friend when looking for brands not available from your local stores.

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Subject: RE: BS: A proper cup of tea: nothing like it!
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 01 Jan 03 - 05:05 PM

"It's marvellous to get the tea in a measured quantity. But those bags are a bugger to open!"

That might have been my mother speaking (though she'd probably have said "a bother".

Noone's linked to this song - note the last line of the chorus to make it relevant.

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Subject: RE: BS: A proper cup of tea: nothing like it!
From: GUEST,Anita Best
Date: 01 Jan 03 - 08:42 PM

The Tobacco Song, seems like a far cry from the title of this thread, was composed by Peter Leonard from Placentia Bay in Newfoundland. It is available commercially on my CD Crosshanded[ check out our record company: www.ambermusic.ca] which can be found in record stores in Newfoundland and occasionally, Canada. On that recording, the tune was composed by me.

Interesting thread about tea-making, which most North Americal commercial establishments seem to be unable to do. The boiling water brought to the tea in a warmed pot is essential.

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Subject: RE: BS: A proper cup of tea: nothing like it!
From: gnu
Date: 01 Jan 03 - 09:08 PM

Speaking of a good cup of tea, they serve a lemon pie at the Northwest Arm Inn, on the Northwest Arm of Placentia Bay which would make even a poor cup of tea tatse good. Minds of of the time my ex (a New Brunswicker of limited travel experience on The Granite Planet) asked the waitress why the Inn was called the Northwest Arm. The waitress pointed to the water below an answered, "Cause a da nort' wess harm." At which point the two stared at each other in mutual misunderstanding. I explained after I stopped laughing.

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Subject: RE: BS: A proper cup of tea: nothing like it!
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 01 Jan 03 - 10:13 PM

Guest,Q--I posted that same link earlier, but it should be noted that the link we both posted isn't actually TO the company Market Spice Tea. That link is to a tea emporium of some sort, and is the first place of several that turn up in a Google search.

This is the actual store:
Market Spice
Pike Place Market
Seattle, WA 98101
Phone:(206)622-6340

This is where they handle the mail orders:
Market Spice
14690 NE 95th St
Redmond, WA 98052-1014
Phone:(425)883-1220

Perhaps they don't have a web site because they market so much to other businesses. They'd cut out a major source of revenue. But if you call or write they'll send their very extensive mail order information.

SRS

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Subject: RE: BS: A proper cup of tea: nothing like it!
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 02 Jan 03 - 06:42 AM

I'm pleased to see that the wonderful Kipper family song has gone to a good home (or 2) - it's a great song.

When John Warner (author of Anderson's Coast, Kitty Kane & many other songs) sings it with Margaret Walters they don't just sing - they perform the whole song & it's a treat.

enjoy it

sandra

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Subject: RE: BS: A proper cup of tea: nothing like it!
From: JennyO
Date: 02 Jan 03 - 06:59 AM

Has anyone mentioned yet that there is a good parody called "Tea Shanty" to the tune of "Lowlands" in the Digi Trad?

I have a friend who only drinks herbal tea and refers to what I drink as "ocker tea", meaning that Aussies generally enjoy a good, conventional cuppa.

One of my favourites in this category is "Billy Tea". This is just a brand name, and not to be confused with the real billy tea, which is traditionally a handful of loose tea brewed in a billy of boiling water on a campfire with a couple of gum leaves thrown in. Milk and sugar is optional. The tea is quite strong and has a smoky flavour.

Other favourites of mine are Prince of Wales and Irish Breakfast tea.
Sometimes when I am in the mood for something different, I like green tea or chai. But I don't really think of them as a cup of tea.

In my family, tea is a social event. If someone in the family drops in and a cuppa isn't offered in the first five minutes, we would be considered inhospitable. My mother in law used to have different rules about sugar in tea depending on the circumstances. She always put sugar in for us if she was serving it to us in the living room, but if we were at the table, we had to put our own in. It was confusing at first, until you worked it out.

The most important thing is that it should be as hot as possible. I don't like those dinky little shallow bone china cups that let the tea cool down before you are halfway through.

But the BEST cup of tea is always the one you have been looking forward to after hours of work, when you can sit down and have a break, or the first one of the day........and especially if someone else makes it for you!

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Subject: RE: BS: A proper cup of tea: nothing like it!
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 02 Jan 03 - 10:22 AM

"Billy Tea" - now as I've heard it, the brand "Billy Tea" may actually have preceded the use of the term for the Billy Can you boil things in, and given it the name. The suggestion is that Banjo Patterson changed the words of Waltzing Matilda from his first version to bring in the Billy (for a consideration), and that this caught on as a term for the Billy Can, which would,previously have just been referred to as a can.

Anyoe know the truth of this?

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Subject: RE: BS: A proper cup of tea: nothing like it!
From: PeteBoom
Date: 02 Jan 03 - 11:17 AM

A divergence - A little diner called "The British Shop" in Sarnia, Ontario is about the best, closest place I know where I can get a good tea, outside of home. It is only about 2 1/2 hours away, BUT, it is enroute to MANY places I go in Ontario (even if it IS the senic route!)

Took my not-yet bride (at the time) there once many years ago and she was amazed. We walked in, one of the two women working there, called out "Sit where ya please, I'll be right over." We did and you could not count 10 before she was back with two cups, a small pitcher of milk and a pot of absolutely perfect tea. Talk about a first impression for her!

Now then - When I can get a good Darjeeling, I'll be happy to drink that. I rather like Earl Grey as well. P.G. Tipps is pretty reliable, when we can find it. Twinning's and Red Rose are acceptable in a pinch. Now, for those complaining about the strength of tea sold in the States - yer right. Depending on what it is, I'll either add a bag to the pot (say, three instead of two) or allow it to brew a bit longer, say 7 minutes instead of 5. Leaving the pot on the stove while it steeps keeps it from getting cold while brewing, then pull the bags/tea ball, and wrap it quick in a cozy.

Haven't had a complaint yet!

We've been blessed to be able to use milk from the fridge, not canned, and offer sugar or honey most times to guests. And as long as I can stay employed at one thing or another and keep some money coming in, I figure it will stay that way. One other thing. All the grandkids (save the 6 week old) will drink tea over anything else if it is offered to them. I figure we must have done something right!

Cheers -

Pete

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Subject: RE: BS: A proper cup of tea: nothing like it!
From: JennyO
Date: 02 Jan 03 - 11:36 AM

McGrath of Harlow, here's what it says on my packet of Billy Tea:

During the historic gold rush days, imported French tinned beef was a staple food item. It is said that the 'diggers' mispronouncing the French word "Boeuf" (Beef) simplified it to "Bully" then "Billy". A wire handle was attached to the empty beef tin to boil water for tea - hence "Billy Tea". The word "Billy" along with Digger, Swaggie, Matilda and Billabong - all uniquely Australian, became part of our folk-lore.

Australia's favourite strong bush cuppa!

Billy Tea was first introduced in 1888 by James Inglis&Co tea and coffee merchants of Sydney. Its unique packaging capitalised on the Gold Rush spirit. Both the packaging and the spirit have remained almost unchanged - the real Australian flavour. Marie Cowan was the wife of the Sydney Tea merchant James Inglis, and arranged the tune Waltzing Matilda for her husband to distribute in the late 1890's as an advertisement for his tea. The words used in the song copy differ significantly from those published by A.B.Patterson. Whether the words changed gradually or as the song passed from singer to singer in the outback or were changed to help promote Billy Tea around 1903 is debatable, what we do know is you can still enjoy that Gold Rush spirit, listen to Waltzing Matilda whilst enjoying the distinctively Australian taste of Billy Tea.

Cheers, Jenny

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Subject: RE: BS: A proper cup of tea: nothing like it!
From: CarolC
Date: 02 Jan 03 - 05:02 PM

Yes indeedy, Frank! Shall I send you a PM with my e-mail address?

Thanks for the heads-up Anita!

PeteBoom, I definitely have to concur about having a good source for your tea. We got the Lifeboat Tea from a little shop in Norcross Georgia (just north of Atlanta) called "Taste of Britain" that, as you might guess, sells all kinds of goodies from Britain. That's where we got the Carr's biscuits as well.

Now we're going to have to find a good (and not too expensive) source for Purity Lemon Cream Biscuits which are made in Newfoundland. Here's the Purity site: Purity Factories

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Subject: RE: BS: A proper cup of tea: nothing like it!
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 02 Jan 03 - 05:13 PM

They pronounced "Boeuf" as "Bully" or "Billy"? - that would surely have meant some very funny printing.

But the expression "bully beef" meaning tinned corned beef is still pretty common in England anyway. Brewers Dictionary of Phrase and fable suggest, convincingly, that this comes from the French word "bouilli", meaning boiled. So if that was printed on the tins, it would make the explanation more convincing. And it would imply that the billy can came before the Billy Tea, rather than the other way round.

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Subject: RE: BS: A proper cup of tea: nothing like it!
From: Cluin
Date: 02 Jan 03 - 05:21 PM

"A proper cup of tea: nothing like it!"

I prefer a good hard session of hot monkey love.
And maybe a cup of tea afterwards.

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Subject: RE: BS: A proper cup of tea: nothing like it!
From: GUEST,Q
Date: 02 Jan 03 - 05:40 PM

Bully for boiled, "corned" or pickled beef goes back to 1753 in print (well before Billy Tea). Webster's Collegiate and the OED (1987 supplement). The term is found in all English-speaking countries; it came to North America in Colonial days.

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Subject: RE: BS: A proper cup of tea: nothing like it!
From: Cap't Bob
Date: 02 Jan 03 - 10:11 PM

My favorites are Chun Mee, and Oolong both from China if you haven't figured it out already. However, the best everyday tea I've found in our local supermarket (the only market in our little town ~ Mio, MI) is Red Rose. There is an added advantage of buying Red Rose in the 100 bag boxes. Each box contains a ceramic figurine that are quite collectable for low budget collectors. Some of the older figurines will bring up to around $25. Several times the original cost of the tea. Hey, it beats the stock market!

The current figures are endangered species.

If you are interested in the history of the ceramic figures promotional used in Red Rose tea check out the following website:

http://www.angelfire.com/ma/maboum/redrosetea.html

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Subject: RE: BS: A proper cup of tea: nothing like it!
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 03 Jan 03 - 12:07 AM

I have several of those recent Red Rose ceramic figures--endangered animals series. They're right here in front of me because I was unpacking a bunch of little ornament things I'd had in a box from the move last spring. Gotta find a place to put them. I have the blue Wolf, the Sea Lion, and the Gray Whale. I think around here somewhere I have a couple of the birds in a simlar (brown) collection. But what is funny, in a box of stuff from my mothers house I unpacked this summer I found a series of booklets in which we pasted all of the little flower or bird cards (may have been both) that came in the Red Rose boxes. I like Red Rose, but remember it having more stature than it seems to now. Maybe that's because I grew up north of Seattle, and we were influenced by Canadian advertising. Down here in Texas it occupies a very small portion of the grocery store shelf.

SRS

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Subject: RE: BS: A proper cup of tea: nothing like it!
From: Haruo
Date: 03 Jan 03 - 12:30 AM

My maternal grandmother (shown holding me) was born in Texas, but (perhaps to create a vacuum Stilly River Sage could eventually occupy?) moved around the year 1910 from Texas to Washington State. She was a famous consumer of and advocate for Red Rose tea. In those days (I'm thinking now late 50s to mid-60s of the last century) for us Langendorf Bread-type Seattleites, Red Rose was the only brand of tea generally available except Lipton's, and if she knew it was Lipton's Granny wouldn't touch it. (And I do think one could tell from the taste; don't think there was any way to steep Lipton's so it would taste like even a mediocrely brewed cuppa Red Rose.) However, at home as a child, tea was something we only drank if we were sick enough to stay home from school. This was back in the days when there were still A&P stores in Seattle. (My but I make myself sound old!) However, at some point in my grade school years I discovered and became quite fond of Sassafras tea (which, if it hasn't been mentioned in this thread, has been detailed at some length in previous BS Tea threads hereabouts). I've since heard sassafras implicated in certain cancers, so I may die someday. And in high school, I suppose, I grew fond of a good smoky cup of Lapsang Souchong (I have been hoarding that stash you sent, Stilly, to try it out on this year's Copper River salmon run). These days I prefer hoji-cha, or maybe a genmai-cha if I'm having sushi.

Haruo

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Subject: RE: BS: A proper cup of tea: nothing like it!
From: Haruo
Date: 03 Jan 03 - 12:39 AM

Nigel wrote, 'Then there was the woman who commented on the introduction of tea bags (this was a long time ago):
"It's marvellous to get the tea in a measured quantity. But those bags are a bugger to open!"'

Women! It's easy, you just take your hedge clippers and snip off the ends of the little bags.

Leland

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Subject: RE: BS: A proper cup of tea: nothing like it!
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 03 Jan 03 - 02:08 AM

Leland,

I didn't intend to occupy space in Texas, let alone for as long as I have. I tagged along with a spouse who got a job here. I hope to escape one of these days. Trouble is, the kids need to be near their Dad more than they need to be in Washington, though just barely. I'd love to sign my daughter up for the Mountaineer's Basic Climbing Course this spring--she's old enough now, and it would certainly give her a good focus.

As to Lapsang Souchong--I just did a big batch of salmon (something whole I found frozen at Albertsons, a pink meat, not red, but anything tastes better when you smoke it!). You know that was a joke--I have never used tea in my brine. I didn't use any Lapsang and it turned out fine. Though I guess you could use it if you didn't have a smoker handy and wanted the smoky flavor. ;-D

I remember Langendorf--I lived in West Seattle until I was 11. We went on a tour there during school, just like my kids go to the Mrs. Baird's bread factory here in Fort Worth. Next to the Miller Brewing plant. We joke that the yeast train makes just one stop. Wasn't Langendorf over near the Rainier brewery? Maybe there's something to that!

Hedge clippers! Ha! Just drop the bag on the bread board and use the kindling hatchet to lop off the top. Then put the hatchet back next to the white and black two-burner trash-burning stove. Those things were ubiquitous in homes when I was a kid, but now I realize I mostly saw them just in the Northwest. Must have been from Washington Stove Works in Everett, or someplace local like that.

SRS

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Subject: RE: BS: A proper cup of tea: nothing like it!
From: JennyO
Date: 03 Jan 03 - 06:11 AM

McGrath, I agree that it seems a long leap from "boeuf" to "bully" or "billy" - I was just copying what was on the packet. The idea that it came from the French work for boiled, seems more plausible, as in "bully beef". And it does seem to suggest, as you said, that the billy can came before the Billy tea.

Jenny

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Subject: RE: BS: A proper cup of tea: nothing like it!
From: Hrothgar
Date: 03 Jan 03 - 07:28 PM

Harvey, I've heard that that line "... drips Carnation from the can ..." is one of the things that give the song an authentic ring.

How many people have heard Enda Kenny's song about Earl Grey tea? The general principles are covered by lines like:

Is it perfume, or is it wee?
Whatever it is, it does nothing for me...

It is hot, it is wet,
It is eau de toilette,
Should I drink it or dab it on?
Can I swap it for a coffee or has all the water gone?

... and he's RIGHT.

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Subject: RE: BS: A proper cup of tea: nothing like it!
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 03 Jan 03 - 08:20 PM

I was trying to remember who it was had the Earl Grey Tea song - yes of course it was Enda Kenny. And I'm with him all the way.

And if you haven't chased up Enda Kenny's songs yet, you've a treat coming, if you've a taste for songs at all. (Even if you like Earl Grey Tea.) Here is a site with a couple of sound files - and here is one with an appreciation of the man.

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Subject: RE: BS: A proper cup of tea: nothing like it!
From: GUEST,Q
Date: 03 Jan 03 - 08:34 PM

"We boiled the billy and made some tea..." 1839.
"We must needs purchase a billy (a tin pot for boiling tea, ...) " 1853.
See OED, 1987 Supplement or a more recent complete OED.

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Subject: RE: BS: A proper cup of tea: nothing like it!
From: Haruo
Date: 03 Jan 03 - 08:49 PM

Still and all, Stilly, any true Seattleite would have to be a bit suspicious about buying tea from a place called Blue Moon! For you non-Seattleite kibitzers, the Blue Moon is a "landmark" Seattle tavern of the decidedly drunken (or, if/when not quite drunk, stoned out of one's gourd on something else) variety. Kerouac drank there, etc. (So did I!) Coarse (sic) with all the gentrification and whatnot, they probably have a big Red Zinger/Licorice Spice/English Breakfast display behind the bar, alas.

Haruo

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Subject: RE: BS: A proper cup of tea: nothing like it!
From: Haruo
Date: 03 Jan 03 - 08:52 PM

About the Blue Moon (Tavern, not Tea Co.), forgot to mention it was the first place I ever saw (and the first I patronized, for that matter) that proudly(?) displayed a sign in the window that read

SORRY...
We're Open!

Haruo

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Subject: RE: BS: A proper cup of tea: nothing like it!
From: GUEST,Q
Date: 03 Jan 03 - 09:29 PM

If "Blue Moon" still reminds of past hangovers, you can always order that flavored stuff (Market Spice) from the Midwest Coffee Shop: Midwest Coffee

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Subject: RE: BS: A proper cup of tea: nothing like it!
From: GUEST,Q
Date: 03 Jan 03 - 09:40 PM

Who is the joker that added the coffee threads and song in the DT and Related Threads heading?
Lots of tea threads and tea songs if one enters - tea - in the DT and Forum Search!

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Subject: RE: BS: A proper cup of tea: nothing like it!
From: JennyO
Date: 03 Jan 03 - 10:27 PM

I have two of Enda Kenny's CD's - "Six of One", and "Cloud Lining", his latest. But I don't have the tea song. Which one is it on? I love his stuff. He's a nice bloke, too.

Earl Grey tea tastes like that because it has bergamot flavouring. Now while I love the smell of bergamot as an essential oil, I don't like drinking it. It's like drinking perfume. YUK. Give me good old Billy Tea any time!

Jenny

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Subject: RE: BS: A proper cup of tea: nothing like it!
From: CarolC
Date: 03 Jan 03 - 10:55 PM

I don't know who put out the effort involved in adding the links to the top of this thread (although I do very much appreciate the effort), but I love the idea of cross-referencing threads and songs like this. And I'm tickled that this is one of the threads that got cross-referenced.

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Subject: RE: BS: A proper cup of tea: nothing like it!
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 03 Jan 03 - 11:15 PM

Leland,

I didn't make that connection until you pointed it out. But the Blue Moon is where the Underground Seattle tour used to (perhaps still does) start, isn't it?

SRS

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Subject: RE: BS: A proper cup of tea: nothing like it!
From: GUEST,Q
Date: 03 Jan 03 - 11:15 PM

Carol C, OK, but why weren't the tea threads and songs linked? This thread is mostly linked to the wrong threads (coffee). Only the Lapsang Souchong thread (20316) is pertinent.
See Lyrics- Bring Us Hot Tea, Cup of Tea, A Tea Party Song, etc.
Threads 33165, Only in Canada; 49215, Everything Stops for Tea; 8898, Put Up the tea; 35840, Yorkshire tea; 32796, Drinking from a Saucer, etc., etc.

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Subject: RE: BS: A proper cup of tea: nothing like it!
From: Haruo
Date: 03 Jan 03 - 11:53 PM

No, SRS, and I hate to think what it must smell like down beneath the Moon! Yecccchhh! The Underground Tour begins and ends in Pioneer Square, currently I think at Doc Maynard's (named after the medico supposedly responsible for some of downtown Seattle's oddly catawampus street layout) but the Blue Moon is near the University District (in fact, its location was dictated by the old law that forbade the sale of spirituous liquors [including beer] within a mile of the UW campus; the Red Robin to the south (just across the bridge; now the home store of a "gourmet burger" chain), the Century [the politicized drunks' place] (now, I guess, gone) to the north, and the Duchess (defunct? dunno, I'll check; Nope, still there apparently) to the east were all located where they were, in the period immediately following the end of Prohibition, in order to be as close as possible to all those pocketbooks on Greek Row. Few of which, I would venture, would drop any of their money on tea.

Haruo

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Subject: RE: BS: A proper cup of tea: nothing like it!
From: CarolC
Date: 04 Jan 03 - 12:36 AM

I don't know, GUEST,Q. Maybe the person who did it is a coffee drinker?

;-)

(just kidding)

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Subject: RE: BS: A proper cup of tea: nothing like it!
From: GUEST,Q
Date: 04 Jan 03 - 02:59 PM

Also mostly a coffee drinker, but like to investigate how the other half lives.

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Subject: RE: BS: A proper cup of tea: nothing like it!
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 04 Jan 03 - 03:22 PM

If you actually read the Coffeepot song, Q, you'll see that the song actually indicates a preferance for any old tea in preferance to coffee, unless the coffee is proper coffee, which it normally isn't. In other words, it's a tea song as much as a coffee song.

What's with this undercurrant of hostility between the two drinks? I get the impression sometimes that Americans seem to have a feeling that drinking tea is a bit unpatriotic, possibly hearkening back to schoolday lessons about the Boston Tea Party. (Coffee used to be widely regarded back here as a poncy foreign concoction, but that's died off these days.)

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Subject: RE: BS: A proper cup of tea: nothing like it!
From: GUEST,Q
Date: 04 Jan 03 - 04:19 PM

There is a tendency for some Americans to roll their eyes when tea is brought up, they regard it as "English." The attitude parallels that of some Australians, but it is mostly invoked in poking fun.
I have a few English "coffee cans", the name for the mug-shaped cups used for coffee in England in the 18th century, before (foggy on exact dates) a blight of some kind destroyed many coffee plants. More and more tea was planted and imported, esp. from India and it became the drink of choice in the British Isles and the colonies.
The Boston Tea Party was about taxes according to the usual story, but a rumor was abroad that the Tea Act, to save a financially pressed East India Company, would create a monopoly. In one site, it is stated that "Since the patriots believed that the cheap price of tea would be too much of a temptation to the people, the patriots took steps to maneuver Britain into a difficult position." Three East India ships were boarded and 10,000 pounds of tea was dumped.
A site on the internet says the exporter is still in existence and sells a tea called "Boston Harbour." Three ships of the East India Company were boarded and about 10,000 pounds of tea were dumped.

A thread like this entices one to re-learn some history and myth, forgotten from school-days.

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Subject: RE: BS: A proper cup of tea: nothing like it!
From: CarolC
Date: 04 Jan 03 - 04:40 PM

I hate to break it to you, McGrath, but while people in Canada and Britain regard tea as a manly drink (at least the ones I know do), in the US, tea is regarded as a bit effeminate, while coffee is not. And we are, if nothing else, a macho-minded country.

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Subject: RE: BS: A proper cup of tea: nothing like it!
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 04 Jan 03 - 05:24 PM

The country with the highest tea-input per head is still Ieland I believe, by some way. It used to be Australia coming in secnd I think well head of England. The idea of Austraians thinking of tea-drinking as a particularly English thing is a bit strange.

Here's a link to Barry's Tea, based in Cork, which is the most popular Irish brand. (That link takes ages to load, but it's interssting enough to read when it does. Think of it as needing time to brew.)

Maybe when the tea-drinking Irish got to Boston they got the notion that it might seem a bit unpatriotic in the light of the Boston Tea Party being such a big thing, and switched to coffee..

Where that notion Carol mentions might hev come from I hesitate to suggest.

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Subject: RE: BS: A proper cup of tea: nothing like it!
From: GUEST,Q
Date: 04 Jan 03 - 06:34 PM

If you are referring to Carol C's comment about tea being thought effeminate in the States, yes, it is true, but it might have arisen from antipathy toward the Boston Brahmins (Cabots, Lodges, etc.) who were regarded as tea-drinking elite, rather than any reflection on the English.
McGrath, interesting point about the Irish. Many were still coming over from other parts of the British Isles as well and they also turned to coffee. The Russians and the Jews persisted in their love of tea, but perhaps those from the British Isles were more quickly absorbed. Many other immigrants- Germans, east Europeans, Scandinavians, Italians, were coffee drinkers. Need a social historian here.
I live at present in western Canada; some here joke about tea-drinkers, not sure why. Many Canadians here drink tea at breakfast but coffee the rest of the day. When visiting some one's home, coffee is usually offered; almost never is tea mentioned. At meetings, the coffee urn is king; sometimes teabags are put out, but they are seldom used.

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Subject: RE: BS: A proper cup of tea: nothing like it!
From: Haruo
Date: 04 Jan 03 - 09:08 PM

Guest Q, you may live at present in western Canada, but I'll bet you don't live in Victoria. Seattleites have been known to take a ship to Victoria and back just for tea and crumpets.

Haruo

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Subject: RE: BS: A proper cup of tea: nothing like it!
From: GUEST,Q
Date: 04 Jan 03 - 10:14 PM

Been dragged to the Empress in Victoria for tea and cakes by various people. Much overrated. Much prefer a beer along with the lamb curry in that place they have that is suggestive of the Raj in India. Can't remember the name offhand.
Seattleites, your green stuff is welcome, though, so keep coming.

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Subject: RE: BS: A proper cup of tea: nothing like it!
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 05 Jan 03 - 12:08 AM

And Canadians, at the exchange rate offered, we'll visit often!

SRS

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Subject: RE: BS: A proper cup of tea: nothing like it!
From: EBarnacle1
Date: 05 Jan 03 - 01:12 AM

T'other evening, I dined at a Thai restaurant. Their presentation of the usual Lipton tea was significantly improved by a couple of Cardomom seeds in the tea. Try it, it works. If you must have teabag tea, try Sweetouchnee. It is nice and robust, without trying to rise up out of the cup and attack you.

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Subject: RE: BS: A proper cup of tea: nothing like it!
From: Cluin
Date: 05 Jan 03 - 08:33 PM

Around my part of Canada, it's coffee in the morning and tea in the evening.

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Subject: RE: BS: A proper cup of tea: nothing like it!
From: GUEST,Q
Date: 05 Jan 03 - 08:51 PM

Swee-Touch-Nee tea tins are collectable (check EBay and collectors' tins lists), some bringing pretty good prices. If you have any of the tea, it must be well-aged.
Has someone revived this old Consolidated Tea Co. label?

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Subject: RE: BS: A proper cup of tea: nothing like it!
From: GUEST,Q
Date: 05 Jan 03 - 09:20 PM

Just occurred to me as I went shopping today in an area with "ethnic" stores. I saw several labels of Indian teas. In a Chinese grocery recently there were many Chinese tea labels. Does everyone buy tea packaged in England or the States, except for the immigrants?

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Subject: RE: BS: A proper cup of tea: nothing like it!
From: gnu
Date: 05 Jan 03 - 09:46 PM

Effeminate ? Effeminate ? No' f***in' likely. 'round 'ere, if 'ee don't drink tea, 'ee can't keep 'er up ! Tea rules.

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Subject: RE: BS: A proper cup of tea: nothing like it!
From: Little Hawk
Date: 05 Jan 03 - 09:47 PM

"Earl Grey. Hot!" *Bzzzzzzng!* (Sip) Ahhhh!

Thank God for replicators!

Tea is a subtle and marvelous drink, and is far better for the constitution than imbibing excessive amounts of Romulan ale, which gnerally results in social embarrassment and a terrible headache the next day.

- LH

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