‌☕‌ 🍵‌ International Tea Day 🍵‌ ‌☕‌

[RafaC]

Hi everyone!

Tomorrow is the International Tea Day and as the tea-lover that I am, I thought it'd be nice to start a topic about it on the community 🍃

Despite tea being the most consumed drink in the world (after water), it's not huge where I grew up (Sao Paulo, Brazil) as, most of you may know, Brazil is quite famous for its excellent coffee. But I'm not a coffee-drinker and I consider myself to be lucky to have a tea-loving mum.

I grew up drinking a lot of tea (well, actually most of it was infusions: spearmint, lemongrass and above it all, mate tea). No, mate tea is not tea for your mates, but tea made with erva mate (or, in Spanish, yerba mate). Calling it "tea" may be technically wrong as it's not made out of Camelia Sinensis - the tea plant - but we call it tea down there anyway. Mate tea is hugely popular in South America but it's consumed in different forms throughout the continent: in Argentina and Uruguay, it's consumed as chimarrão, hot and served with a metal straw in a container usually made from a calabash gourd and that same way of drinking it applies to the extreme South of Brazil. 

In Sao Paulo, you can enjoy it hot or cold, with or without milk, served in regular cups and in Rio de Janeiro, they only have it when served cold, most of the times with lemon juice mixed to it on a regular glass.  I'm actually drinking some mate tea that my partner brought from Brazil whilst I'm writing this piece 😄

I honestly like all the ways of drinking it, and as a tea-lover I like most types of tea and infusions. I'm crazy about Chinese and Japanese green and white teas, but I'm also a huge fan of the blends of black tea made here in the UK. The one that I drink the most has to be Yorkshire Tea. Love some of the classic blends from Whittard as well. 

The International Tea Day also exists to raise awareness of everything that revolves around a simple cup of tea: from its social and environment impact to its cultural and historical importance. 

By the way, did you know that you can grab a free tea from Greggs with Priority? (It can be coffee though, but if you're like me you'd go for the tea)

What's your favourite tea? Is it the one you drink the most or do you save it for special occasions? I also have to ask the dreaded question: milk before or after? Please share your tea thoughts on the comment section below whilst sipping your favourite cuppa.

[pgn]

Ah, yes. Good reminder!

 

[Mi-Amigo]

Great topic @RafaC 

I don`t drink coffee but love a cup of tea - tea bag [usually Tetley`s] in a mug, hot water, no milk, no sugar.

My love of tea comes from my Gran, who I used to stay with during summer hols as a kid and lived with when first started work in Birmingham. My Gran drank 15 large cups of tea a day - minimum and lived to be 94 and didn`t do her any harm.   

[Cleoriff]

I drink tea all the time @RafaC. Boringly, I only like 'normal' tea. I'm not into any other types at all.

I drink PG tips. 2 teabags per mug, 3 canderel sweeteners and a dash of milk. The stronger the better.

Oh and milk in after teabags have been removed. 😉

Edited to add, I do like Liptons iced tea.

[Pipstop78]

I do drink tea but it can't be builders tea which is so strong like mine looking weak with lots of milk 

[RunrigForever]

Great topic @RafaC 

Yep I am a tea drinker from an early age when it was PG Tips, collecting the cards in the small boxes of loose leaf tea - sticking cards in an album you had to write off for - you could also write in for any cards you were missing.

Yorkshire Tea de-caff - my once-upon-a-time 'Associate Specialist' said to drink de-caff to stop me having the visible shaking in my hands ... & ... uncomfortable feeling of shaking inside ....... I can appreciate the taste of the tea ..... milk after, one tea bag, swished about for a bit ... add milk to preferred general medium colour.

Whilst I can drink tea that looks like dishwater ..... I can't drink strong tea - I will be polite if I am made a cuppa though.

Recently had the builders in ... both one sugar and they didn't seem to mind Morrisons long life semi-skimmed milk = I thought all builders liked strong tea with quite a few teaspoons of sugar.

Edited for spelling.

[blissgirl]

@RafaC  I am a tea drinker like my friut teas alot

[RafaC]

@pgn , Earl Grey is quite nice! Do you have a favourite brand? And that quote from the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy is excellent 🎯

[RafaC]

Glad you like the topic @Mi-Amigo , I do like to have tea without milk too. Love the anecdote about your gran, 15 cups a day, wow! That was tea-lover right there! I drink around 6 cups-a-day I guess, but only 2 or 3 of them would be tea containing caffeine. Some days I don't have caffeine at all and stick to infusion teas and rooibos. 

[RafaC]

@Cleoriff, to be honest, ‘normal’ tea is what I drink the most, but I usually add a splash of milk after the teabag has been removed - not much milk though, like to leave it between medium colour to darker. And no sweeteners for me, please 😋

I used to love Lipton ice tea, especially the lemon one, good shout! It’s been a while since I don’t drink it no more, kinda forgets to order it or buy it most of the times.