# Ah... Tea! **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [November 2, 2004, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ah-tea/272478 "2004-11-02T02:26:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2004, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ah-tea/272478/1 "2004-11-02T02:26:09Z")
I’m a computer guy. I didn’t sign up for manual labour. But I work in a small company, and one does what’s needed. Today I went to the top of Chuckanut Crest and helped put together conduit. Then I got a little shovel and cleared a space for it. Then I took a strip of sod off of the lawn and started digging a six inch deep trench for the conduit. And it was storming… Rather windy today, and raining. About 45°F. Even though I was wearing a Gore-Tex jacket, I ended up being soaked. My jeans were soaked, my boots were wet, my leather gloves were sodden. The rain got through the Gore-Tex. Long drive home, too. And now I have a nice cuppa tea. Just a Tetly bag, as I didn’t feel like using one of the good loose teas. A dash of milk, and a half-teaspoon of sugar. I’m happy now. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![fishbicycle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aeb1de/32.png) [@fishbicycle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fishbicycle)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2004, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ah-tea/272478/2 "2004-11-02T02:46:44Z")
There’s not much that a good cup of tea won’t fix! I’m having one now. Tetley, even (from UK, not the US imitation kind). Mmmmmmmmmmmmm. ---
**Author:** ![smartini](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/22d042/32.png) [@smartini](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smartini)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2004, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ah-tea/272478/3 "2004-11-02T02:49:40Z")
That sounds really good. I think I’ll go fire up the teakettle and indulge myself. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2004, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ah-tea/272478/4 "2004-11-02T02:50:35Z")
Cuppa tea, cuppa tea, cuppa tea, almost got shagged, cuppa tea… 😃 ---
**Author:** ![pokey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ebca7d/32.png) [@pokey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pokey)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2004, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ah-tea/272478/5 "2004-11-02T02:51:11Z")
Cozy. For me, this is the perfect time of year because it’s not so terrible that you want to move to Tahiti, but it’s crappy enough to make it feel nice to come home, make a cup of tea, put a blanket on your lap and get cozy. ---
**Author:** ![Rubystreak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Rubystreak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rubystreak)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2004, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ah-tea/272478/6 "2004-11-02T03:03:32Z")
The best thing in the morning for me is that nice hot cup of jasmine green tea. I also just got a nice bag of loose rooibos tea. That is some good stuff, high in antioxidants and it’s OK to drink at night because it has no caffeine. If you haven’t tried it, definitely do. ---
**Author:** ![smartini](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/22d042/32.png) [@smartini](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smartini)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2004, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ah-tea/272478/7 "2004-11-02T03:08:28Z")
Rooibus is supposed to heal whatever ails you, or so I’ve heard. I have been meaning to try it. Right now I have a nice cup of green tea with mint. I’m feeling better already. ---
**Author:** ![Jervoise](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d2c977/32.png) [@Jervoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jervoise)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2004, 9:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ah-tea/272478/8 "2004-11-02T09:57:11Z")
Sugar in your tea? :eek: And Tetley’s? My preferred way of making tea for one: Wash cup. Boil water. Thoroughly rinse cup with boiling water. Pour boiling water through tea bag. Let cup sit for 2.5 to 3 minutes (seems a long time, but it shouldn’t be too strong). Carefully remove tea bag. Don’t squeeze the bag, or nasty tannins will escape and make your tea bitter. Add a spot of milk. Stir, serve with chocolate digestives. ---
**Author:** ![Ephemera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8baadc/32.png) [@Ephemera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ephemera)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2004, 10:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ah-tea/272478/9 "2004-11-02T10:18:21Z")
I’m out of tea at the moment. I left it sitting on the counter all day and the end result was … interesting. I’ll have to make another gallon tomorrow. Eight bags of tea, to about twenty cups of water, a cup of sugar, and liberal squirts of lemon juice every time a glass is poured. Delicious. ---
**Author:** ![duffer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duffer/32/1026_2.png) [@duffer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/duffer)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2004, 10:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ah-tea/272478/10 "2004-11-02T10:42:24Z")
A question not worthy of its own thread. Why is tea always referred to as “a nice cup of tea”? I never hear people just say, “would you like some tea?” It’s almost always “How about a nice cup of tea?” ---
**Author:** ![Angua](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8baadc/32.png) [@Angua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Angua)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2004, 10:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ah-tea/272478/11 "2004-11-02T10:57:34Z")
Because tea is one of the nectars of the Gods. Going to make a nice mug of Earl Grey. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2004, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ah-tea/272478/12 "2004-11-02T13:25:52Z")
Alas that I have only so much caffeine carrying capacity. My palate belongs to coffee, apart from the small pot of green tea I drink most mornings for its purported virtues. ---
**Author:** ![GingerOfTheNorth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/cdc98d/32.png) [@GingerOfTheNorth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GingerOfTheNorth)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2004, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ah-tea/272478/13 "2004-11-02T13:48:40Z")
> [@Jervoise](#): > > …serve with chocolate digestives. I miss digestives. I’ll have to get Mom to send some. I’m off to make a pot of English Breakfast. ---
**Author:** ![Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e19adc/32.png) [@Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2004, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ah-tea/272478/14 "2004-11-02T14:06:25Z")
> [@Jervoise](#): > > Sugar in your tea? :eek: And Tetley’s? Yeah, Tetley’s makes a better beer than tea. But here in the U.S., you just gotta be glad you’re not having Lipton’s in a pot of tepid water. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2004, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ah-tea/272478/15 "2004-11-02T14:14:32Z")
Tetley’s isn’t that bad. Sure, I have better teas; but I just wanted a nice cuppa. Tetley’s is okay. I was too cold and wet to want to use the loose leaves; and I wanted tea with milk, so I didn’t want Earl Grey. I’m on coffee now. I grind the beans and set it up before I go to bed, and set the autostart. That way I have caffeine when I get up. I’ve thought about using the coffee pot for tea, but you can’t have tea unless the water is boiling. Just wouldn’t work. ---
**Author:** ![fishbicycle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aeb1de/32.png) [@fishbicycle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fishbicycle)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2004, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ah-tea/272478/16 "2004-11-02T14:16:22Z")
> [@Barbarian](#): > > Yeah, Tetley’s makes a better beer than tea. Hm, you learn something every day! I didn’t know they made beer. But I think it’s my duty to let you know that American Tetley is not the same as English Tetley. I get the real thing online. The stuff they carry at the grocery store that says Tetley on it is not even close to what real Tetley tea tastes like. The box of it that I bought more than a year ago is still 90% unused. Ugh. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2004, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ah-tea/272478/17 "2004-11-02T14:21:46Z")
> [@Barbarian](#): > > Yeah, Tetley’s makes a better beer than tea. But here in the U.S., you just gotta be glad you’re not having Lipton’s in a pot of tepid water. I don’t think good tea is that hard to get here, at least if you live in a city big enough to have some premium coffeehouses (_not_ Starbucks). Diedrich Coffee, where I get my whole bean coffee, also offers a range of varietal teas. If the quality of their coffee is any indication, the tea ought to be very good. ---
**Author:** ![LouisB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/dfb087/32.png) [@LouisB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LouisB)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2004, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ah-tea/272478/18 "2004-11-02T14:54:39Z")
> [@](#): > > Wash cup. Boil water. Thoroughly rinse cup with boiling water. I have been surprised several times at the people who don’t know this. Just before I left China last year, I was gifted with two boxes of “Hushi Dragon Sprout Tea.” I quote, from the box: It winned the first prize in the "Tea cup of China "National Tea Competition “In 2002” “Emerald green in form, lasting and enduring in smell, sweet and soul-stirring in taste. It is the real treasure of tea and the good gift for friends.” It just might be the best tea I’ve ever had. ---
**Author:** ![BiblioCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ed8c4c/32.png) [@BiblioCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BiblioCat)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2004, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ah-tea/272478/19 "2004-11-02T15:27:06Z")
> [@Angua](#): > > Because tea is one of the nectars of the Gods. And it just makes you feel better. I had my bottom wisdom teeth taken out yesterday (ouch!), and the novacaine wore off around noon. I got some lovely Vicodan to deal with the pain, but I still didn’t feel like eating anything. I had a big mug of Earl Grey later in the afternoon and a big mug of Chai in the evening and it made me feel a lot better. ---
**Author:** ![TroubleAgain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e480ec/32.png) [@TroubleAgain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroubleAgain)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2004, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ah-tea/272478/20 "2004-11-02T15:29:59Z")
Mmmmm, tea! Some kind soul at Unaboard sent me a sampler from this site: > **[Loose Tea | Buy Online | Free shipping over $49](https://www.adagio.com)** > > Shop online for gourmet loose teas sourced directly from the artisan farmers who tender them. All types of loose leaf teas available. Free shipping ! And now I’m even more in love with rooibos than I was before. And I’ve gone back for a teapot, another sampler pack, and a POUND of rooibos tropical. I lovelovelove this site! [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ah-tea/272478.md?page=2)