This usage of “chai” really bugs me. “Chai” is the Hindi word for “tea,” nothing more, nothing less. It does not refer to a particular preparation of tea. Tea leaves or tea bags, whatever kind, they’re “chai.” Tea made in whatever manner, that’s “chai.” You don’t have to put milk in it or sugar in it or cardamom in it or anything else. Chai=tea and tea=chai.
And of course we Brits modified this word slightly to char to mean tea. Although this is a bit old fashioned now. And then you get charlady , meaning someone employed as a cleaner, especially in an office. I suppose because they are supposed to drink a lot of tea.
Hear hear! It bugs me no end when in Starbucks they refer to some sort of “chai tea latte” concoction. WTF? Chai=tea and tea=chai. Do they call it a caffé coffee? No.
In Japan it’s perfectly acceptable to sweeten your tea, or add milk or lemon…provided you’re drinking Western-style black tea.
For any of the Japanese or Chinese teas (green, oolong, etc.), adding anything to your cup seems about as strange and unappealing to the Japanese as putting seaweed on a doughnut would to an American.
Or maybe prepare tea for others to drink?
But I thought charlady, or as I’ve actually more frequently seen it, charwoman came from “chare - woman”, i.e. woman who performs menial chores. IIRC chore is one of the words affected by the /a/ to /o/ shift in about 1200; in multisyllabic compounds the vowel did not shift, so we have charwoman but chore. Word pairs such as ‘ghastly’/‘ghost’ have similar etymologies.
This is from memory, and I could be wrong; when I get my OED access restored I’ll come back with a final answer if nobody else does first.
I believe that “shampoo” is derived from the Hindi verb for washing (via “squeeze”). Obviously words can have a shift in meaning when they switch languages; I’m OK with that. Nevertheless, note I wrote “what we call ‘chai’…”
[QUO[FONT=Microsoft Sans Serif][SIZE=1]TE=Loach]I wasn’t sure what forum to put this in. I am looking for a specific factual answer but if it needs moving, go right ahead.
A couple of months ago my mother went with us to Disney/Orlando. She was looking forward to stocking up on some tea in the England part of EPCOT. This was a specific brand she could not find anywhere else. She was very disappointed when she found that all they sell now is Twinnings. Although she likes Twinnings, we can get that in any supermarket. Now Christmas is coming, I want to get it for her, and I can’t remember the friggin name of the tea! please help.
What I remember: it is a store brand, it is from a high-end British department store(not Harrod’s). It was loose tea, not bags. It was most likely decaffinated (she can’t have much caffiene and doesn’t buy tea with it). It was sold at the English pavilion in Epcot. It is not a brand commonly found in American stores.
I’m looking for some suggestions about what the brand name may be. There is a good chance I will recognize the name if I see it. Thanks for the help.
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Tetleys is the most common tea and the others are sold there as well.
Thanks everyone for participating and answering my questions (and for the interesting hijacks). Thanks to you I was able to use the F&M website and order my mother some decaffinated English Breakfast tea and some biscuits for Christmas. Unfortunately they don’t make it in loose tea anymore.
What is a hamper department? Food gifts?
Yup. Basically big hampers (think extra large picnic baskets), full of gift type food.
It’s the deaprtment where they sell hampers. Fortnums is a very up-market food and drink supplier and their hampers are very classy indeed - in either nice wickerwork hampers of rather spiffy wooden boxes. Prices start at about £25 (for a VERY small one) and go up to a couple of grand.
They deliver within Europe (and pretty much anywhere other than the USA (cos Americans are as mad as a red lorry full of hammers) and it is an easy, if pricey way to do one’s chritmas shopping.
Typical contents will be something like Foie Gras, Wine, specialist pickles, caviar etc. They also do them for dogs and cats.
Food in a hamper? The only thing I’ve ever put in a hamper is dirty clothes.
Then it’s time to raise your expectations…
This is what you get in the Windsor Hamper (sorry foreign folk - uk delivery only)
Beluga Caviar, 100g tin;
Wild Smoked Scottish Salmon, 800g pack;
Baby Blue Stilton Cheese, 2.2kg;
Foie Gras en Croûte, 355g;
Half Organic Wiltshire Ham, min. wt. 3.5kg;
Vacherin Mont D’Or, 2kg;
Winter Orange & Lemon Fruitcake, min. wt. 2.4kg;
Christmas Pudding, 1.81kg ceramic basin;
Château Palmer Margaux 1997;
Hermitage La Chapelle Jaboulet 1995;
Corton Bressandes, Chandon de Briailles 2000;
Chablis Butteaux Raveneau 1998;
Taylor’s Vintage Port 1985;
Dom Perignon 1995 Magnum;
Fabric Box filled with a Selection of English Chocolates, 1.95kg.
Presented in a Wicker Basket.
All for the very reasonable price of £1000.00
UK Delivery only.
The one for moggies is £40.00
In my opinion, it’s quite the opposite. Tetley’s is easier to find in most stores I’ve seen. And I’ve seen Tetley advertising here in the US, but never for Twinings.
I’d say Twining has a decidedly more “British” appeal. Maybe it’s the packaging, although the side of my box of Irish Breakfast Tea says “Greensboro, NC”
In every store I can think of they have both Tetley and Lipton. For some reason Lipton seems to be served in most resturants.
I don’t know about the British appeal of Twinings. I just know it tastes better. To me it seems that the two most prevelant brands of Earl Grey in stores are Twinings and Bigelow. Bigelow tastes like potpourri. I can’t see how anyone can drink it.
Twinings is the better quality tea - as I have said we don’t have the Liptons brand in Britain I have only ever seen it abroad (in non tea places like the US and France).
Earl Grey - that stuff tastes like soap and is an affront to all decent tea drinkers. That is one tea that it is perfectly acceptable to tip into harbours!
I suspect there is also a bit of " badge engineering " here . Tea , such as Tetleys ,might have the same name all over the world but I wonder if the actual blend varies from country to country?
There is nothing wrong with Earl Grey! Darn you!
If you like drinking shampoo that’s your business. But to confuse that flowery muck with one of the four main food groups (Tea, Beer, Kebabs, Rubies) is simply beyond the pale.
Rubies? WTF are rubies???
And its not flowery muck, and neither does it taste like shampoo. So nyah!