« When the lights go down in the city | Main | Two orange soups »
For the love of tea (with no mention of crappy prog-rock ballads)
The way tea is served in most [American] public places -- a cup of hot water with a tea bag alongside it -- is an insult to anyone who cares about tea and should be protested because it is impossible to produce a decent cup that way.-- The Fannie Farmer Cookbook
I think that's why I enjoy visiting Commonwealth countries so much. They have a basic appreciation of tea. I can order it in a restaurant without having to specify "hot tea" or ask twice for milk (not cream!). Why is it so difficult? And why do Americans simply not get it? Did that whole Boston Tea Party fiasco turn us off the stuff for good? Some of you may know this unusual fact about me: I have never had a cup of coffee. Ever.
I broke my beloved celadon-green teapot over the weekend. This makes me very sad. But I will be giving its remains to my friend Malinda, who is creating a mosaic on her garden wall out of broken pottery, so at least the shards (and the years of tea residue on them) will live on. Now I just have to find another suitable pot.
October 12, 2005 9:02 PM
Oh no! I will mourn your teapot in shul tomorrow. I was just admiring it when I was over last week. Alas. There will be more celadon ceramic.
... and you're always welcome here for a proper cup of tea -- there's even a place in Palo that sells Lyons, since you don't like PG. I usually only have -skim- milk, though.
Funny you mention the skim milk. I've gotten into the habit of asking for skim milk with my tea. If I just ask for milk, the server usually points to the pitcher of half-and-half on the table. If I ask specifically for skim, they understand that I don't want just any liquid dairy product.
My mother always asks for "regular" milk, which I guess is anything that's not cream or half & half.
I was forced to learn to drink tea during my first trip to Britain. People were simply appalled when I repeatedly turned down their offers of tea, it's just about the rudest thing you can do. Living with a Brit we have it all the time, even when it's 90 degrees outside or 8:00 at night. I prefer soy/rice milk blend in my tea but I'm a Boulderite so what can you do? Devon cream teas are the best, heart attack in a cup.
I'm also on the hunt for a teapot, my cat has broken two of them now one of which came home with us from Edinburgh. He's an evil moggie with pottery issues I guess. We're waiting for a good one to come up in the bargain bins at Celestial Seasonings.
Getting proper milk with your tea in America is almost as hard as getting a proper serving of ketchup with your fries in New Zealand.
have you been to teavanna on polk and vallejo? i wandered in once. i'm sure you'd enjoy it.