Oct 12 2006
Do you have any black teas?
First post in a Thursday series that details the tiffin experience starting with a focus on Tea.
Thursday Tiffin #1: do you have any black teas?
A week after arriving in Seattle I was still tired from the shere physical and emotional practicalities of emigration. Tired from my first day in a job with too many names, places and projects to remember. The offer of ‘hanging out’ with someone in their home after work seem like a really good relaxing end to the day. I gladly accepted the invite to a real American person’s home after work. The American asked me if I’d like something to drink. Without a second thought, flying on Englishness auto-pilot:
Wendy: I’d love a cup of tea please
American: what type of tea?
Wendy: Just ordinary tea, any regular type
Here I’m trying not to cite any common UK brand names, Tetley, PG tips, etc incase my host doesn’t have any. I’m trying to be vague enough that they will likely have something that fits the bill. Though obviously I do have a more specific opinion….
American: I’ve got…
American produces a long list of what sound like herbal and plant infusions rather than teas, strawberry, peppermint, apple etc. Given the specificity and long list of
teainfusions mentioned I suspect my host really likesteainfusions and may have some decent stuff in the house. I decide to risk citing a few regular tea types, but not brands incase brands are UK specific.
Wendy: Ceylon, Assam or Darjeeling would be great… …or anything of that ilk really, don’t put yourself out
American: do you mean black tea?
Wendy: I think so
at this stage I was unaware that tea came in a range of colours and that I was refering to what American’s generally explicitly classify as Black teas and don’t necessarily recognise the regions of the ex-colonies as tea providers. Seems obvious now, with hind sight…
American: How about Early Grey?
Wendy: Oh yes, that would be a luxury, thankyou
Great. Earl Grey is normally made from a blend of Assam, Darjeeling and Celon tea so my American host actually offered me all the types I’d asked for in one cup! I watch the American dig deep into the back of his pantry, boxes are taken out to make space for him as he climbs in, hunting for the Earl Grey. Wow even the pantries are BIG out here. I feel bad for making something as simple as sharing a drink together into a major pantry deep-dive excavation exercise
Tea found. The next, not insubstantial, obstacle is making the cup of tea. We’ll cover making the tea in a later post. Let’s say, from this experience I learned that when offered a drink in America I should remember to say
“do you have any black tea’s?“
Do you have any black teas?
Count yourself lucky you weren’t offered Rooibos!
It bugs me as well that people in the States use the word “tea” to refer to things that don’t actually contain tea…
I have been offered tea at friends houses here in the states many times and it turns out to be some kind of warm berry infusion and not tea. I always ask now what kind of tea they have before I say I would like some, because there is nothing worse than expecting a nice hot cup of tea only to be told your choices are “blackberry, apple, cinnamon, sunflower” or “raspberry, orange goodnight” or some other such nonsense. Just because it comes in a bag and you stick it in hot water does not make it tea.