American here. Granted, the tea stands on its own merit. But if not for TNG I probably would still be drinking standard Lipton like my parents did.
I did. And also got into lapsang souchong because of an interview with Patrick Stewart where he mentioned it’s his favorite type along with Yorkshire Gold. He asked to use that on the show, but the producers thought it would be too obscure or hard to remember and changed it to Earl Grey.
It definitely made me want to like Earl Grey. It’s just not my jam though. It even made me start trying all the different teas I could find because I wanted to be cultured enough to have a preferred tea. I even tried Lapsang Souchong which is basically barbecue tea.
Turns out tea is pretty easy to drink and I’m pretty basic. Oolong, black, or green are great.
In Russia, this is basically a default option alongside straight black tea with lemon.
It goes so far that even some name brands made international series based on Russian Earl Grey (btw, none I’ve tried capture the correct taste, but the general direction is right):
So, in my case this was just growing up on those great teas
I even would say “tea, Earl Grey, hot” as I was nuking the water in the microwave.
I still do. At one job my manager said, “Don’t forget your coffee,” that I had left on his desk, and I proudly said, That’s not coffee, it’s Tea, Earl Grey, Hot." He took a closer look and said, “It doesn’t look like tea, Earl Grey, hot.” I replied, “It has milk, two percent, cold.” Sigh, you don’t see days like that anymore.
nuking the water in the microwave
throws scandalized face and clutches pearls
It’s actually more efficient if you put the tea in the water first before microwaving! Tea steeps while you’re waiting for the ding hehue :>
Well no. But once I’ve tried a decent tea, I never drank Lipton again.
Lipton is really only for iced tea, not hot.
Now and then I enjoy a cup of Lipton with a lot of milk in it, because the flavor reminds me of childhood. My mom called it “Cambridge tea”.
Earl Grey because of Picard, green tea because of anime, coffee because of my grandma, herbal infusions because mom only liked those.
I think my only individual beverage choice has been tepache, a mild fermentation of pineapple. It has a lot of sugar, so don’t drink it a lot.
I did for a while, but that was my seque into English breakfast, and I’m now a Scottish breakfast guy. Brodies is my jam.
Brodie’s, eh? I’m intrigued and will try!
Another recent favorite of mine is Thompson’s Titanic Tea. Very full flavor. Big picture of the ship on the label, but only because their grandfather’s tea shop in Dublin was “a stone’s throw” from the shipyard.
I prefer a nice medium oxidation/ medium to dark roast oolong myself.
Earl Grey is too cloying for me.
As an Earl Gray drinker, no. I don’t watch ST.
yes!!! I am a convert.
Not even Picard could convince me to enjoy tea. Janeway knows best.
How many lights do you see?
Have you tried a nice oolong? I used to think the same until I tried a good tieguanyin.
Nah, I’m a simple man and I’m siding with Janeway on this one.
I never really got into tea because I always found the flavour disappointing compared to its aroma. But I recently tried yerba maté, which isn’t a tea but definition, but is similar. It’s made from the leaves and stems of Holly and has a strong, bitter flavour that definitely does not disappoint. It’s enjoyed in places like Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay, and Brazil. Now I start my day with a mug of coffee, then sip on maté the rest of the day.
Unfortunately I developed a Romulan Ale addiction when I was only 12. To this day I’m very adversarial and distrustful of the Federation and its principles.
I drank Earl Grey even before I was aware of TNG. For me, the smell of loose dry Earl Grey is by far the most appealing smell ever. The brewed tea loses some of that aroma, but not that much.
I mean, I tried it because of Picard, but I didn’t like it. I’ll stick to oolong and fruit teas.
Yeah Oolong’s my jam. I just wish I knew an admirable character that liked Oolong.
Uncle Iroh?
Nah, I prefer a well brewed Raktajino.
