
A nice cup of tea in the Regency? Not always - ascertain
https://about1816.wordpress.com/2019/04/16/a-nice-cup-of-tea-in-the-regency-not-always/
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oska
> The poor were not judges of good tea.

Expand this to the British, Irish, & Australians are not judges of good tea,
right up to the present day.

It continually amazes me that British tea drinking culture is held up as some
sort of epitome to aspire to (usually by US Americans). As this article
details well, the great majority of tea consumed in the UK was and continues
to be at the very lowest levels of quality (even if it is not widely
adulterated as it was in the past). The only places with good tea drinking
cultures and where people are judges of good tea are where tea is grown and
has been grown for centuries. That is China, Japan and Taiwan. (And to a much
lesser degree, India and Sri Lanka).

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chrisseaton
People's tastes vary. There’s no definitive measure of quality better or worse
way to enjoy something like tea. British tea tastes may be different to what
you appreciate, but that’s nobody’s problem but yours.

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2T1Qka0rEiPr
This is a good point - there's very little objectivity in "quality" when it
comes to _flavour_ , as theoretically some group of individuals could prefer a
bitterer/sweeter/sharper tea than others. It's often cited that the taste of
chocolate favoured throughout the world is very regional e.g., but clearly in
some places this could be due to the quantity of some cheap ingredient such as
sugar. Quality of inputs, or the method of growing etc. are probably more
quantifiable.

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Synaesthesia
I once read about the introduction of chai tea to India by the British, they
had to convince the native population to acquire a new habit. Generally they
used to drink spiced coffee rather than tea.

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ncmncm
"gaol". On this side we write "jail" but we pronounce it much the same.

It wasn't long ago that Celestial Seasonings was caught adulterating their
concoctions (technically, "tisanes") with toxic ingredients. A reference to
the incident may be heard in Scott Pilgrim vs The World, when Mona Flowers
lists off what kinds of tea (and tisanes) she has. Listen carefully, enough
times, and you will hear "liver damage" listed among the choices.

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Veen
You rarely see gaol anywhere but in old books and articles on this side of the
pond either. Perhaps that's why it's mispelled "goal" in this article — the
spellchecker "fixed" it wrong.

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ggm
Adulteration with Senna.. a laxative. Basically harmless except...

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ycombonator
Great find OP. Now I am interested in buying the book.

