h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

What's the big deal with tea anyway? Personally I've never liked it.

It's a matter of taste. I used to drink more coffee than tea but switched for a variety of reasons. I don't drink much coffee now. I find it hard to get a decent cup of coffee anywhere. Some coffee is so bad it makes me feel ill.

There's isn't much of a flavour to tea. It's subtle (well, most of them are - there are lots of different ones so some are stronger than others).

The main reason for the 'obsession' is that it's part of the culture over here. Having a cup of tea is immensely comforting, because that's what culture tells us. It could be any hot drink, really, but with our relationship with India it became the drink of choice some time ago.

There's also the old argument that Americans don't appreciate tea because they've never had a good cup - see A61345. Not that that Entry would conform to today's standards, of course.

Thanks for the tea link Vip - that Entry ought to be more well read, as it was by Douglas Adams. Did you watch the animation?

I think that tea depends on the water you make it with. I remember that the Queen takes her own water with her when she travels, just to make tea that tastes okay.

Yes, the animation is fab!

I'd forgotten about water. It's like beer - it changes the taste quite a bit, and some waters make it taste awful.

It's a British institution A25734323

We don't drink for the taste - tea is quite bitter, as is ale. It's a far more complex sensation we get.

I've started to drink iced tea, probably not the true American version, but a refreshing blend of strong,cold jasmine green tea, with sugar, lemon and sparkling water. This is really refreshing on a hot afternoon.

What a great entry!! And a little bit sad that it would indeed be rejected today

That is a good entry! And exactly what I thought Guide entries were supposed to be when I first signed up...

I love tea as much as coffee, if not more. I drink a lot of tea at work because the coffee there sucks, and always at least a cup every evening between dinner and bedtime.

Just finished off a cup of Green Tea, for variety.

No sugar, (which makes a change for me) and quite pleasant once it's cooled.

Green tea is the way I get through my day; one teaspoon of leaves, topped up with water from my Thermos. One box of gunpowder tea lasts for months that way.

I disagree slightly with that method explained in the entry.

I was always taught that you warm the pot with some very hot water, just before it has boiled, tip it out, add the tea leaves, and then as it boils add to the teapot. It was explained to me, that if you reboil, more of the disolved oxygen in the water will be lost, and the disolved oxygen is an important part of the 'drawing' process.

Another thing to be done, is before you add the water to the kettle, you should first let the cold tap run for a few minutes, to ensure you're getting fresh cool water from the mains, which has more oxygen in it.

Assam is my favourite type.

Yes, COLD water is the key to a good cuppa and the most important ingredient in percolated coffee.

~jwf~

Don't like tea, it's jsut to weak and limp and boring.

I do like really strong coffee though

Well there are plenty of Edited Guide entries for coffee..As many as there are for tea..



As for beer...

If you find tea weak and boring, get a stronger and more interesting tea.
The flavours can be very complex, almost*on par with some real ales.
If you've distroyed all your tastebuds though, by years of eating overprocessed food and drinking sickly sweet fizzy drinks, it may take a while to be able to taste properly enough to appreciate it.
I like assan and darjeeling particularly, though I've also been known to crave builders tea on occasions.
Mind, no matter how good the tea some idiots like to screw it up entirely by adding sugar and/or milk, the fools...

The thing about tea is that you can drink lots of it without the side effects of coffee.

I find tea more thirst quenching than coffee and really appreciate the first of the day.

Having said that, the machine stuff at work is so it's coffee or hot chocolate there.

The side effects of tea can be pretty bad too. You just have to drink a bit more of it. Caffeine withdrawal is nasty whichever beverage you happen to drink.