Lost in transit

When I moved to Poland ten years ago, a cup of tea meant loose black tea spooned directly into a glass, often with no handle, though wimps might use a plastic or wicker contraption to add a handle to the glass. Then you poured boiling water directly into the glass and stirred. Tea was commonly taken with sugar but never with milk unless you asked for it and paid extra. Coffee was made in the same way: lots of ground coffee spooned directly into a glass, then boiling water poured in. Whether coffee or tea, you drank almost to the bottom, then quit before you dumped the sludge into your mouth.

Now people frequently use tea bags, or they drink instant coffee or espresso, and regular cups and mugs with handles are popular. I still see no one adding milk to tea, though coffee with milk or cream is popular. And many still make their tea and coffee the simple, strong, cheap way. Nothing wakes you up like two heaping teaspoonfuls of coffee in a mug of boiling water, especially when you forget to stop drinking near the bottom.

Tea in Mongolia is unlike any tea I've ever had anywhere and most foreigners can't stand it. At first I hated it, wouldn't touch it with a big pole, but then one very cold night in winter I had some and discovered its warming effects. Mongolian tea leaves come in big bricks, taste like a weak variation of Chinese green tea - they boil a stack of water for ages with a few leaves, and then throw in salty butter at the end and some milk (not pasteurised or homogenised or whatever) and boil it a bit more. It's very salty and usually has a layer of oil floating around on top, but it's soul food. Apparently it also has a cooling effect in summer but I don't know how I'll feel about downing a big bowl of oily salt butter tea on a hot day.

Tea isn't terribly big in Sweden, and it's mostly taken English style, which is not how I drink it. As a child growing up in Chicago, we had tea one day a week: on Saturday with our lunch, served in little mugs. It was always Constant Comment tea, which tastes a bit of orange and clove, and we always drank it with a teaspoon of sugar.

Here in Oklahoma most drink it iced and sickeningly sweet. I do like it iced but leave out the sweetner... I might add some a slice of lemon or lime or a few mint leaves though. --- Sometimes I drink hot tea as well, but not too often. It's more of an occasional comfort food kind of thing. I do drink a lot of iced tea though. --- One other thing though that is cool is that in this area (Oklahoma and Texas) most restaurants are moving away from that stupid instant tea that comes out of a fountain drink machine and making fresh brewed iced tea again. This is a very, very good thing.

Here in Austria tea is most commonly taken with a squeeze of lemon, and/or rum, usually "Stroh" brand rum, which has a very industrial aftertaste to it. We drink our tea with milk, however, and usually unsweetened; only occasionally with - what's it called - this sugar that comes in large rock-like crystals, especially for tea etc.

Our chamomile tea we drink as-is.

Chris - I've been fascinated with butter tea ever since I read '7 Years In Tibet'. Can't say it sounds terribly appealing, but I'd like to try it for myself, just to see.

Francis - Constant comment tea sounds yum.

Mig - Rum in tea? Is this a regular day-time thing in Austria or an after-dinner thing, like irish coffee?

J. M. - freshly brewed ice tea is sooooo gooood on a hot day. Mmm.

despite being american, i grew up with tea rather than coffee. my grandmother was a real tea drinker, and she taught me to dunk my buttered toast in tea. i don't do that anymore, but i still love tea. it is such a comforting drink.

i have mine quite weak with lots of milk and no sugar. earl grey is my favourite.

Rum, or cognac, in tea is more a wintertime and/or nighttime drink here. The first time I met my wife's grandmother, the old woman drank me under the table with tea/cognac.

Here in Virginia, tea is properly served in a tall pitcher, with large quantities of whole ice cubes (none of that crushed stuff for us, thank you), and exactly enough sugar to insure that the last 1/4 cup doesn't dissolve, but instead sinks slowly to the bottom of the pitcher. The glass you drink from should also be tallish, with heavy ice and a bowl of sugar cubes nearby, just in case. Lemon slices are optional, but few true Virginians would dream of sullying a glass of tea with such a crass fruit.

The worst thing about being in the USA is the lack of a good cuppa tea. Earl Grey just tastes different. I tried bringing tea bags from the UK to the states to make tea, but that wasn't good either. We've decided the water is different here and the British tea bags just don't brew right. So now I drink American produced Earl Grey (not that Lipton stuff) and have a cuppa that's as close to the British version as possible. Yet, it's wonderful spending holidays in Scotland and once again having a delightful cuppa tea. Earl Grey, hot, with milk.

Leann - I definitely think the water makes a difference! Scottish water makes the best cuppa. Not that I'm biased or anything. Oh no, not me. ;o)

Mig - that's a pretty funny image - your grandmother-in-law drinking you under the tablewith the tea/cognac combination! I've never heard of drinking cognac in tea before. Might give it a try sometime. It sounds like a warm, comforting sort of pre-bedtime drink.

Ron - I'll have to be careful with the lemon if i ever visit Virginia! Who knew it was a crass fruit?! Or is that just a Yankee thing?

(intended cross reference to previous LiT post about the definition of the term 'Yankee' :o) )

I was always an iced tea drinker back in my Arizona days, as my mom always drank a lot of the stuff, and besides, a hot drink doesn't go well with Arizona weather... always with lemon, and none of that lame sugar to make it all gross.

around here, I will occasionally get less lazy and stick a pitcher out in the (occasional) sun to make some iced tea, but I've more or less adapted to hot tea. Sometimes I take it in the morning with breakfast, but my other half always does, and dips his croissants or pains au chocolat in it, which I think is icky but whatever. I will more likely take it at 4pm with a snack, or in the evening in that social drinking time when almost everyone else takes coffee (I have issues with the idea of drinking coffee at like midnight).

I'm still anti-sugar in tea though. my preference these days goes for a nice spoonful of honey.

Growing up in Malaysia, tea was pretty much as Kristen describes too. That or fragrant jasmine tea (à la Chinese restaurant) when at home.

The variation I experienced in the Sahara, this past September, was really quite good, though the first two times I had it, I wasn't quite so eager; green tea is brewed on a stove, and lots of sugar is added while it boils. This sweet mixture is then poured over mint leaves, left to steepe for five minutes, and then served in tiny glasses.

Drinking hot beverages in the desert isn't as daft as it first seems, and the cooling sensation of the mint, besides its imparting the flavour of chewing gum, is pretty refreshing.

When I was new in the states from England, I used to get tea from the Hispanic servers at Wendys in San Antonio. I had to explain very clearly that I just wanted the bag and hot water, not that awful iced tea that Texans drink, but I could never get them to understand the phrase "hot water" with their limited English. In the end, I realized that I had to request "hut waller" in order to be understood.

"And some hut waller please"

"Aaaah, hut waller, fine. Thank you."

Another thing that amazed me was that McDonalds employees in New York could never understand that big was a synonym for large.

"And a big coke please"

"Did you say hamburger?"

If you don't believe me, try it yourself. Go into an American McDonalds and ask for a big coke.

tea in Hong Kong is strong and boiled in a sock like bag with egg shells to give it the extra smoothness. when the brew is nice and strong, it is poured from a height (about shoulder height) into a glass/ cup already containing sweetened condensed milk held at belly button height (i'm not sure why they do that... but it does make a lovely foam) - these are sold on street corners in stalls, not to be confused with classy restuarants where they sell lovely British tea (strong from the bag with milk and sugar taken with scones & jam).
my favorite though, is the "yin-yang" half cup of the above mentioned road-side tea + half cup of extra kickin coffee, swirled with a stainless steel spoon, served in a glass with a saucer under it cause they top it right to the top.

i've had a couple types of tea too since i was brought up in a british-like home, in Singapore, travelled widely throughout the world and now live in the US. i've had tea in a teapot, with a little bit of milk and sugar. i've had tea with condensed milk, thick and deliciously sweet. i've had tea, organic and fruity and iced. i've had tea with tapioca pearls in them. i've had tea with shaved iced and coconut milk in thailand, i've had good ol' sweet tea from the south here in the states, i've had prim & proper tea (only loose) in bed & breakfast settings. i love tea done any way.