Dude, I’ve been experimenting with different mixes of ginger and cinnamon. People obsess about water temperatures. Tea drinkers like nothing but ideas for more posh things to do to their drinks. “Pinch of salt” is just snobby enough that I can’t wait to try it and tell it to all my friends next time I’m complaining about a lackluster café order.
The big issue I see, and it’s a PR thing, is it coming from the US. That alone may disqualify it. We’ll have to see.
I’m an American. I drink a lot of tea throughout the day. Different kinds for breakfast, midmorning, lunch and mid afternoon. I’ve never had a tea I thought would be improved with milk. I just don’t get it.
I don’t even know what some people call “tea” in this context sometimes. It could be they’re having Ceylon in the morning and Earl Gray in the afternoon, but sometimes what they mean is they’re soaking some weeds in the morning and some dry fruits in the afternoon and calling it tea. I lived in a place for a while where all infusions are referred to with the word for “tea”, so you’d ask for cup of tea, be given a camomile infusion and be expected not to murder your host.
“Improved” is the wrong word, in my opinion. It’s not that the tea is made better with the addition of milk, it’s just that it’s good in a different way. I drink my tea straight at work, no additions. But on a Saturday morning, with flapjacks and bacon, a lavender earl grey with a hint of sugar and a small splash of cream is just. Mmm. The cream can mute some of the stronger flavor profiles and allow some of the more subtle ones to shine. I love it both ways, neither is better than the other. They’re just different good.
Oh, yeah, I know. Brits will just throw a bag of the crappiest tea they have around in a teapot and move on with their day.
Which is a luxury you can afford when even middling supermarket tea is drinkable. Over where I am if you’re doing tea you have an… affectation. Plus even if you don’t want to, finding drinkable tea is hard enough that you end up going to the fancy stuff by default.
Yeah we’re not exactly known for our tea here, unless it’s in a harbor or so full of sugar it’s not even really tea anymore, so I can see it not going over that well. I just made a cup but it’s one of my favorite kinds and I’m too afraid to try the salt in case it ruins it.
“Pinch of salt” is just snobby enough that I can’t wait to try it and tell it to all my friends next time I’m complaining about a lackluster café order.
See, this is why I love the internet, it allows me to find my kin. I relish in learning enough about a niche thing that I have enough discernment that I can be a bit of a snob, if I wish.
Hah. This is me respectfully nodding in your general direction.
Although I’ll admit that in my case this mostly manifests as me buying literally any food I haven’t eaten before and putting super gross stuff in my mouth, no matter how transparent of a marketing scheme it is. I bought that coke they asked ChatGPT to formulate. This is a real problem.
Also, if anybody is curious I put a pinch of salt in my tea today. It was fine, not noticeable. I’ll try a bigger pinch next time.
Dude, I’ve been experimenting with different mixes of ginger and cinnamon. People obsess about water temperatures. Tea drinkers like nothing but ideas for more posh things to do to their drinks. “Pinch of salt” is just snobby enough that I can’t wait to try it and tell it to all my friends next time I’m complaining about a lackluster café order.
The big issue I see, and it’s a PR thing, is it coming from the US. That alone may disqualify it. We’ll have to see.
As a Brit this is genuinely the exact opposite of how most tea drinkers are here. The less shit you do to it the better is the general view.
So… milk is out, then?
Don’t be ridiculous.
I’m an American. I drink a lot of tea throughout the day. Different kinds for breakfast, midmorning, lunch and mid afternoon. I’ve never had a tea I thought would be improved with milk. I just don’t get it.
That’s because you’re American. Don’t feel bad.
I don’t even know what some people call “tea” in this context sometimes. It could be they’re having Ceylon in the morning and Earl Gray in the afternoon, but sometimes what they mean is they’re soaking some weeds in the morning and some dry fruits in the afternoon and calling it tea. I lived in a place for a while where all infusions are referred to with the word for “tea”, so you’d ask for cup of tea, be given a camomile infusion and be expected not to murder your host.
“Improved” is the wrong word, in my opinion. It’s not that the tea is made better with the addition of milk, it’s just that it’s good in a different way. I drink my tea straight at work, no additions. But on a Saturday morning, with flapjacks and bacon, a lavender earl grey with a hint of sugar and a small splash of cream is just. Mmm. The cream can mute some of the stronger flavor profiles and allow some of the more subtle ones to shine. I love it both ways, neither is better than the other. They’re just different good.
Oh, yeah, I know. Brits will just throw a bag of the crappiest tea they have around in a teapot and move on with their day.
Which is a luxury you can afford when even middling supermarket tea is drinkable. Over where I am if you’re doing tea you have an… affectation. Plus even if you don’t want to, finding drinkable tea is hard enough that you end up going to the fancy stuff by default.
Yeah I literally take tea bags on holiday haha just not the same elsewhere
Yeah we’re not exactly known for our tea here, unless it’s in a harbor or so full of sugar it’s not even really tea anymore, so I can see it not going over that well. I just made a cup but it’s one of my favorite kinds and I’m too afraid to try the salt in case it ruins it.
See, this is why I love the internet, it allows me to find my kin. I relish in learning enough about a niche thing that I have enough discernment that I can be a bit of a snob, if I wish.
Hah. This is me respectfully nodding in your general direction.
Although I’ll admit that in my case this mostly manifests as me buying literally any food I haven’t eaten before and putting super gross stuff in my mouth, no matter how transparent of a marketing scheme it is. I bought that coke they asked ChatGPT to formulate. This is a real problem.
Also, if anybody is curious I put a pinch of salt in my tea today. It was fine, not noticeable. I’ll try a bigger pinch next time.