Sunday 25 March 2012

Storm in a teacup.


I've always been a stubborn avoider of hot drinks. The occasional hot chocolate, I can handle, but tea or coffee? Not for me, ta. It's not a bad way to be! I am exempt from the tea run at work (my motto being 'Hey, if I don't drink it, I ain't making it.') and a lifetime of never drinking coffee means I have an insanely high tolerance for caffeine, meaning I can astound my friends by taking five proplus tablets at once and becoming marginally less tired.

There are downsides, too, though. That insanely high tolerance for caffeine means that I could probably do with a regular source of it throughout the day. And I don't get to use a cool mug. Oh, and organising meetings makes me panic because I know I'll have to offer to make drinks, and I SUCK at making drinks. Basically, why can't everyone drink water? Especially in the summer! The idea of hot chocolate on a warm day is just weird, but it doesn't seem to slow down tea drinkers. IT CONFUSES ME. OH! And don't get me started on cream teas. Why do they never give you an option to JUST HAVE THE CAKE? When I ask for a cream tea without the tea THEY LOOK AT ME LIKE I'M INSANE. YOU DON'T NEED TO DRINK TEA TO LIKE SCONES WITH CREAM AND JAM, TEAROOMS.


So, yeah. Being anti tea, working in an office, IN ENGLAND... it basically makes me feel like an alien. But I don't LIKE it. I think fruit tea tastes like weak squash (why is weak squash SO much worse than water?) and mint tea tastes like the weird toothpaste my Grandad used to use and green tea tastes like rockpools and regular tea tastes, well, kind of like rockpools too. Milky, sugary rockpools.

BUT! When Twinings contacted me to see if they could convert me, I was actually tempted to give it a go. I had this whole plan of getting my colleagues each to make me their perfect cup of tea, and I would try each one and give them points. But the plan was doomed. What with the combination of an insanely busy couple of weeks at work, and me, the guinea pig, coming down with a cold that made my colleagues less than keen to let me drink from their cups of tea... er, it didn't happen. But I still wanted to talk about my experiences with tea, because, come on! Who stands up for the non-tea-drinkers in England? WE'RE PEOPLE TOO. We're efficient, hydrated people! We think nothing of chugging 3 litres of water between the hours of 9 to 5! We don't spend ages waiting for the kettle to boil! We get up and GET GOING in the morning, with no need for that first cup of tea. BASICALLY WE ARE AMAZING.


However... this little failed experiment has got me thinking. I haven't actually tried REAL tea in years. And last year, out of the blue, I started to like olives, after LOATHING them. Now I am obsessed with them. And I like red wine now! So maybe, just maybe, my tastes have changed. So maybe it's time to give it another chance. Watch this space...

What do you think? Are you pro or anti tea? Are you surprised at how capslocky I get about tea? Check out the Twinings Facebook and let them know what you think!


PS - This post was written in collaboration with Twinings, but let's face it, I don't need much encouragement to launch into a rant about something that really doesn't make me that angry in real life.
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13 comments

  1. I drink green tea, since it's almost devoid of caffeine and is very good for you! I'm definitely pro tea, but only if it's the healthy stuff (read:herbal without any crap).

    P.S. Are you going to any events on Thursday? Would be looovely to see your red-haired beauty in person again.


    http://shelovesmixtapes.blogspot.com

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  2. I'm totally with you. I drink things in order to be hydrated when I'm thirsty. WHY would I stand waiting for the kettle to boil, then go through the whole kerfuffle of making the tea and then have to wait for it to cool down to the point where I can drink it? It's not like I'm from a family of non tea drinkers - my entire family can't start the day without a cuppa of some description but I just never got into the habit. I have nothing against tea or tea drinker. It just seems like so much effort to go to when there's a tap next to the kettle and fresh juice in the fridge.

    xxx

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  3. I am obsessed with tea and I'm not just saying this but Twinings is the best! I love their everyday tea, it keeps me going at work and accompanies me while I'm blogging in the evenings.

    Bless you, Twinings.

    [ Becky at life/style/flash. blog]

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  4. You've got to try it - I had similar red wine and olive revelations after turning 20.
    And while I was hooked on tea at a young age (mum used to give it to me in those sippy cups for toddlers... yeahhh....) I've been converted to Earl Grey in the last week, having previously huffed about it not being proper tea but perfumed nonsense. Ahem. Words officially eaten.

    Try some different types; there are so many out there that you might just surprise yourself. And nothing ventured, right?

    Katie
    xx
    http://cyclinginhighheels.blogspot.com

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  5. I love this post, made me laugh so much!
    I love tea but I don't drink it very often.. I'm not one of these people who needs a brew to get going, but I'll happily drink it if it's on offer!

    xo

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  6. I love tea. Although I don't usually have more than one a day and can go without if needed. Yorkshire tea is my favourite for a normal cup of tea and I recently tried teapig's chai tea (it was a free sample with a magazine) and thought it was the most amazing thing ever. So much that I went to the shops and bought some even though it costs over £4 for 15 teabags.

    You should definitely give tea a second chance.

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  7. I used to hate olives, and now love them...I used to hate tea, and now despite caffeine having little to no effect on me I bloody love it, however this may have something to do with my strong love of custard cream biscuits!
    xxx

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  8. You don't like tea??? My god woman. ;)
    I have a friend who also doesn't like tea, I still always ask her when I'm making a drink. I think she hates me.
    I love any kind of tea, green, peppermint, builders brew. Last one is even better with a sausage sandwich.
    x

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  9. Everyone always looks at me in horror when I say I don't like hot drinks. I hate them! I'm a squash girl all the way. They just taste so ugh to me. I do succumb to a cup-a-soup on the really cold days when I have to warm my bones!
    Sophie
    x

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  10. I never used to like hot drinks either, but I'm a tea-drinker now. Maybe you just have refined tastes, and will actually fancy teas rather than PG Tips or whatever

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  11. I always think that when it comes to tea, why would I want to drink something that smells like HOT WEE? Ugh. It's a no to coffee as well. I find it weird that caffeine has no effect on you though - all I need is a paracetamol with added caffeine and I'm shaking like a leaf!

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  12. I'm so pro-tea its beyond normal....I spend alot of time thinking about my next cup, dreaming of what sort of cup or mug I might buy next, what type of tea I might be having...yeah, obsessed is not the word.

    I must admit that I find it hard to comprehend that some people dont like tea...to me its so much part of life, that I wonder what other people do with their lives! Probably get more stuff done because they're not stopping to drink it.

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  13. I like tea and I don't judge you for not liking it. Water is awesome. :) xx

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