The Secret History of Tea: Personal Rituals & Family Stories

hello everybody, it's Nancy May and Sylvia.

Lovely once again with another episode of Family Tree Food and Stories.

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So on that note, let's get going with this show, Sylvia, because

we're talking about drinks.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Not maybe the fun.

Yeah, they're kind of fun, but they're more kind of the

one we're gonna talk about.

It's more to relax you, I think,

than it is to excite you and get you dancing

the most pot.

Potent, potent say that three times at best.

The more potent ones can also relax you in a different kind of

Mm-hmm.

But this one we're talking about rituals and the things that

belong in that category are tea.

not just the thirst quenching kind of tea, but the ones that make you

sort of slow down and relax at the end of the day, or maybe even get

up in the beginning of the day.

But I always think of tea more as an afternoon type of thing.

And my mom used to ask me when we were kids growing up, you wanna go for a Cup-a?

Well, I think we were probably teenagers at the time, and we'd go down to Alice's.

Which was the local general store and have a cuppa at the end of the day.

It was just our way of girl time, which I always enjoyed.

Yeah.

also, have you ever had your tea?

Tea leaves red,

I never have.

But that's a well saying you should get your tea leaves.

Uh, follow your tea leaves.

I mean, you know, it's well known.

I don't know what they're saying is, but the tea

leaves are read by a tasseographer.

I think that's how

Whoa, that's

And

impressive.

there's probably a better way to pronounce it, but it certainly is a $10

word and I'm pronouncing it in a $5 way,

It's better than a Dingleberry or something like that,

Right.

But tea gives us that permission to pause, to stay a while and chat and give

you a moment to slightly unwind and.

feel what's present at the moment?

Mm-hmm.

Oh yeah.

And it's exactly why we keep going back to the same vacation spot every year.

I don't know about you, but we relive those.

Scenes in our minds over and over, and that same way, celebrate

with the same meal and the same drinks, and it becomes ritual.

And, coffee, coffee's my habit.

And by the way, coffee's good for you again.

Right.

Flash.

The Coffee Association has told you

No, no, it was on the news and you know, I believe

everything I hear on the news.

But anyway, but coffee has its own devoted following, like me, but

not one quite as ancient as tea, which just intrigues me so much.

Coffee wakes you up, sends you out the door, but tea does something different.

even after researching all of this, it still intrigues me.

It pulls you in the opposite direction.

Invite you to sit down, to linger, to stay with something a little bit longer.

And today we're following that thread from ancient China where tea,

by the way, began as a medicine.

To British Afternoon Tea.

How proper, and you're kind of British, you know, to the front

porches of the American South.

I'm the Irish gal in this family.

and in the way we're going to ask what tea still offers us now.

Especially in a world that just won't stop moving and swirling

around here's a fun fact.

There are far more tea drinkers than coffee drinkers on the planet

And tea is the second most consumed beverage in the world after water.

That's amazing, right.

Yeah, But you think about it, for some reason, and, and

it may be the religions of the East, Buddhism, Hinduism, all of those

things are much more ritualistic.

I guess the Catholic church kind of is, but it may be what spread

that whole idea of tea, because that's kind of where it all started.

So tell us all about it.

Well, it's interesting when you look at tea, I don't know about you,

but I think of tea as like Chinese tea.

But it really is permeated throughout so many different cultures.

And as we were getting into the show, even Russia and Angolia and the British

of course, and well, we'll get into the US history 'cause there's a whole bunch

of history that we all know about that.

But even still, so let's go back to some of the ancient stories where it

starts with a legend this is kind of a fun and whimsical story, which I loved.

And around 2,700 BC there was an emperor by the name of Chen, and I'm

hoping pronouncing that with my Chinese

accent.

just let him get mad about it.

Right.

anyway, he's apparently sitting outdoors, boiling water and because then people

knew that raw water, I guess that's what you call unprocessed water of

today, uh, could have all sorts of contaminants and make you sick.

And that's why they were boiling the water.

But apparently some little leaf drifts from a nearby tree.

Whoa.

And there it pops into the pot.

And instead of fishing that leaf out, he decides to take a sip.

And something about the SIP has endured for 5,000 years.

Whoa,

Isn't that amazing?

What I find interesting is that tea didn't begin with a comfort drink.

It was kind of a, oops, get the fly out of my soup.

Good thing it wasn't a fly, right?

Mm-hmm.

But it's more of a functional thing, and it was used to create

clarity for healing to sharpen the mind.

Well before coffee, obviously, and the Chinese Buddhist monks, particularly

from the ninth century through the 12th century, embrace tea as part of

their meditation and spiritual ritual.

Spiritual ritual practices.

I'm gonna sound like Barbara Walters here.

Every secondary Barbara probably could have used some tea.

But, so I was fascinated in just how much tea was a part of helping

them deal with those long hours of contemplation and meditation and just

sort of taking that edge off.

You know, there was the Redding Center for Meditation, which was run

by a couple of Buddhist monks up in where we just moved down from a couple

years, actually it's been five years.

April 1st this year that we're down here being Gator girls,

or I am being a Gator girl.

And it was so interesting to see how the monks, the, the Buddhist

monks just were able to relax.

They always offered us tea as well during a meditation period.

It was

kind of, it was my way to, to chill out with another friend, although

I kind of lost a little bit of.

that too, but that's for another story.

Yeah.

But you have more information about this,

Yeah.

So, let's get into those old dynasties, how about the Tang Dynasty,

and I don't mean that drink that the

This space.

are Yeah, yeah.

I'm not, I'm not talking about that.

The Tang Dynasty, and that's roughly again, long time ago, six 18 to 9

0 7 AD is no longer just consumed.

It's, it becomes like.

A thing to be studied, written about, and it's a practice.

I think that's a distinguishing mark of tea.

You don't practice coffee, right?

You practice tea because of all the rituals that grew up around it.

A scholar named Lou UI love that.

Luu.

Hey, Luu.

I love that.

He's probably gonna throw spitballs at me.

, In space, even wrote that considers the world's first book entirely

about tea, called The Classic of Tea.

And it covered everything from the best water to the philosophy

behind the act of brewing.

So tea became a part of how people related to one another offering tea.

Became a gesture of respect of welcome acknowledgements.

Not the only drink that does, but it certainly had its kind of way of

putting it, a small cup place between two people, no rush, no urgency, and

with rules that we'll get into later.

But in that space, something opens up and tea becomes less about

what's in the cup and more about what's happening between the people

holding it and the discipline of tea.

I think it's kind of wild.

That we have these rituals that sprang up around tea like no other drink history.

And you've got the Japanese and the Chinese and the Moroccan, , Indian,

I mean, I shouldn't say this like, I'm gonna say it anyway,

like dot versus Feather Indian.

It's probably in, that's probably inappropriate.

Maybe I should edit that one out.

But anyway,

um, east African, Russian, and of course the British cultures that we know of.

High tea ceremonies, and they're not really ceremonies, but it's kind of a, a

process that you have and it's turned into a very artistic form of enjoying things.

But then you have the traditional Japanese ceremony that I think many people have

heard of, but may not know the details, of exactly what goes on during those.

Those include making sure that everything is natural, all the materials that

are from Tatami mats, to the precise size of those mats, to the entrance

into the tea room where you have to bend down to get into the door,

which is a bow or a sign of respect.

You had spent time in Japan.

Did you ever go through a tea ceremony?

Yes, I did.

it was really interesting, but by the way, you would have to bow,

Not you because you're like

I'm like two feet tall.

But anyway, so I would pretend to do that though.

, But that's not my favorite Japanese, that's another story.

But the day that they put me in a com.

kimono, And it was so tight I couldn't breathe.

And the family I, Liv was living with, they were so excited about

putting me in that thing and I was like, I can't breathe.

I really can't breathe.

And took me to a performance.

Oh, how

sit and, and what they loved about it.

Was that they're small people and I was small and she was so delighted

because I fit into her kimono.

Aw.

I nearly died.

anyway, they have a lot of rituals.

That's my point.

Tea and all of those things.

You dress in a certain way, you show reverence in a certain

way, and heaven forbid, wear, don't wear your shoes, you know?

Right.

Yeah.

My shoes my size.

10 shoes, no.

Yeah, they'd laugh at that one.

But there was sort of a humility about the the Japanese tea.

And each tea bowl has to be unique, often handmade.

Sometimes they're centuries old in the more traditional ancient types of

tea ceremonies that they have.

And everything is so precise.

But there's also something that people don't know.

Tea was once considered.

Valuable in Asia and it was so valuable that was pressed into

bricks and used as actual currency.

Now we have a brick of tea at home,

You do,

I do.

I, I haven't traded a horse for it and I haven't gone grocery shopping with it, so,

huh?

Wow.

You been holding out on me.

I know, I'm sorry.

I'm sorry.

But they, you were used as, currency really for trading horses in Mongolia

and across Siberia and other places to pay for wages and whatnot.

But we have this brick of tea that we got in Plymouth, Massachusetts,

one Thanksgiving, and we were just fascinated when we saw it.

It was beautiful the way he was pressed into things.

But the disgusting part, I have to say, which I didn't know about until

just now, I don't think they did it.

Up in Plymouth, but I could be wrong, at least from commercial in this

day and age, the way they pressed this, this tea together in this brick

was they either used dried blood,

Yeah.

right?

I can't imagine how that would've tasted in tea or flour.

So flour and water, I can act like a glue.

But, um, in any case, the tea bricks have been used for currency or were

used for currency, in Asia all the way through parts of World War ii, which

it is just amazing that tea still held that, that value over this time.

But.

I have to say though, we've also gotten these bricks and we like the flavor.

The taste of the tea was it's a black tea is so smooth and so delightful

that we got a bunch of them for friends and gave them away as gifts

and they all had the same experiences.

Like this is just so good

You mean the tea that you soak a brick

you don't put it, it's big.

It's like about five inches by eight

not won't fit in your wallet?

Right.

No, it won't be in your wallet or your ATM,

okay.

Hmm.

we just took a sledgehammer and a knife and, and chunked them off.

And,, so that's how we did it.

And then you steep it with a, in like a French press or some sort of tea,

steeper, but it's just, it's just, you don't need milk or anything, or sugar.

It's just delightful.

Yeah.

Until you find out anyway,

Until you find out it's soaked in blood.

Hey, by the way, I sometimes read books about the workplace

and what's happening in the workplace.

In some places they're bringing.

Back the tea ceremonies because of the discipline and all of that

and the relaxation, no anywhere.

it's just an interesting little thing, but it's pretty cool.

Yeah.

So, you know, tea woven into the very fabric of economies and cultures.

it wasn't a luxury like we think of, it was survival.

It was a social currency, a spiritual practice, all in one compressed brick

until you told me what it was made out of.

Tea found its way along the Silk Road, and here it came along ancient

trails and eventually across oceans.

And when it arrived in England, now they took an active interest.

yeah.

So tea makes its way to England and it crosses cultures.

It transforms.

And so by the mid 18 hundreds, a woman named Anna, the Duchess of Bedford

finds that that stretch between lunch and dinner is just a little bit too

long, and she's.

Hungry.

She is a little bored, so she asks for tea and a small

bite to eat in the afternoon.

Oh, how dainty.

It's a practical solution.

Nothing grand about it at first, but it catches on with her social circle.

And before long afternoon, tea becomes an institution.

Well, what?

An institution that's become British Afternoon tea.

You see it in the movies, some Victorian Elegance is going on.

you know, I have not watched, what's the, the big, there's a British show that has

no longer around, I'm trying to think of

Um, yeah, there's some pretty cool British shows.

They're cool, but there are lots of cool British shows.

But anyway, all this family in the Victorian period, somebody will

have to correct me on that one.

I can't think of it 'cause I didn't watch it.

But just the idea of drinking tea seems to be so

like.

Ladi da.

Right.

I just love it.

I love it.

But there are rules that are also fascinating, and I don't know about

you, but I've probably broken every single one and I have been to a number of

high teas with girlfriends in New York.

It was kind of a business thing.

So instead of going out and having a glass of wine, not all the

time, but with one or two other.

Businesswoman that I knew we'd go have high tea, which was always delightful.

But let me tell you how this high tea thing works.

In case you don't know, Sylvia,

Yeah.

Well, I'm taking notes,

of

do, please do from someone who's a rule breaker for sure.

First, the milk must go into the cup before the tea is poured.

That is non-negotiable.

You have to stir it.

Six to 12 times gently back and forth in the nice gentle swirls

with your little silver spoon.

Of course, everybody's got a silver spoon right

now.

You hold your cup with your thumb and your index finger and do not, do not

as I said, put that little pinky up.

Oh dear.

Because that.

yes, that's considered vulgar.

Now I have a pinky that was broken.

As a child that is perfectly c

You're all

would be perfect, right, darling, it can go up.

I have to keep it down.

Otherwise, I, it's probably like some four letter word in British style.

Mm-hmm.

Now when it comes to the food, you break scones with your hands.

Never a knife.

You never cut it.

The napkin goes on your lap properly.

Ladylike, of course, I don't think men have high five o'clock or high tea.

I don't know.

I've

Hmm.

Well, in movies, you see these guys sitting over tea negotiating,

you know,

dandies.

They called them the Danis back then,

and of course the napkin has never tucked in your collar or your belt or wherever.

But then there's also a process to how the tier of food are brought to you.

It's always in a three-tiered stand, which I think is so cool and elegant.

Anyway.

it's.

The bottom tier is for delicate finger sandwiches.

Gentlemen, did you ever see the commercial where the guys are sitting

around from like at t somewhere and they're all like burly guys?

Like, would you pass the finger sandwiches?

Gentlemen,

I've not seen that, but that's

I'll have to find that commercial and put it in one of our promos

anyway, so it's like cucumber sandwiches, smoked salmon cream cheese with a little

olive mixture, and of course the little crusts are cut off and they're small.

They're just bite size.

The middle tier is the scones and clotted, cream and jam.

A little savory, a little sweet, but certainly delicious.

And the top tier, my favorite petty fours, cakes, and pastries.

I am a petty four snob.

I have to tell you, I love petty fours.

Ah, yeah.

They're just those little tiny things.

They're icings, right?

Icing.

With a little cake.

And if they're not, made just right, I just Ooh,

this is not a petty four.

Yes, I am a petty four snob.

But anyway,

Do you make them?

Do you make them

No, no, no, no.

I, I, I,

don't even, it is too much work I would like to learn,

but I don't have the patience for that, so I'm not, I'll just, eat them by the

handful and be, go straight for the

Yeah.

Yeah.

'cause it doesn't feel like you're eating a whole piece of cake, right?

I play games.

Yeah.

Yeah.

I'll just sn those down at the top.

yeah.

So anyway, , but you know, I love, I love reading about it.

I don't think I would ever like, engage that seriously, but what I love

about the rules, and they're not just fussy for the sake of being fussy.

They're a framework actually.

You hear a lot about mindfulness, deliberate action, and paying attention.

Imagine, taking a room full of burly boys and teaching them a tea ceremony,

Oh my goodness.

No, I

right?

But I mean, But think of the discipline that it teaches people.

It says, I'm present, I'm here with you.

It's not a bad thing for people to do,

'cause you're in the south, you probably have the switch

in the back room waiting for those

Yeah.

Oh yeah.

Go.

You get that switch off the tree, the nearest tree, you let 'em pick it out.

That's even better.

Because that's not appropriate today.

Sorry.

But , here's another place that this, shows up in central Kentucky.

It's horse country, right?

Queen Elizabeth used to spend a lot of time here on some of

the more famous horse farms.

And, it's all about horse racing.

And it, it goes back to.

the royalty.

She was passionate about her horses.

Spent a lot of time here, went to the derby, went to

Keland.

Elizabeth.

Mean Elizabeth?

Oh yeah.

She was here all the time, she had some horses, Right.

They traditionally now have an afternoon tea built into pre derby festivities,

and this year it's happening at the Storied Brown Hotel in Louisville, which

is a beautiful place, uh, storied place.

It's where the Hot Brown was invented.

Which is that luscious, wonderful thing with bacon, ham bread, and Mornay sauce.

I mean,

Oh, I've never had a hot brown.

Didn't even hear about it till I met you.

it is So good.

And so they would have these sandwiches , with the tea, and they'll

have these cucumber sandwiches.

Benedictine spread.

Now that's like a Mayo kind of thing.

Chives, all of that.

It's named after.

It's a couple of theories.

Eggs Benedict.

Yeah, but it's also for the Benedictine monks probably.

there's a, a place where monks hang out

nearby yeah, Munkery, uh, and yeah, Benedictine monks used,

these little sandwiches and teas cut into little squares.

Like you said, the little rough edges are not on there.

and it's very simple.

Very elegant.

The ladies come in, all their finery and their hats that they're

getting ready to wear at Derby.

I mean, it's, wonderful.

It's, it's wonderful to behold.

And the Brown Hotel is a place to behold.

Well, we're gonna take a quick break, at the Brown Hotel and

Derby season is coming up, so if you are not aware, I think it's like the

first weekend in May or something like

Mm-hmm.

first first Saturday in May.

So , we're getting ready.

This is a perfect time to take a break so that you can get ready

and think about your Derby party.

We'll be right back.

So we're back from derby season, or maybe we're planning for Derby season,

and we're gonna talk about how tea crossed the pond as we'll say to the

Americas and transformed our lives yet again.

Which we've all probably heard about this story as kids.

Remember the Boston Tea Party December 16th, 1773?

A group of colonialists in Boston had simply had enough of British

taxation without representation.

You know, I think we haven't gotten too far from that.

Not to be a political activist today, but still, but I didn't realize exactly

how much tea was dumped, so it was over 90,000 pounds of the East Indian

Company tea that was dumped roughly 342 chest full of tea, which today

would've been about $1.7 million.

Is that amazing?

Talk

Oh, that

right?

Anyway, so they're dumped in the Boston Harbor and apparently they estimate

that that amount of tea could have brewed more than 18 million cups of tea.

I could see how the Brits really would've been totally P.O.ed over that.

That's a huge statement to make and one not to be ignored, but.

With all of that, of course it created the American Revolution

or started with the American Revolution, which we're coming up

on our 250th anniversary this year.

And besides that, US Americans, we can't stay angry for a long period of time.

We don't hold grudge in general, I don't think.

At least I don't,

but the Americans didn't stay angry tea for a long time.

And the colonial folks did not drink their tea iced.

Did you know that?

Yeah, I know, I

know, isn't

I

think that's interesting.

Ice tea became a thing, after it was introduced in the 1904

World's Fair in St. Louis,

Well, we had to be a little different, didn't we?

right, There's gonna be something that's always

introduced to the world fair.

I think it was Belgian waffles that were introduced in the New

York World's Fair in the sixties.

I remember smelling Bell Belgian waffles and doing that was delicious.

so There was a different story about exactly how this happened.

Some say that the tea merchants couldn't really get anyone to try hot

tea in the sweltering Missouri heat, as you would imagine in the summer

Right.

Right.

And they don't do that in England.

right, and, air conditioning's not so good.

So instead they decide to pour it over ice and see if that would work.

That is the origin story supposedly but.

I am, I'm just gonna say that it really happened, but iced tea

became what was thought to be a novelty stable, and was eventually

found in virtually every restaurant.

And in the south there's a big deal between sweet unsweetened,

Yeah, and the Southern Sweet Tea is legendary.

there's as many recipes for sweet Tea as there are great southern cooks and some

of the big names, of course, Paula Dean.

Made it part of her brand and she's out of Savannah.

We all know Paula Dean, many cookbooks, restaurants, and all of that.

And the help the movie, the help celebrated it as inseparable from

Southern Food and Culture, and it shows up in every family reunion, every

church supper, every porch gathering in.

Minnie always has her sweet tea, and she doesn't tell

anybody what's going on with it.

She, I'm gonna give you her recipe, but there are many, many of them.

but you know, sweet tea didn't begin.

As an everyday drink because tea, sugar, and ice were once

very individual luxuries, so you have all three in the same glass.

That was extravagant.

That was showing off baby.

But over time it became part of the democratization of.

Tea and people enjoy it.

Now, the brands like Lipton made tea widely accessible, and in the South you

hear names like Milo's or Lanne spoken with the kind of loyalty usually reserved

for their teams and their sports teams.

Even Piggly Wiggly, I love the name of that one.

And IGA helped put tea into every home.

So it was about anyone being able to sit down and share something really good.

But there's one non-negotiable rule,

Nancy, but it's like tea.

You know, tea and it's rules.

The sugar has to be dissolved while the tea is still hot.

Pour it over it and then cooled.

You cannot add sugar to cold tea and call it sweet tea,

and that's a requirement.

So you can't use a simple syrup.

Yeah, no, So.

This is real important for authenticity, but you can imagine,

like if you go into any restaurant today, they usually have two tanks.

One is sweetened tea and one is unsweetened tea.

And you know, it's become very ordinary.

I mean, sweet tea, is that really southern sweet tea?

Probably not.

That's probably just, something

ordinary.

a poor substitute, right?

yeah, yeah, yeah.

that's Bernie's drink, unsweetened iced tea.

Unsweetened iced tea?

Well, it's, healthier in fact, up north I never heard of sweet tea other

than it was sweetened tea, you know, tea with sugar versus unsweetened tea.

But A friend of mine , was a, an Alabama Bama boy originally, and he said he

nailed a job interview because he was interviewing down south and they

said, would, would you like to drink?

He said, I'll have sweet tea.

And the boss said.

You must be from the south.

And he said, I am.

He got hired.

Ah, yeah, there you go.

It's a strong bond.

so do you know that there are certain southern places that you don't

necessarily just serve it on the porch?

In fact, they don't serve it on the porch at all.

But Chick-fil-A has built a devouted following for its iced tea made with

Tetley blends some special seasonings, which I think that's rather interesting.

There are no one of the.

Chick-fil-A franchise owners here, I'm gonna have to ask 'em about it.

And Panera has some really delicious herbal teas, which they're not really

tead because they're herbal, but, anyway,

still fun to think of 'em and think about how we made them

into teas because of what tea means.

You know?

It means, sitting back, relaxing, taking your time.

but let's talk about tea versus coffee.

Let's get the.

fight started.

Put on the gloves.

they're in the similar spaces in our lives.

Morning drinks, I don't know that you have afternoon coffee.

I can't have,

afternoon coffee,

not, not often.

Yeah.

but they feel very different.

You know, it's, it's interesting 'cause I think I could drink afternoon

tea even though it too has caffeine.

It doesn't have as much, but still, it just feels different.

Coffee kinda.

signals motion.

It says get active, do something, get out the door.

So you grab it, you go, you stop by and stop one of these places

that sells stuff out the window.

there are little drive-throughs and all of that.

There's an urgency built into it, and that's kind of.

Interesting because you almost don't like that it's almost moves too fast for you.

But I relax with my coffee, but I can't imagine going to a Starbucks every day

and getting a coffee and all that stuff.

Besides that, it's expensive.

I know it's crazy.

coffee has become sort of like the special treat if we're and driving

around because $6 for a cup of coffee is like, really I'll just, I'll just

buy the beans and wait till I get home.

Yeah.

But anyway, there's nothing like a cup of hot tea

on a cold day, I have to say.

You just put that hot cup on the side of your face and it just

takes the chill away or just around your hands, and it just gives you

time to reflect a little bit more.

And we've seen all the news articles, right?

Where it says, coffee says super food, and you've got mushroom coffee and

everything but tea, tea gives you the chance to just sort of sit down and.

Deal with healthy issues like antioxidants, less caffeine, takes a

slight edge off on that hydration.

But honestly, at the end of the day, enjoying one cup to bring all those

matters down and just relax a little bit.

Bob and I have this ritual.

At the end of the day, it's really not at the end of the day, it's after dinner.

We have our tea.

And it's bringing it.

Yep.

it's not necessarily a sleepy time tea, but it's kind of like the end of day.

It's usually a non caffeine tea.

And I have a couple of favorites.

I have Twinings Winter Spice Tea that I found a couple years ago, which only

comes out in the wintertime, and so I have now ordered like 20 cartons

of it sitting in our tea closet.

And then I've got a fancy one from.

Harry and Sons called Paris Tea.

I have a, an interesting story for another time about the guy who owns

Harry and Sons, which I'm not a fan of him personally, but I like their tea

and Ginger Peach.

Yeah, Harry and David are kind of fancy.

They're in little silk bags and then ginger peach tea, which is called

Longevity Tea by the Republic of Tea.

They used to be all the rage.

I love those and the round little containers they're in.

So those are kind of my go-to teas.

Oh gosh.

I'm, I'm a coffee girl.

But you know it, that's pretty cool.

we have a tea closet, although I am a coffee person too.

We do have the tea closet.

yeah.

I love a tea closet.

Oh, you're so cool, Nancy.

Oh, and Cindy Bigelow, I have to tell you this one

little thing before we wrap up.

Cindy Biglow, Biglow Tea is from the New Haven, Connecticut area.

And it was her grandmother who started the tea company with constant comment tea.

Well, I've heard of it.

That was the fancy tea that my mom would always

break out every now and then.

And Cindy Biglow is the granddaughter who I've met a couple of times,

and Cindy's lovely and her sister have, over the years run and

built up Bigelow Tea t So it's

Yeah, there you go.

Hmm.

I love it.

Mm-hmm.

Bigelow, Tetley, lipton.

Well, there you go.

There you go.

spiked canned teas are making their way into the store shelves.

and it's interesting.

People are getting more interested just like they are in so many

things, artisan kinds of things.

with loose leaves, tea shops are popping up and I was looking for one the other day

and one of the reasons I was doing that.

Now they've, have you heard of bubble tea?

Yeah, I'm not a fan of it.

It doesn't sound good to me.

I won't even try it, but what I discovered, okay, I'm going tell this.

modern tea bags, some of the newer ones, especially those silky pyramid

styles that look so elegant, are actually made with plastics like nylon.

When you pour hot water over them, they can release microplastics into your cup.

No.

Thank you.

so I'm actually looking for a tea shop.

I've discovered one.

I just have to have time to get there actually get the loose tea and

then, you know, try to do more tea.

But I, I've kind of sworn off those little tea bags.

Oh, that's interesting.

'cause I'm looking at one right now and I thought they were silk, but they're not.

They're plastic.

I will, think twice about that.

But a French press is really great for using loose tea,

so you don't need one of those fancy tea things.

And of course, we have the olive trees, if you dry out olive leaves, which we do

in our oven, and you just turn the light on overnight, we make olive leaf tea.

It's really good and delicious for you.

So.

Well, those little boogers grew up, didn't they?

Right.

That's Right.

Forget the olives.

Like chuck the olives.

I'll take the leaves.

I love that.

I love that.

Okay, well that's kind of our story of tea, isn't it?

And and all the little special things that you make it in from French

presses to the, uh, they're called guyana, which is those Chinese iron cast pots to

the beautiful infusers that you can get.

I mean, it's just, they're absolutely teapots are also big collectible things.

And they're delicious.

No, they're deliciously, they're delicious to the eye, I should

Yeah, and now black tea is the most popular tea, but

there's different kinds in oolong is something, and I'm wondering in

a traditional, not a high end, but just a traditional Chinese, panda

something or other, whatever they call ' wonder what kind of tea they serve.

Is it oolong?

Is it black?

I don't know

Hmm, because I do, if I go to a Chinese restaurant,

that's the only time I'll drink tea.

just seems to go with Chinese food.

Green tea.

The green teas.

Yep.

Absolutely love them.

. We've got those too.

So.

From the Emperors Cup to the Duchess table to the southern front porch.

Tea has carried some of the most amazing flavors that we have.

Even fruit flavors that carries us over time and memories, and it's the

quieter moments, I would say, even in some of those more difficult times.

Tea is soothing.

It's known to be good for your health.

When you're not feeling well, there is nothing better than a little honey

and lemon in a cup of tea, just to make you feel like maybe mom's there

helping you out when you need it most,

even if mom's not there with you.

Right.

Yeah, it's, just sits there on the counter and says, oh,

you could take five more minutes

Right.

and just try it for a change.

You could pour tea and just try it out.

You know, that's what I'm trying to think about is tea might be kind of

a good thing to work into my system, and and to compliment my coffee.

But I'm gotta get to that tea shop.

That's what I gotta do.

So here's a challenge for you, our dear listeners this week.

First of all, we want you to subscribe to the show, please, if you haven't

already, and share it, which is well like sharing a cup of tea with a friend, and

if you would share your story of your favorite teas and what you do with them.

And never forget to go to Podcast Family Tree Food and Stories.

That's podcast Family Tree Food Stories.

If you have a story that you wanna share with us, there's a little tab on the

side of that page where you can actually record your story and just send it to us

or send us an email with your note at, podcast, family Tree, food and Stories.

Because every meal has a story and every story is a feast,

even if it is a cup of tea.

So from our table to yours, thank you for spending time with us sitting down and

having a cup or two, and we'll see you next time or we'll hear you next time.

Take care.

Bye-bye.

goodbye.