I never used to drink tea back home. Unless it was during the hot summer months, I was always reaching for a typical cup of Starbucks or Brewed Awakenings. However, after being in England for only a month, I have quickly become the tea connoisseur.
I received my first mug as a gift during freshmen orientation, and since we don’t have a coffee maker in our flat, I resorted to buying tea at our local grocery store. The first tea I ever tried was Ty-phoo Black Tea, which was said to help a lot with illnesses such as colds. After drinking it for a few weeks straight, it became bitterer and less pleasant to drink. But I didn’t know a thing about good tea, so I stuck with it.
Then, a few weeks later, my friends and I traveled to Alnwick Castle on a university-sponsored trip. After touring the castle and having our first Hogwarts broomstick lesson, three of us went to explore the town. We shopped around a bit and then towards the end, we went into Bari Tea Brewery to relax and warm up from the cold.
It was my first time being at an authentic tea shop. I had no idea where to begin after being handed a menu, so after staring at it for a good 15 minutes, I finally settled on a green tea called Jasmine Dragon Tears. I received my own pot and the waitress gave me a timer set for three minutes so that the tea leaves could settle into the water. It had to have been one of the most delicious teas I have ever tried with its warmth and smoothness running down my throat. The flowery taste of the jasmine made it unique and rich, and most definitely worth the three pounds I paid for it. The store also sold the teas they made, but because mine was richer, a bag of the tea leaves cost 20 pounds. Compared to others that cost five or 10 pounds, it was not worth the purchase.
I began falling in love with tea and the idea of drinking it every day. I went grocery shopping at Aldi a few weeks later and bought a box of Jasmine green tea that had similar flavors of the one I had at Alnwick. I still drink at least two cups a day. On Thursdays, my friends and I would go to this place called the Globe Café, which is a recreation center built next to a church. International students can come and play games like Jenga or chess or Uno and free food is provided. I always have a cup of their Lemon and Ginger tea. In fact, I just bought two boxes of that tea on my previous grocery shopping trip.
Recently, I traveled with a group to the Lake District in Windermere. It’s the largest lake in England, and also one of the most expensive places to live. We left early, around 8 o’clock in the morning, and arrived around 10:30 am. I’m definitely not a morning person and I hadn’t eaten breakfast before I left. We all received discount vouchers to eat at the Boatman’s Café that was next to the loading docks. I ordered a toasted tea cake, which is basically an English muffin with fruit in it. But it also came with a small, silver pot of tea, all for 3 pounds. It was the first time that I tried one of the most popular teas in the country: English Breakfast Tea. Because it was a café and not a tea shop, it wasn’t of the best quality. It’s a bland black tea with a tiny citrus hint to it, but it still had very good taste and gave enough natural energy to stay awake.
After the boat tour, we walked around the town and went into a sweet shop. Closest to the door, I found boxes of franchised tea that came in just the regular boxes, or in decorative tins in the shape of London icons like a telephone booth and Big Ben. I decided to get a 3-pack of the tea brand New English teas. It came with English Breakfast Tea, English Afternoon Tea and Earl Grey Tea, three of the most traditional teas to drink in England. I’ve already tried two of them and I’ve grown devotion. Before we left to go home, we stopped at a shop called The Coffee Bean that had coffee, tea and smoothies. Something had changed when I went to order my drink: I was in no mood for coffee. Not in the least. I ordered a pot of green tea that came in a cherry red teapot. The funny part was that I was the only one who ordered tea; one person got a mango smoothie and the others got coffee.
I laugh to myself every day now because of how much I’ve grown accustomed to drinking tea. It becomes an addiction. It’s definitely healthy for the body and soul and contains the same warmth as a cup of coffee. What I like most is that there’s no caffeine, so I’m not bound to get a headache in the end. When I came home after that trip, I read underneath the pack of teas that I bought.
“Tea remains today what it has been to generations of people, a symbol of good neighborliness and friendship between people of many different nations.”
I totally believe in this sentence because I see so many people, in the afternoon, make time to visit each other in a restaurant or shop with pots of tea on the table. I think tea is a more sophisticated drink to have while talking with others because of its simple texture and the relaxing scent you get before sipping your cup. I can also see its benefits to people because when they walk out of the shop, they are more relaxed and happier because of the hour they took out of their busy day to enjoy themselves. I know it makes me more relaxed too, and happier than I am when going to Starbucks.