Tea Question and Misogynists/Bikinis Study

[anogete]

Question for you tea drinkers and/or British folks out there. And if you're from the U.K., and my question is ridiculous, forgive the poor American. I love Earl Grey, and I'm under the impression that is one of the most popular teas. I've always steeped a cup from tea bags from the whole foods store or the market, never loose leaf. I've tried many different brands, and they all taste like Earl Grey to me, with very slight differences. There is a little tea shop I go to now and again for loose leaf tea. They sell their own mixes, and I've rarely been disappointed with the quality. However, I had never purchased any Earl Grey there. Today, I felt the hankering for it, so I dropped in and bought a loose leaf bag of it and some apricot-peach black tea as well. I whipped up a cup of the Earl Grey as soon as I got back to the office and was aghast. I'm very familiar with what I believe is the taste of Earl Grey. It's comforting to sit down with a cup of it. However, this recent purchase was not what I have always known Earl Grey to be. It tasted nothing like every other brand of the tea I've tried. And now I'm wondering if I've been fooled by all the other brands I've had or if the tea shop is completely off base or terribly artistic about their Earl Grey. It had more of a licorice flavor that overwhelmed the bergamot, if the bergamot was even there at all. It even has a bit of an anise taste. Don't get me wrong; I like it. It just isn't what I wanted. Have I been mislead all my life? My tongue is sad. Twinings is a favorite brand of mine, and I like their Earl Grey. They're based out of England, and they're reputable. They couldn't possibly have fudged their formula so much; the fault must lie in the tea shop I went to. Right?

God, that was dull, wasn't it? On to more interesting and/or risque things...

I found this article to be interesting, yet also disturbing and rather frightening. The basic gist is that a group of men were asked to complete a survey that rated their attitudes toward women. Then they were shown pictures of various things, foremost being women in different attires, while their brain patterns were monitored. They found that men who rated as "hostile sexual" (i.e. misogynists) reacted to bikini-clad women as if these women were objects, not people. The portion of a person's brain that interprets another individual's intent did not activate because they did not view the woman as a person, but an object. Yikes. The article did make mention of possibly reproducing the study with women instead of men as the test subjects, and I think that would be fascinating, especially considering my oh-my-god moment with the picture from yesterday. I can honestly say that I was all about that fellow's intent when I was looking at that picture. I didn't see him as just an object, and I'm not sure that I could if I tried, but maybe I'm just fooling myself.

Comments

[bleedtoblue.livejournal.com]

Hmmm, maybe Mara will weigh in on this! I buy lots of loose tea, but have never purchased Earl Grey that way.

I, too, would like to see a similar study done on women! I'd be very interested.

[ivyadrena.livejournal.com]

I'm more of a coffee addict, but I do enjoy tea on occasion (Earl Grey [Twinings is awesome!], Green Tea, etc), and I was wondering if you'd mind recommending some flavors? :3 Thanks!

[anogete.livejournal.com]

If you like green tea, then try to find some jasmine green tea. It has a very different taste (almost flower-ish), and I love it. I bought some loose from an Asian grocer online, but I'm sure you could find it in a store that has a decent tea selection. I also love raspberry pomegranate green tea. I think Stash makes it, and I got it at the regular grocery store. It's one of my all-time favorites. Orange spice black tea is super yummy, too. I got a cheap-o brand, but it's still one of my favs. Oh, and Traditional Medicines makes this awesome tea called Throat Coat. It is suppose to help soothe your throat, whether you have a cold or not. I always use it when I have a sore throat or cough because it does wonders, but it is so good I drink it just for the taste even if I'm not sick. It has a bit of a licorice flavor that I love.

[ivyadrena.livejournal.com]

:DDD Yay, thank you! I haven't been able to find that Throat Coat yet, which is annoying, because it sounds really good right now. *pout*

I just found a nifty local tea store (http://www.shop.picassoscup.net/category.sc?categoryId=12) (there's totally a bigger selection in store, lol), and I picked up two blends, Allergy Soother (herbal) and Kiwi Vanilla Sencha (green) along with a cute in-mug strainer thingy~

The Allergy Soother is delicious, though I need a more fine strainer for that blend. Mmmm. <3

I'm kinda regretting the Kiwi Vanilla though, partially because the ingredients list "green tea, flavoring, freeze-dried kiwi pieces" when I was expecting bits of vanilla beans, but mostly because it was a second choice; they were out of my first choice, a minty-chocolate Rooibos blend that sounded perfect. D:

What kind of strainer do you use for loose leaf, out of curiosity?

[anogete.livejournal.com]

I always tend to love the herbal/medicinal teas. The Allergy Soother you mentioned sounds like it would be great and is probably along the lines of the Throat Coat I mentioned. There's just something comforting about drinking a tea that is good for you, too. I also love chamomile tea, but it knocks me on my ass every single time. I'll drink a cup of it and before I even reach the bottom, I'm nodding off. I always keep a box of Celestial Seasonings Sleepytime Extra tea in my cupboard for nights that I just can't seem to fall asleep. A cup of it never fails to put me to bed.

I have three different strainers for loose leaf tea. My favorite is a deep cup-like strainer that hooks over the edge of the mug and sits instead with the water. It leaves plenty of room for the leaves to settle happily. I keep that one at work. At home, I have a miniature version of the one I have at work. The only problem is, I have to fill the cup up all the way to the top with water so the leaves are submerged since the cup of the strainer isn't very deep. I also have one of those little snap ball infusers like this (http://www.fantes.com/images/7614infusers.jpg). It's so easy to use, and it doubles as a spoon to stir my tea. I always end up with sludge at the bottom since bits and pieces of the tea leaves always escape through the strainer, but I figured they can't hurt me if they just look like pieces of sand and I can't taste them.

I totally want little tea cups and saucers. It's completely unnecessary and actually silly of them to want them because a mug works just as well and isn't as delicate or cumbersome to store, but I love the idea of a cup and saucer. I'd also love a tea pot with a built-in infuser, but I don't know if it would be worth the trouble to make a pot of tea when I only want a cup. And I know no one in real life who likes to drink tea. They all prefer coffee.

I desperately want to go to a Tea Room (http://stjamestearoom.com/home.html) here in town, but I don't have anyone to go with. Everyone looks at me like I've lost my mind to even think of going to a tea room with dainty sandwiches and fancy teas.

[ivyadrena.livejournal.com]

Oh cool, we used to have one of those ball infusers when I was little... wonder what ever happened to it. Must've got lost in a move or something. ):

My step-dad has a ton of these pretty china tea cups and saucers-- I think a couple of them were his mother's originally, but he's added to the collection a bit. I love the idea of them too, but I always end up just making a mug instead; I'm a little afraid of breaking the cups, and mugs are one of those "curl up with" kinds of things in my head, I guess. Comforting.

That tea room looks lovely! I would totally go with you if I could. <3

One year for Mother's Day I took my mom to a one for brunch. It was lots of fun, but unfortunately it was a seasonal kinda place and closed down not long after. There are a couple other tea rooms in town, but I never really think about them during the day, lol. I'll have to check into one next Mother's Day, see if they have any specials running. :D

[witchy-1.livejournal.com]

I'm from the UK (as you know!) and I drink and trust the Twinings brand.

It sounds like you got a weird blend....

[dressagegrrrl.livejournal.com]

I have no idea! Is it possible you actually bought Lady Grey tea? Because that tastes very citrusy.

I've never had that experience with earl grey whether I've bought it bagged or loose!

[marasmine.livejournal.com]

I am not an Earl Grey fan - it always tastes as though the cup hasn't been rinsed properly and still has lemon washing up liquid in it, at least to my taste buds! It sounds like your shop has been creative with the blend, or maybe gone back to the original.

I drink the cheap stuff (Tesco's own tea bags) and I am trying to cut down at the moment - a dozen or so mugs of sugary tea a day is really a bit much, probably. I do have a large selection of flavoured teas that I spend more time looking at than drinking. I found a nice Twinings one a few weeks ago - Spiced Apple and Camomile - which works a lot better than I thought it would, it is rather sweet for the non-sugar lovers though.

Do you see strangers in pictures as people? I don't think I do. I think they have to move and talk before they are 'real' to me. But then I am not a particularly visual person. I think I'd fail that test as well. A picture is an object whatever the content! It takes me some time to move past the 'thing' to interpretting the content and I can't pick up subtle clues to mood or personality from pictured people, unless I already know them. I hate those quiz/test questions that ask you to do stuff like that!

[anogete.livejournal.com]

Twelve cups in a day!? I don't think I'd have time for that! On a good day, I'll have maybe three or four. Some days I only get one at night while I'm watching television or reading. I have one of those nifty electric tea kettles in my office which I use when I have time to make a cup at work.

I do the same thing with teas. I collect all these lovely flavors or herbal teas, and they sit there forever. I actually stick with about 3 or 4 of my favorites. I had a raspberry tea one morning and thought it was very acidic, so much so that I didn't finish it, but I did leave the little tea bag in there. An hour later, I went to dump it in the trash and realized that the acidity of the tea had actually deteriorate the bag and released the tea leaves into the water. I didn't drink that one again.

I think I interpret pictures of strangers as people. I don't know that I'd think about their intent or how I would interact with them, but I think I see them as people. Then again, maybe I am just fooling myself and would be proven wrong with a brain scan.