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Comment by rayiner | Hacker News Reader

Modern tea paraphernalia is stupid. Like those fancy woven strings that act like wicks and dribble tea down the side. It's hard to even find normal tea anymore. I ask for tea and people ask "what flavor." And I'm like "tea flavor." My Bangladeshi mom uses Lipton tea bags and a bit of milk. Should be good enough for everybody.

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Which flavor is "tea flavor"? Black, pu-erh, oolong, green, white? For black, is it Assam, Ceylon, Darjeeling, etc, etc? Why should the specific flavor blend that Lipton's tasters put together for their Yellow Label be good enough for everybody?

I think someone who refers to a generic "tea flavor" really just means "tastes vaguely like a plant".

I had the opposite experience in many coffee shops when asking what kind of teas are offered and the answer was "black and green" as if that told me anything.

I can't tell if you're being ironic.

In case you're not, that's a frankly silly take. The sachets TFA talks about are not generally used for fancy "hipster" tea but rather the super mainstream commercial "tea-flavoured tea" and industrial herbal teas you like so much. Unless you consider Lipton to be fancy niche tea artisans: http://img.webme.com/pic/m/megisti/ethel-lipton-all.jpg

Beyond that the "standard" tea you seem to enjoy is probably "English breakfast tea" and you can probably still find it extremely easily in any tea shop in the world, alongside Earl Grey and a few other classics.

> And I'm like "tea flavor."

Even if you are a "flavored tea or herbal teas are not tea"-snob, that does not tell me whether you want black tea or green tea.

Yes, if you go to a place that specializes in hot beverages, it's not an unreasonable question.

Huh? Speaking as a Chinese American who grew up drinking tea brought back from China, that's the equivalent of telling wine drinkers that "Manischewitz should be good enough for everybody."

There's a huge amount of variety when it comes to tea, even when it's just different varieties and preparations of tea leaves without added herbs/spices.

At least in the US I've noticed pre-brewed iced tea has often switched to some sort of flavored tea (or a fountain drink). My best guess from working at a place that had pre-brewed tea is that they're hard to keep clean and people tend to like novelty. "Normal" (black iced) tea can taste really gross if the container isn't cleaned properly (or the water is bad quality). I've also seen where the container was soaked in chemicals and not washed out well. "Flavored" tea would mask this.

As for hot tea, unless you're at some specific restaurant where the default is more obvious I would at least expect "black or green" if not Earl Gray or a few other choices.

My Bangladeshi mom uses Lipton tea bags and a bit of milk.

I hope that wasn't an appeal to some kind of authority. All that tells me is that some Bangladeshi women have even worst taste in tea than this ignorant American. There's quite a wide gulf between not wanting to consume the least common denominator and making a lifestyle out of it. As for flavors, just because one's view says tea should only come in one flavor doesn't mean reality has to agree.

Folgers instant is an adequate approximation of coffee. Accept it. :- )

> than this ignorant American

I can't see rayiner giving any indication that they were American, though.

No, I'm the ignorant American. Lipton is suitable only for iced tea. Then again, maybe Lipton is fine and I just don't like orange pekoe tea.

Do they not get Darjeeling or Assam in Bangladesh?

None of my aunties ever mentioned where the tea came from. That wasn’t a thing. https://www.dhakatribune.com/business/2018/02/20/value-addit...

> “In the past, people used to drink normal black tea. But now, they are not satisfied with the normal tea and moved to organic and value added products, concerned about their health benefits and taste,” SM Didarul Hasan, senior manager (marketing) of MM Ispahani Limited, told the Dhaka Tribune.

“Normal black tea” is what everyone drank when I lived there. “Normal black tea” was universal and egalitarian, instead of individualistic and self indulgent. Appropriately conformist and British.

Eh, I used to think the same thing about coffee, but here I am with a grinder and a plunger. Instant coffee is okay at a push, but the taste improvement is massive, especially when grinding your own coffee (you can actually taste the flavours they claim to put in there).

As for tea flavours, the difference is usually just the addition of herbs and spices.

I mainly drink “Irish Breakfast tea” since it’s just black tea. I don’t like all the spices and such other teas have.

Any string dipped in tea is going to wick moisture and dribble on the side of the tea cup. This is due to a property of liquids known as capillary action.

I like Earl Grey more than any other kind.

> Should be good enough for everybody.

Absolutely, and get off my lawn while you're at it! ;)

You sound really smart in your other comments usually, but this comment is dumb and dumber. Who cares what tea people drink? Why did you have to get so mean about tea? Are you having a bad day? Seriously, life is too short to get angry over some fancy teas.

Milk ruins it. I drink my tea with shards of glass.

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