The Plight of the American Tea Drinker: Why are we given short shrift?

Let’s face reality – to paraphrase Rodney Dangerfield, “We, the tea drinkers of the United States, get no respect”.  

If you’re a coffee drinker, I can’t expect you to empathize with our plight, but you might think about how you’d feel if the circumstances were reversed – just substitute the word ‘coffee’ for ‘tea’ throughout this lamentation.

How often does one go to a meeting or a conference or even the social hour after church or synagogue where coffee and tea are served? The coffee comes in large urns that are plugged into a wall socket to keep them piping hot and there are always two options – with or without caffeine. 

Is it too much to ask for the same service when it comes to tea – two urns, one each with (already brewed, please) regular and decaffeinated tea?  Why do we tea drinkers have to ferret through a basket of grotty tea bags and then make our own brew?  And to add insult to injury, why is it that the water that is provided is either (1) tepid or (2) smells like coffee because the container has been used (likely for years) to serve  coffee or (3) is most likely a combination of those two.

I was at a lunch in Manhattan recently and as the meal came to an end, my companion ordered a cappuccino with skim milk and I ordered a mint tea.  She could have had hers with whole milk, or she could have had an Expresso (regular or decaf) or a Café Latte, or a Piccolo Latte. I had asked for Verbena tea, but the restaurant didn’t have it. The only herbal offerings were chamomile or mint, and since I wasn’t heading to bed, I had only one choice.

A few minutes later, two items were brought to our table. A miniature porcelain cup of cappuccino, topped with foaming milk on which was “painted” a delicate swirl of tan (I didn’t have  a clue what it was, but the presentation was divine.) was put in front of my guest, and in front of me were placed three items – a clunky, coffee-stained crockery cup, a stainless steel pot holding no more than four ounces of hot water, and a wrapped tea bag that the server seemed to leave as an afterthought.  

As my companion sipped from her cup, I found myself ripping open a “mintish” green package that held a single tea bag, which it was left to me to insert into the unattractive metal steeping pot which was so hot to the touch, that I needed to use a napkin to keep from getting scalded.  By the time my tea was ready to be poured into the ugly (and cold) cup, my cappuccino-drinking-friend was finished. 

I was so peeved that I actually voiced my annoyance – “Why couldn’t I have been served a lovely porcelain teapot with fully steeped tea ready to pour? Why do I have to make my own tea? Isn’t service in a restaurant all about having someone else do the preparation?”

My friend smiled – but I could tell that she didn’t really empathize with my plight. Truth be told, it’s probably only another tea drinker who is capable of such empathy.

Given that our American roots are significantly derived from Great Britain – a place in this world where the tea ritual remains sacrosanct today – one is left wondering if America’s dismissive attitude toward tea harkens back to 1773 when we, as colonists, and under the enlightened guidance of Founding Fathers, Samuel Adams and John Hancock, dumped 342 chests of tea into Boston Harbor as a protest against exorbitant taxes. 

Did those patriots establish a subliminal hatred for the product back then? 

I’m not sure we’ll ever know!!

I admit to being somewhat tongue in cheek here – but maybe, just maybe, some day the tea drinkers of America will get the same respect as the far more numerous coffee drinkers.