Accidental Tea-Snobbery

You’re not tea snobs, my friends. You simply know better. :)

Earlier the week, my mom picked out a loose leaf can. She usually drinks pretty much Republic of Tea and Twinnings. As I have been trying to get her to drink more loose leaf, I was pleased. (Liked the tea too.)

Well what about me…I have tried loose leaf blacks but i honestly prefer the punchy Barry’s Gold ?

I feel slightly embarrassed to pull out my own tea bag at a local cafe that only serves Lipton. They do bring the hot water separately and ask if I want a refil, so they aren’t entirely clueless. I’m not a complete snob that I won’t eat there because they don’t have good tea, their omlets are really tasty.

I had someone interested in selling my matcha in their shop. They told me they have everything all ready to go including an electric kettle with almost boiling water. I kindly told them that matcha is delicate and water temperature is important. They responded “you tea folks are so picky haha. I’m sure it’ll be fine.”

Well, I guess I tried =/

That’s not being a snob. Snobs aren’t helpful, they just try to bring other people down without offering any genuine advice or trying to share their passion. The snobs goal is to turn up their nose and inflate their own ego.

At least you try to nudge the “bag enthusiasts” towards something they might enjoy more.

People assume I am snobby and therefore don’t offer me tea. In reality, I don’t care. I drink teabags when offered, I have the odd one at home, and if someone makes a pot at work, I have some too. We all have taste preferences, and if those preferences tend toward bags (for whatever reason) that’s fine by me. It’s actually one area that I am way more generous and tolerant (though that sounds condescending!) than my usual. I have had enough experience being looked down upon for one reason or another and I try my best to not perpetuate that on others. I know I fail, but tea is one of those things where I just want to share. Yay tea!

I’m getting better and worse at the same time out being a tea snob. On one hand I am starting to really shun teas with added flavourings, chocolate, fruit or candy bits in them in lieu of healthier teas (especially among herbal teas). For example, I was at my husband’s parents’ place yesterday and my Mother in Law asked if I wanted tea-she mostly had a bunch of David’s teas with caffeine and those types I’ve been trying to avoid and I ended up having some of my tea in my purse so I made some of my own. I really hope she wasn’t offended-she didn’t seem like it, but I did explain my reasoning of why I’ve been cutting back on David’s teas (at least with their herbal and rooibos teas)due to adding flavourings. I just hope like it didn’t sound like I was putting down her selection of teas :\

On the other hand of snobbiness, I have been trying out more bagged teas as long as the ingredients are reasonably good (i.e. without artificial flavourings and whatnot). I have an order coming in from amazon from Traditional Medicinals and their ingredients seem quite good and they are relatively inexpensive. Cause let’s face it- loose leaf tea can be quite pricey and it’s nice to have some cheaper bagged tea options :)

as someone who recently started making the switch from bagged to loose, i will give some advice :) its ok to show your love for your fav teas. i like it when people share their love for things. just dont take it overboard :) friendly advice is one thing, school teacher mom is another. IMO as long as someone likes a tea, be it bagged or loose, isnt that what it is all about? and its ok to decline drinking bagged tea, just give a KIND explanation as to why, and be sure your body language/tone is in no way condescending. and a good way to get past the “work” aspect of loose leaf, is introduce it as a hobby, or compare it to a TV dinner vs wholesome home cooked meals.

anyway, my two cents