Tea Evangelism

In my guest-blogger role on T Ching this month, I wrote a post about "Familiarity", talking about how people are more comfortable with coffee, and asking how tea lovers can promote tea as a more universal beverage. I got a lot of great comments on the post, including one that said, "Tea has a perception of ‘old/female’ and that’s a bit hard to break but not impossible, as more and more young men get hooked and the ‘red hat’ image is broken. Tea is cool." Which is absolutely true, but I'd add to that by saying that tea is for everyone--young, old, male, female, from any country, of any economic strata.

So the question is, how do we promote the image of tea as the new, cool beverage, replacing a latte or a capuccino? How do we make tea more accessible to everyone? By highlighting the health benefits of the catechins, flavonoids, and other anti-oxidants that tea is packed with? Or by talking about the huge range of flavors available from different types of tea? Or simply by saying "Coffee is over. Drink tea!"?

One of the sticking points may be that many of the tea blogs that are out now concentrate solely on reviewing teas, and I think the plethora of detailed flavor descriptions (alluding to fruit, mushrooms, leather, etc.) may be a bit overwhelming to a novice tea drinker just looking for a bit of info.

“Aha!” I thought, “This may be why people are so intimidated about drinking tea.” If you think you need to be able to articulate the mouthfeel, astringency, and aromas of the tea, not to mention describing why the leaves remind you of your childhood searching for truffles in the south of France, you might be prone to say, “I’ll just run to Starbucks and get a cup of coffee. At least no one will expect me to write a book about it.”

When I read the details of the water temperature, brewing times, and first, second, and third steepings, it seems like in order to enjoy tea, you have to have such a huge base of knowledge that it’s not worth the price of entry. Of course, if you’re interested in tea and lucky enough to know someone with a bit more knowledge—or can find a welcoming tea shop where you can learn—trying your first Darjeeling or oolong can get you hooked for life, and blogs like this are like reading a great novel (or at least a short story).

That’s why I'd like to have a tea shop that is an open and welcoming place where people can come and relax over a cup of tea…whether or not they know the difference between a sencha and a souchong. I know there are shops like this—I’ve been in a few of them—but there aren’t enough of them in the US to make tea the ubiquitous beverage that coffee has become here.

We need to keep pushing forward until there is a tea shop opposite every coffee shop. Until you can order tea at a restaurant, and get an actual tea pot with loose tea, instead of a cup of lukewarm water and a box of tea bags. Until you’re not looked at like a freak if you say to a flight attendant, “I’d like hot tea, please.” (Of course, that applies only to US airlines—airlines like BA or Singapore Air actually ask you if you’d LIKE tea.)

But the only way that’s going to happen is if tea lovers and tea purveyors work to demystify tea for the general public. Kind of like what’s happened with wine: there are still plenty of people who are incapable of drinking a glass of wine without rhapsodizing over the rich berry-toned bouquet of a Cab, or the oakiness or lack thereof of a Chardonnay, but the man or woman on the street now seems to feel that they know enough to enjoy drinking wine without being intimidated.

So I say to my fellow tea drinkers: share your love of tea...and sneak in the education when you can. Get people hooked on it first with the fantastic flavors, then gently work in some tidbits on health benefits, types of tea, brewing pointers, history, processing, etc.

Or, in the spirit of tea evangelism: "Tea drinkers of the world, unite! Go forth and multiply! Spread the word among the non-believers!"