Wednesday TeaDay 8/18/10 2020 vision to embrace tea?

[Chip]

Good TeaDay TeaFriends. Please drop in and share what is in your cup throughout this TeaDay.

Yesterday we discussed back to the future teas. You can still vote and discuss yesterday's topic.

Today's TeaPoll and discussion topic. The year is still 2020. Will America (or where ever you live) finally embrace TEA as the second most consumed liquid next to water? Or will we still be "different" because we love our tea?

I am looking forward to sharing this TeaDay with everyone. Bottoms up.

[Trey Winston]

Nah, I can't imagine that the popularity of c*ffee will wane anytime soon in Europe. But there will possibly be some headway.

No tea so far. I have some samples I'm thinking of finishing off.

[Seeker]

I'm guessing and voting for more accepted, not embraced. I also hope for this so I can still have access to great tea.

Having a fifth infusion of a mix of Teavana gyokuro imperial and yuuki yutaka shincha, used water at the boil, and lo - aromas of buttered popcorn! Never had that aroma from tea before.

[JBaymore]

Probably some headway, mainly due to potential health benefits, but nothing big.

best,

................john

[Skippyandjif]

There will probably be some headway, but not a lot, because all sorts of new non-tea drinks are constantly coming out and distracting people's attention.

Rose congou this morning.

[brandon]

I expect it will happen in some sense, I hate to make the trite Starbucks of Tea analogy, but tea retail will be more common.

I, for one, don't care about this one way or the other and expect to ignore it unless I get really thirsty (I prefer strong, unsweetened RTD tea to water, like Ito En's Sencha Shot or Oolong Shot. Wouldn't mind seeing this more places.)

But most of my tea life is in the realm of "wrong fu cha" and I do not expect this to ever blend with American mass market.

[artmom]

Some headway (in America) possibly. I'm pretty used to being the only hot tea drinker in a group, so it really doesn't matter if more people drink tea. Living in the South, when you ask for tea in a restaurant, you still get served ice tea.

Enjoying a cuppa' of my Golden Lion assam from Lochan Teas this morning. A big favorite of mine. Barclay is lying on my feet, taking an early nap.

[geeber1]

I don't know if I really want tea to get more popular. Look at how Starbucks and the thousands of other coffee stands have cheapened (not in a $$ way) coffee. Who wants that to happen to tea?

ToT Mao Feng Noir this morning. Soon to be followed by something yet to be decided.

[Crafty_Mom]

I say more accepted, but not yet embraced. I'm not the only one in my group of friends that drinks good tea anymore (as in, loose leaf, good quality, etc.), but I'm far from being normal. My friends are in three groups: those who drink and enjoy good tea but still drink coffee at times, those who drink tea but the bagged variety, and those who insist, "Tea is for the British!" That's right. Someone said that to me.

My English Breakfast this morning. Of course.

[entropyembrace]

I think we will see tea becoming a bit more popular as slightly better tea makes it into the western supermarkets and we see more tea houses popping up... but still not as much as coffee

[debunix]

I'll think optimistically as I sip my morning tea, that the dominance of soda, and all the other sugar-added drinks in a bottle, will finally be decreasing, as people start realizing how crappy they are, and start drinking more tea.

Sayamakaori shincha in the cup this morning.

[Amaikokonut]

"Maybe some headway"

Optimistically, I would like to think that sooner or later the world will realize how horrible sodas are from a health standpoint. With the movement to more natural/pure foods lately, maybe tea will catch on a little more for health reasons. Probably still in the form of bottled tea sweetened with cane sugar, at best. Maybe even coffee shops moving to offer a bit more in the way of tea-- either way, I think it would still have to be something the average American can pick up at the store or get in a drive through; our culture is very fast-paced, not generally very willing to make the time to brew and enjoy tea regularly, at least in my observation.

[entropyembrace]

started my teaday with houjicha lite I roasted at home from stale sencha...definitely not the best tea in the house but I wanted the tin freed up so I can keep my Yutaka Midori supreme in there!

[Chip]

Good to see some optimism among TCers! I concur, I would expect to see some headway, but there will be intense competition from the coffee and RTD industries. And most will always just want their caffeine/sugar dose as strong as possible.

I would also like to think there will be more enthusiasts like us!

I was just on the Rishi site, they are offering 12 new blended teas, all are organic except one. It is interesting, but at least they are organic. It struck me as ... interesting.

Began the TD with a tasting of Warashina Supreme from O-Cha. A new exploring visitor to the TeaTable today ... "Space" along with some of the normal players.

[entropyembrace]

Tea day continues with Yutaka Midori Supreme!