tea weirdos

This has been quite a weekend with the beginning of the World Cup, but I can't keep writing about that everyday. As a matter of fact, I think I've exhausted the 'What sort of tea would I give each player' schtick. It's getting a bit tired, eh?

Lately, there's been quite a bit of talk at tea websites such as LeafBoxTea about winning people over to tea. This weekend there's a big tea thing going on in Las Vegas, and the rumblings are that tea needs to be better portrayed to the public. I'm reading people's tweets about the old, tired cliches about tea and tea drinkers, and what must be done to rebrand the whole product. The whole industry.

I think you're going to see me talking more and more about that here. On the one hand, you have this vision of the aged sitting around eating biscuits and talking in hushed tones. I've already talked about the funny assumption that some people have when you're drinking tea that you must be ill. Some would never fathom getting down a cup of tea without being under the weather. I imagine those people with a few boxes of herbal tea in the cupboard that are perpetually getting dusty.

So, we don't like the well-worn picture of a doddering tea drinker. Or we think it's inaccurate considering we know so many active and vibrant tea drinkers. What do we want then? How should tea be seen? Tea drinkers?

There's something Alex Zorach has said on his blog that I like a lot, which explains a bit why tea sometimes confounds. The more varieties of tea you drink, the more likely it is that your palate will change. I've certainly seen it with my development. Multiple infusions of decent Oolong and green teas can bring out tastes that I used to read about but never really comprehend.

Does this mean that one has to become a tea-weirdo to actually get what we're talking about here and on so many other sites that cater to tea obsessives? To a degree, I believe it's rather pointless to try and market tea to the masses. Not because they can't get it. More because they wouldn't want it.

I'm also well aware that there are multitudes of tea drinkers out there who would never consider loose-leaf tea. They've always been happy with their PG Tips and they likely always will. It's a reliable blend. Why not?

That's it for me tonight. I really do invite your comments on this one. Am curious where you see us going.