Stereotypes of tea drinkin'

What are the stereotypes of tea drinking? There's some truth at the heart of most stereotypes, but how much?

Are tea drinkers old, decrepit biddies? Are they high-strung and in need of relaxing? In the comments of yesterday's post, someone mentioned the perception that tea drinkers are old, pasty Brits (my word). Certainly, I don't agree, but the stereotype must've come from somewhere.

Where? It's historical, sure. And the history of tea is unquestionably linked to the Brits in India, but in China as well. The Opium Wars were a result of England's desire to 'have a cuppa'. Am sure you know the new book by Sarah Rose that talks about all of this, so I won't bother.

My preconceptions about tea actually kept me from drinking it for a long time. Now that I know what sort of people drink this stuff and I know what excellent company I keep, I feel a bit embarrassed that I ever bought into the stereotypes. But there they were and I was definitely buying them.

Hope you're still reading, and I promise I'll write something tittilating again soon.