To ask what is the deal with tea

[tingalayo]

I'm a British person who has never had a cup of tea in my life or even tasted it. Not sure why, it's just never occurred to me.
It's something I've been wondering about before but I really want to ask now because I'm moving house and I've just read advice to pack the kettle and mugs LAST because that's the most urgent thing you'll need when you get to your new house and the most urgent thing the removals people will need.
Why do most British people need to drink tea so often? It's seems to be an actual need rather than just something nice. I do love peppermint tea and I've worked in offices before where people knew this and offered me a cup every time they made a round of tea and I was like...no? I like mint tea but I don't want several cups a day. My husband and his family drink tea every couple of hours if they can and seem to get grumpy if they don't have it.
It seems like an addiction to me. Is it caffeine? Or something else I don't understand that someone can explain to me?

It’s just a drink?

Do you not drink much in a day?
I would usually have maybe 2 cups English breakfast in the morning, 2 herbal teas later in day or evening, plus 3-4 glass of still or sparkling water. It’s hot, an extra cold drink sometime mid afternoon to.

what do you drink usually say in the evening after dinner? That’s when I would usually have herbal tea

Do you just drink water then ?

It's nice?

It tasted nice. And the caffeine is addictive. I get a headache if I go to work without one in the morning.

I hated tea because the childhood friend who was always trying to make me drink it would only offer me milky, lukewarm sugary liquid that had barely seen a teabag. Moved to uni, had my first proper cup of strong PG Tips with just a dash of milk = job done. It's the pick me up, the caffeine, the ritual.

It's just something people enjoy because it's refreshing 🤷

I don't believe for one second you've never even tasted it, especially if you're living with someone who drinks it every couple of hours.

I'm not sure why you'd say that?

I know exactly where you're coming from, I don't get the tea obsession either. If I'm thirsty I drink water/coke/squash - whatever. Now, my coffee machine - that has to be functional and ready to use at the drop of a hat.

When I was younger I didn't understand the hype around it. My Nan who is from Barbados had about 4 cups a day without sugar. I tasted it (because I always had to make them for her 🙄) and it was gross.
As I've gotten older I've developed a love for it. But I have it with oat milk and honey and it is lovely!!
Maybe give it a try, with sugar or without, milk etc and see what you think.

People saying 'it's nice' aren't really giving me any kind of explanation, I have all sorts of foods and drinks that I like that I still don't consume at regular frequent intervals throughout every day. What I'm trying to understand is the frequency and necessity of it.
@DessicatedWithering "the ritual" - is that part of it? My husband seems to get enjoyment just from turning the kettle on.

I dont enjoy water, tea tastes nice so I drink it a lot in the day

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=eIk7S-ChBI0
Yes it's an addiction. Tea is the very breath of life like whiskey is the 'water of'.

I love tea! I packed the kettle, teabags and cups in a separate box which sat on the seat next to me in the car when we moved house

That being said, I haven't tried coffee in many years, since I was about 10. I have no intention of bothering to try it again because it seems to cost people a fortune buying fancy coffees out so I stick with my plan tea, no milk. So I do get the idea of not bothering to try something.

Staple in our home. Bad day? Cup of tea. Shocking news? Cup of tea. Snatching 10 minutes conversation with DH on a morning? Cup of tea. Getting in from a day out? Cup of tea. First things first when arriving back from holiday? Cup of tea. I can't say why tbh, we just bloody love a brew.

@ocs30 because if I tried it that would give me an idea of what it tastes like. I already have drinks I like that I don't consume with such frequency and urgency that people drink tea with. I think there must be more to it than just the taste. I'm trying to understand what the factors are other than taste because there must be some!
@TeapotTitties no I have never tasted it. I never tasted it as a child because I was scared I'd burn my tongue. In fact even as a teenager I was scared I'd burn my tongue. Then I became old enough to be a person who doesn't drink tea and says no when people offer tea. I've never been curious enough to make a cup of it for myself and I've never been curious enough to say to somebody hey can I try your tea. So that's why I've never tried it.

Mild caffeine addiction, rehydration, it tastes nice, it’s something to do, it’s a way of interacting socially with others.

It’s also a fairly cheap way to warm yourself up, which is suspect was a big factor in its becoming culturally entrenched as something to do all day (rather than taking tea at tea time) in the last century. George Orwell wrote in various places about the role of tea in the lives of the poor- warming and cheering.

This is bizarre OP. Presumably you’re in a building right now (work or home) with tea bags and a kettle. Why don’t you just go and try it?

OP further to your update, I like the warmth of it mostly which is a nice change to water, of which I drink a lot. If I am home, I do drink tea very frequently, and constantly sip water inbetween. If out and about, I bring a bottle of water and just drink that, I wouldn't pop in for tea anywhere. I drink a cup at lunchtime just if in work. I get very thirsty, maybe because I do a lot of exercise.

For me, the taste is merely 'ok' but the significance of it is as a comforting ritual. It's a small act of self-care and one that can often be shared with other people.

I’m a very thirsty person. My drink of choice is tea🤷🏼‍♀️ Simple as that. I need to drink regularly and I drink what I fancy. Don’t really like fruit juices, squash or water. Used to drink a lot of coke but tried to cut down on it and tea tastes the best. Nothing sinister or weird. I have a friend that hardly drinks anything throughout the day, are you similar? I’m just wondering if that’s what’s confusing you. I don’t drink 15 cups a day because it’s tea that I’m obsessed with, it’s because I’m thirsty that’s all.

It’s an addiction in a way but not a caffeine addiction as I nearly always drink decaf. But at work, especially at stressful times, I definitely use hot drinks as a bit of a coping mechanism - they’re comforting, non-fattening (splash of milk and no sugar so hardly any calories), hydrating and the warmth and the ritual is soothing. There are definitely times at work I’ve felt I HAD to get a cup of tea. I don’t feel it so much at home but there are still times when it’s nice to mark out a space for rest by making a tea and just sitting with it for a while. It’s not just a British thing. We use tea but other cultures use coffee or other substances, but every country will have its own way of marking pauses in the day.

It's how we beat Hitler !.

no I have never tasted it. I never tasted it as a child because I was scared I'd burn my tongue. In fact even as a teenager I was scared I'd burn my tongue.
Did you never have any hot liquid as a child or teenager, hot chocolate, coffee, bovril, cocoa, soup, honey and lemon?

Then I became old enough to be a person who doesn't drink tea and says no when people offer tea. I've never been curious enough to make a cup of it for myself and I've never been curious enough to say to somebody hey can I try your tea. So that's why I've never tried it.
You are curious enough to start a thread about it so try it. Just have a brew, you'll either like it or you won't!

I'm with you OP. Also something about tea with milk turns my stomach and I'm not sure why! maybe because my parents always drank a lot of tea (many many cups a day), even if left to sit and become cold. also memories of morning breath mixed with tea 😖

I've tried a few sips of breakfast tea with milk and didn't like it at all.

I do like green tea, oolong tea, mint tea but don't have them every day. I mostly drink water, sometimes juice, sometimes hot green/oolong tea or I also love it cold brewed.

You say you drink mint tea , that's what I drink at home . But what do you drink if you go out to a cafe or somewhere for something to eat during the day ?

I loath tea, the smell and taste make me sweat and feel terribly dizzy so I don't drink it.

It caused much amusement when I worked in our Montreal office for a year. They'd gone to the trouble of buying a teapot and assortment of teas to welcome me. They thought all English people ran on it, like fuel. 😀