• SatyrSack@quokk.auOP
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    2 days ago

    All jokes aside… no, I don’t actually get Picard’s obsession with Earl Grey tea. It was just okay. I’ll happily finish the rest of the bags that came in this variety pack, but I will not go out of my way to buy this blend again in the future. Is it just an acquired taste?

    • _lilith@lemmy.world
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      2 days ago

      Are you getting the bergamot flavor? Some tea brands go real light on the citrus to the point it just tastes like black tea

    • justOnePersistentKbinPlease@fedia.io
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      2 days ago

      Honestly, get a small bag of loose leaf tea.

      Loose leaf tea is outright superior to bagged tea as it contains the actual whole leaves. Commercial bagged tea is almost always made from the leftover crumbs of the process. Its why the bags have such fine mesh.

    • verity_kindle@sh.itjust.works
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      2 days ago

      There’s ya problem, to quote Red Green. All bagged tea is low grade powder from second-rate leaves and therefore, low in flavor. Looseleaf tends to be higher quality from the prime part of the harvest season, not to mention they are processed and handled more carefully, so the leaves keep an attractive shape and color. Try a looseleaf Earl Gray. There are some flavorful brands that are moderately priced. I recommend Vahdam.

      • kbal@fedia.io
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        2 days ago

        Obviously loose-leaf free-range tea is a little better than tea that’s been confined to a bag, but what you really want is all the water-soluble compounds synthesized in precisely the right proportions by a properly programmed replicator for that perfect hot cuppa.

        • JoeBigelow@lemmy.ca
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          2 days ago

          He had found a Nutri-Matic machine which had provided him with a plastic cup filled with a liquid that was almost, but not quite, entirely unlike tea.

        • verity_kindle@sh.itjust.works
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          2 days ago

          This applies to tea. It’s got to be fresh and free-range. But it needs to be confined within the cup for 4 minutes, which is where costs become prohibitive. We’ve got a tea ball gap. How do we get a tea ball into every home?

    • LIFEFORM@lemmy.world
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      2 days ago

      Correct me if I’m misremembering cuz its been a while since my last run thru TNG, but hasn’t Picard usually been resistant to change? I feel like if found a tea he liked in the replicator and just stuck with it. Or he had it growing up and its a comfort drink, which I suppose is a similar concept. I can certainly relate to either.

      • [object Object]@lemmy.world
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        2 days ago

        Earl Grey is the most glaringly English tea (at least to anyone outside the UK). This is part of the character’s trait that the person constantly drinking English tea and obsessed with Shakespeare, portrayed by a Shakespearean actor, is of course obviously French.

    • _stranger_@lemmy.world
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      2 days ago

      It depends on the blend and the quality of the ingredients. If you’d like to try a different blend, I suggest anything on this page:

      https://www.adagio.com/search/index.html?query=earl+Grey

      If you got it from here to begin with, then yeah there’s diminishing returns on going any more expensive, you probably just don’t like it 😅.

      (I really like their teas and generally keep earl grey and mint on hand)

    • fonix232@fedia.io
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      2 days ago

      You need proper tea, not that bagged shite.

      A good quality Ceylon black with just the right amount of bergamot? With a splash of milk? That’s the best fukken tea you can have. Period.

    • Thebeardedsinglemalt@lemmy.world
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      2 days ago

      Which brand did you use? I just had a talk with someone venturing into black/breakfast teas.

      Twinings < Bigelow < Tazo < Harney & Sons < Harney & Sons Historic Royal

      If you wanna get absolutely legit good but expensive go Fortnum & Mason. But just getting some loose leaf online will blow away anything bagged in the stores. I got some bags of loose tea from a site called the tea spot and their stuff is damn good.