American here. Granted, the tea stands on its own merit. But if not for TNG I probably would still be drinking standard Lipton like my parents did.
I did. And also got into lapsang souchong because of an interview with Patrick Stewart where he mentioned it’s his favorite type along with Yorkshire Gold. He asked to use that on the show, but the producers thought it would be too obscure or hard to remember and changed it to Earl Grey.
Pendergasts favourite tea as well
Good question. I’ve been drinking Earl Grey for so long I don’t remember which came first, that or STTNG. It’s possible I first tried it because of the show.
I’d had it before and disliked it. Probably because it was dried out, crappy, US grocery store stuff that gad been on the shelf for who knows how long.
Tried it again because of TNG, except it was a good loose leaf, and man it was good. Had a box or bag around consistently for decades now.
Yep. I tried it because of TNG, and found I rather liked it. Now I drink it near daily. I also opted to try Yorkshire Gold after Patrick Stewart mentioned in an interview that he prefers it over Earl Grey, and I found I don’t prefer it. Plain black teas are fine, but … they’re not my cup of tea.
I tend to go for rooibos when I want something without the caffeine.
That’s pretty lame lol
No, I drink Earl grey daily, but I didn’t even knew (until a couple of moments ago) that it was Picard’s drink. I first had one on a train in Russia, and fell in love with it. The ones I have today are not the same as that one but still very good.
There’s no cup like that first cup.
I’m more of a bloodwine guy.
Glory to you and your house!
In Russia, this is basically a default option alongside straight black tea with lemon.
It goes so far that even some name brands made international series based on Russian Earl Grey (btw, none I’ve tried capture the correct taste, but the general direction is right):
So, in my case this was just growing up on those great teas
It definitely made me want to like Earl Grey. It’s just not my jam though. It even made me start trying all the different teas I could find because I wanted to be cultured enough to have a preferred tea. I even tried Lapsang Souchong which is basically barbecue tea.
Turns out tea is pretty easy to drink and I’m pretty basic. Oolong, black, or green are great.
I even would say “tea, Earl Grey, hot” as I was nuking the water in the microwave.
nuking the water in the microwave
throws scandalized face and clutches pearls
It’s actually more efficient if you put the tea in the water first before microwaving! Tea steeps while you’re waiting for the ding hehue :>
I still do. At one job my manager said, “Don’t forget your coffee,” that I had left on his desk, and I proudly said, That’s not coffee, it’s Tea, Earl Grey, Hot." He took a closer look and said, “It doesn’t look like tea, Earl Grey, hot.” I replied, “It has milk, two percent, cold.” Sigh, you don’t see days like that anymore.
Unfortunately I developed a Romulan Ale addiction when I was only 12. To this day I’m very adversarial and distrustful of the Federation and its principles.
Not a huge fan, but I do get Yorkshire Gold when I can find it, because it’s Patrick Stewart’s preferred tea IRL.
How different is it from regular Yorkshire?
I drank Earl Grey even before I was aware of TNG. For me, the smell of loose dry Earl Grey is by far the most appealing smell ever. The brewed tea loses some of that aroma, but not that much.
Nah, I prefer a well brewed Raktajino.
Well no. But once I’ve tried a decent tea, I never drank Lipton again.
Lipton is really only for iced tea, not hot.
Now and then I enjoy a cup of Lipton with a lot of milk in it, because the flavor reminds me of childhood. My mom called it “Cambridge tea”.
