Thanks to Charlie Horse 47 and Killdumpster for their sponsorship of this post, via the magic of Patreon.
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Can it be?
Can another Tuesday be upon us?
Yes, it can.
And I think we all know what that means.
It means there are only three days to go until the weekend!
More importantly, it means the return of the
feature mankind may only speak of in the most hushed of whispers and the most whispered of hushes.
It's the one in which the first person to comment gets to decide today's subject for debate.
Even I - Dark Lord of this castle - know not what that might be. Therefore, whatever it is you wish to state, enquire, query or debate, type it below and we'll shall see just what a day like Tuesday can bestow upon us.
Please tell me the state of tea for you Brits!
ReplyDeleteDo you still drink tea? Is there still a “tea time” daily? Do you drink it in big 12-16 oz cups / mugs like we drink coffee? Do you drink more coffee than tea? Do you have any personal rituals around your tea, like eating certain cakes or cookies or sandwiches?
Charlie wants to know!
Well Charlie…
ReplyDeleteI don’t drink tea. At all. I have never enjoyed it, it tastes of brown paper. And I’m generally not a fan of hot drinks. They make me sweat.
I do, by all accounts, make a cracking cup of tea though. Just teabag tea but apparently the results are excellent, I’m told.
My wife drinks tea and coffee all day every day. Decaf, but gallons of it.
I never used to like coffee either but I began drinking it after a meal in restaurants because it balanced out the wine, and then the occasional cup at home. In the last two years I’ve started drinking it on Friday & Sat mornings as a treat, especially since my wife bought a fancy coffee-maker and the beans I get from Soho’s legendary Algerian Coffee House are superb. I have to have it with a lot of sugar though because I’m soft.
The downside is that on a Friday morning, all hopped up on caffeine and sugar, I can tend to make impulsive internet purchases. Struggling with that at the moment,
Thanks for the topic, Charlie.
ReplyDeleteI must confess I don't drink tea either.
Or coffee.
I drink both tea and coffee although almost all my coffee is consumed in cafes like Costa, Starbucks etc. Tea is still very popular in the UK and Ireland and not just "English" breakfast tea but other brands including green tea and flavoured teas. I like tea then a wee bit milk no sugar in a large cup. I can take it on its own or with a biscuit or a piece and jam ( ?!!).
ReplyDeleteInteresting fact ( of sorts) English tea was "invented " in Scotland not England, I have no idea why it was called English tea though ( although New York also has a claim to inventing the beverage
I've cut my tea consumption over the past few years and probably average 3 or 4 mugs a day now. Mostly English breakfast tea bags, but made in a pot (which should never be stirred) with a splash of milm, but no sugar. When I'm back in London (which has been more frequent recently) I treat myself to a bag of fresh loose tea from Fortnum and Mason. Usually the Darjeeling Flowery Tippy Finest Golden Orange Pekoe, the aroma of which is nostalgic of PG Tips tea cards, as saved by my grandmother (the cards used to smell of the tea). I'm probably kidding myself.
ReplyDeleteAustralia has a really good coffee culture (lots of Italian migrants between the wars) based upon very good quality espresso. I probably average 4 cups a day, but don't have milk or sugar. Between the tannin, caffeine and alcohol, its no wonder my blood pressure thinks its Mount Everest.
DW
milk
ReplyDeleteIn volume, I have 2 cups of tea, first thing in the morning ( to use only one tea bag, either in an extra large mug ( "Old Man's cup", or in the tea pot. ) I then have a decaf coffee around 11am. After that...whatever I feel like - but no evening drinks, to reduce getting up during the night.
ReplyDeleteWith what beverages does Charlie slake his thirst?
Phillip
I used to drink tea regularly but recycling the tea bags was a nuisance so I switched to coffee. Nowadays the only coffee I drink is instant cappuccino and instant latte - just add boiling water and there's no need for milk or sugar as they are already included in the coffee powder. I also drink milk, water and squash - my favourite squash is Ribena but at the moment I've got a bottle of mango & passionfruit Vimto. As a treat I buy a couple of cans of fizzy pop every week - I especially like Coke and Dr Pepper but at the moment I've got a can of Tesco's lemonade :)
ReplyDeleteWhen I was a kid my friend Martin liked to dunk bread & jam into his tea. The bread & jam would emerge as a soggy mess and looked disgusting but Martin loved it.
ReplyDeleteI also knew someone who drank only fizzy pop and nothing else - no tea, coffee, milk or even water. I suggested he should drink water for health reasons but he said "No, I don't like the taste of water".
That sounds like me.
DeleteCharlie is basically a 12 oz / day decaf guy anymore. This is too facilitate sleeping and also facilitate not peeing, difficult enough given my lame bladder.
ReplyDeleteOn weekends, though, he will indulge in a caf Tea or Coffee. Occasionally it's "English Breakfast" tea though he prefers green tea or white tea "pearls." He steeps his tea by putting the bag and boiling water in a coffee travel mug so that it is sealed tight and the pressure builds up! Be careful when you open that though as the tea will spray out!
Me and the missus did enjoy 3 consecutive days of hot cocoa drinks at a place called Burdick's in Boston a few weeks ago. We did not know it was famous until we noticed 3 consecutive days that when we showed up at 2 PM, the place was not at all busy, but when we left at 3 PM, the line was down the street!!! The hot cocoa was out of this world...
Well boys, Thanksgiving approaches us on Thursday and it is possible that BT, RED, MP, and I may go incommunicado... or not, lol.
That said, there are places around us now offering "High Tea" for $30- $75 a head. It's a ladies event. Not necessarily the poshest ladies but not for the McDonalds crowd, lol.
ReplyDeleteAlso, as a kid, Charlie's dad took him and brothers ice skating / playing hockey on the lagoons near our house in Gary, Indiana. Lots of folks out there, especially b/c Chicago had the most bestest hockey plater at the time: Bobby Hull. As our energy would flag in in the cold, Charlie's dad would open up the thermos of hot black tea with a good helping of sugar stirred in! Man oh man... we were good for another hour after that!!!
Cheers Gents!
I have a full-strength cup of coffee first thing in the morning, then a half-caf cup after lunch.
ReplyDeleteb.t.
Charlie, I'm a big tea drinker! I used to drink a lot of pop, but my Urologist convinced me otherwise. Now it's milk with breakfast, and sometimes coffee. Iced tea at lunch and supper, sweetened with Truvia. Sometimes a cup of hot tea in the evenings, but not too late- like many of you I try to avoid getting up all night to answer Nature's call...
ReplyDeleteMy youngest son introduced me to Chai tea. That's also an occasional indulgence...
In my twenties, I drank cup after cup after cup of coffee throughout the day (and usually had a large Coke or Pepsi with lunch too). Even after I started cutting way back, I could still drink a cup of coffee (or even espresso!) after dinner and have no trouble going right to sleep and STAYING asleep all night. Nowadays, my sleep cycle is pretty messed up so that early afternoon cup of half-caf is all I dare to have, caffeine-wise.
ReplyDeleteAbout ten years ago, in an effort to lose some weight, I stopped drinking sodas completely. It was easier than I expected. I had a craving for a Coke about a year ago and it tasted unbelievably sweet!
I try to drink lots of water throughout the day, but won’t have any liquids after 7pm (to minimize nighttime trips to the bathroom).
b.t.
Needing to get up in the night doesn't seem to be an issue for me. I regularly drink coffee or squash late at night without any problems.
ReplyDeleteOn the subject of tea, may I recommend to you gentlemen a track from Masters of Reality featuring Ginger Baker?
ReplyDeleteThe track is TUSA, and you can hear it on You Tube.
As far as tea goes, I've only drunk the ice variety.
I like my tea cold and bitter, just like my women.
M.P.
I've just listened to M.P.'s recommendation - it's a good laugh!
ReplyDeleteHappy Thanksgiving to Team USA. Let's raise a glass (or cup/mug! ) to Squanto, who taught the Pilgrims to put fish bones (calcium?) in the holes they dug, before planting their crops. Monty Don & Alan Titchmarsh have nothing on Squanto!
Phillip
Charlie had always heard Natives used dead fish as fertilizer. What specific benefits they add to the soil….? Start googling lol as Im sure no one then and only few now could answer that!
ReplyDeleteMP probably has more experience with cow pies than dead fish as fertilizer living in the great plains though. MP?
Hey UK guys! Via the magic of Facebook, I just learned that this person named ALAN CASS has a crowd funded book being published in the next few days? He’s the guy who used to randomly print all sorts of marvel reprints? Any idea if the book is interesting?
ReplyDeleteI wasn't aware of this Charlie but it looks interesting. The pre 1980 Alan Class comics were really interesting reprinting strips from Marvel, ACG, Charlton , MLJ etc with many titles featuring mixed strips like The Avengers, Fly-Man, Horror /SF strips, and Judomaster . They're pretty collectable now so I would imagine this will sell well
ReplyDeleteThank you, MCSCOTTY!!! I do have more than a passing interest in the UK comic book scene.
ReplyDeleteCorrect me if I am wrong, please, but didn’t this Allen CASS publish these totally random Marvel reprints which had no discernible titles and numbering system? Ie, it is really hard to say “I want such and such issue number 12 or such and such issue number 23.”
I think some of you UK gents have mentioned this here with Steve about “flashback “to his publications and steve saying that is an impossible task to discern any chronology and publish it.
By the way, on the subject of hot drinks, Charlie just opened up a new bag of coffee coffee from PEETs.
ReplyDeleteIt is hard to know if it is a local coffeehouse, a Midwest coffeehouse or a nationwide coffeehouse which sells its own coffee.
Any how the instructions call for two rounded tablespoons of grounds for each 6 ounces of water. I did one rounded tablespoon for each 8 ounces of water and the coffee still came out blacker than 3 feet up a bulls ass.
I can only imagine that if I had followed those instructions, me and the Mrs. would be spending the next handful of hours… “reacting “… To such a massive jolt of caffeine.
Joe P
Happy Thanksgiving to my fellow statesiders; and also a big thanks to Steve for hosting this fine conclave and to everyone who hangs out here !
ReplyDeleteJust finished a scorching cup of java to wash down a couple orange sweet rolls- a Thanksgiving morning tradition in our house. Ah, those little things in life...
Peet’s Coffee was where the Starbucks guys learned the coffee trade. It’s kinda complicated, but also kinda interesting — just google “Peet’s Starbucks” and there are tons of articles about it on the web, if you’re interested.
ReplyDeleteb.t.
Charlie, there seems to have been some kind of logic to the numbering and titling of Alan Class comics but, for all the difference it made, there might as well not have been.
ReplyDelete