Now commenting as a former coffee person: as the pictures you put up would imply: If you want to be very technical, "latte" is just milk. "Caffè latte" would be espresso and steamed milk. A Mocha is a latte with chocolate, using hot Chocolate is just a cost effective way to recreate it (though making it that way further dilutes the coffee flavor.) And the espresso over icecream is an affogato. And a macchiato can be "stained" milk or coffee (Based on how much milk is used.) Also the "tea beverage I would agree with: I like to sit down and have a slow tea session to relax. I also like to make homemade chai (which can take time, but for me the process is also relaxing), then there are times like in the morning I want something quick and will use a (masala) Chai concentrate. Each one progressively I would associate less as "tea" and more of a "tea beverage"

@TaoTeaware

10 ай бұрын

Thank you Grayson! That was a very succinct way to go over those coffee basics. 🤓

Regarding chai in India: practically everyone drinks it. That's a lot of people. Milk, water, tea, spices, sugar, boiled together and drank in small cups. CTC is very bold tea which milk tempers really well. But some CTC can actually be quite good and flavorful by itself if you get better quality versions of it fresh, and whole leaf tea from Assam can be very enjoyable without any milk or sugar. Golden and silver needle teas produced in Assam can be outright fantastic. I had the privilege of drinking a golden needle tea from Mangalam tea estate years ago. It is incredibly hard to come by and typically super expensive but if you ever have a chance you should absolutely try it.

@jonlangfitt

6 ай бұрын

I first got some from VAHDAM teas on Amazon in a bag years ago for my late fiancée and didn't consider it seriously until I tried it a few times with warmed dairy like half and half and whole milk a few times. Once I stopped thinking about what I wanted it to be and opened up to suggestion it was a better experience. Wanting to think of it as seasoning with tea didn't help me expand my horizons.

Fun conversation! For me, quality has nothing to do with whether you are drinking tea by itself. What determines quality is the quality of the leaf. Though, it does get tricky when you consider: [1] There are many who add a pinch of salt to their gongfu tea, especially Shou Pu'er. Is that tea? [2] If you blend two different types of tea together, should that be considered a tea beverage or a tea? I've seen some tea vendors who offer not just tea blends of the same tea types but also of varying types (i.e. Black + White Tea Blend from Bitterleaf Teas, or black tea kombucha fermented shou pu'er from Meileaf).

Tea culture is so cool: small amount vs large. I think this is the big one. Then it can be by continent. I live in the American South. Sweet Tea is A THING. the judgment from southerners about lack of sugar in the cold tea is amazing. My Dad is British so I grew up drinking that and herbal tea. Then there is British Tea vs Asian. I 🖤 it all. Still finding my favorites.

@TaoTeaware

5 ай бұрын

I feel the same way. Love it but all very different.

Being in the coffee world, I can say that the higher end (ironically more processed beans) ie purple honey processed Colombian coffee beans are normally drank without anything. They're usually made with a pour over or espresso machine. But coffee is coffee even if it's a latte, americano, flat white... some things lean more towards dessert coffee lol but yea not a lot of high brow coffee drinkers like tea has imo

You have an absolutely awesome name lol

@TaoTeaware

6 ай бұрын

I’ll thank my parents on your behalf. 😂