I believe that “dead chuffed” is more chuffed than “properly chuffed”, but not as chuffed as “chuffed to one’s bollocks”.
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- Chuffed.
- Well chuffed.
- Proper chuffed.
- Dead chuffed.
- Chuffed to my [genitals].
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- Chuffed to bits.
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Next they’ll be telling us Irish tea isn’t actually Irish.
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Not trying to dampen the enthusiasm for good tea on this thread, but I would be remiss not to make a plug for tea companies that are committed to authentic direct & fair trade practices and principles, like
Equal Exchange
Arbor Teas
Rishi
(I’m most familiar with these U.S. based companies – I’m sure there are comparable companies internationally).
I love a cuppa PG Tips or Yorkshire as much as anyone, and I have not done a thorough exploration of how their trade practices measure up against the claims on their websites. But, other than Rainforest Alliance certification, which is not primarily focused on workers’ rights, there doesn’t appear to be much third-party certification of either company’s trade practices.
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Agreed- and here’s the equivalent guide for over here:
Note- my favourite is on this list as well.
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I can’t remember if it was theirs, or Alter Eco’s – but one of them had a darjeeling that was among the best tea I’ve ever tasted. Looks like Alter Eco doesn’t make theirs anymore, and the US affiliate (judging from the website) only sells chocolate.
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From: Capt. Darling
To: All ranks
On no account is Private Baldrick to be allowed in the kitchen again.
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I like to think that when the Queen met Trump she only got the rich teas out. Barack Obama got offered the nice chocolate biscuits though.
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EE’s tea is quite good, as tea bag teas go, and Choice is another. Their black teas won’t quite replace the robust strength of a PG Tips or Yorkshire or Barry’s if that’s what you crave. But there are quite a few good options from brands that value supply chain transparency and fair trade & labor practices.
I can’t say I have any particular dirt on these tea companies, but instinctively I wouldn’t trust their feel good narratives about how they treat their suppliers without some reliable third-party certification.
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The Yorkie or the girlfriend?
I really tried hard to stay out of this, but the bagged CTC broken so wildly popular on the Isles is of terrible quality and taste.
And to me, it is beyond amazing that British, of all people, are renowned for their ‘tea culture’.
I don’t even mind taking my tea in a full colonialist style tea room, but why the hell does it have to be that bland and boring? There’s a term in German - Wirkungstrinken. That’s what the British, Irish and Scottish do in regard to tea. I mean, you can do that. But there’s plenty of fine Whisk(e)ys out there. As are loose leaf teas…
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Alternatives:
- Ahmad Teas are quite good. Both their Assam varieties are my preferred morning tea; their Darjeeling isn’t as malty as it used to be – it’s more like a China black now. Which is perfectly fine…but it’s not Darjeeling.
- Ahmad also has a lot of more exotic blends, heavy on the bergamot, which is a crapshoot for me. About 50% of the time it gives me a migraine, so I skip it.
- The Ahmad cardamom tea is quite good. Load it up with milk and sugar and squint, and you have an ok chai, but it’s pretty nice even without.
- Trader Joe’s Irish Breakfast is a very good morning tea if you’re a teabag person. If it’s late and I really want a cuppa but am going to need to sleep, then the decaf version is probably one of the better decaf teas.
- Taj Mahal tea bags, in the blue box, are also quite good for a solid, “look I just want a cup of tea, mate”.
Ahmad and Taj Mahal both are going to be available at your local Indian or Iranian market. I’ve even seen Ahmad at Russian delis.
What I would like is a dependable source of a decent Lapsang Souchong. It is an absolutely polarizing tea – pine-smoked. Like drinking a campfire. Peets used to have a very good one, and at least one blend that contained some, back when they were Peet’s Tea, and they had tea worth drinking.
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Both of them!
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Oh, I love rich teas! I know they’re nothing fancy, just a little bit of crunchy sweetness, but not too sweet. No, please don’t waste them on the Orange Shitstain.
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No such thing. This tea is, by definition, indecent. Like drinking a cup of freshly asphalted highway.
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