All the tea in China

For all the tea in China, you say?  Alright then.

Now I’ve been here a few weeks, that’s a deal I’m ready and willing to make.

You see, I’ve always been very particular about my tea; a fact that any of my family and flat mates over the last few years will attest.

In fact, as a general rule, I’ll only really consume tea that I have either made myself, or that I’ve had made by my brother or my sister – even The Ritz failed to live up to expectations when we went there for afternoon tea a couple of years’ ago (though they more than made up for it in sandwiches and cakes.)

But, despite my particularities over provenance and quality (the Yorkshire equivalent of terroir, perhaps?), quantity is equally important – it’s not unheard of for double-digits to be reached on a Saturday afternoon – and my oft’ drained mug is seldom cold before the kettle’s once again being called into action.

So it is with some disappointment that I find the tea in China hardly coming up to scratch.

True, I still haven’t purchased a kettle, so microwaved mugs or stove-top-tots are the order of the day.  And, yes, I confess that having overcome the yoghurt/milk conundrum of the early days I have found myself flummoxed by the question of whether to favour Enriched Calcium Sugar over Extra Zinc or vice versa.  And, perhaps the simple answer is to be found in the purchase of a teapot (though that always seems rather frivolous in the tea-for-one scenario.)

For the time being, however.  Despite trying both Liptons and Twinings English Breakfast, from the foreign supermarkets, the only really satisfactory solution is to order in PG Tips online.  And for a Yorkshireman living in China, that doesn’t really seem very satisfactory at all.