Tea, Tea, Tea

I love living in a country that loves tea. Although perhaps I should not consider that such a special thing, because I am realizing as I think of it that America might be the odd one out in not being as big on tea.

I learned to love tea when we lived in Northern Alberta, where Mom and Dad would make rose hip tea from real rose hips that I loved to pick on the way home from school. As an adult, I learned that rose hips actually make disgusting, bitter tea, which is why I mostly remember it tasting like milk and sugar. Or maybe that was just because I was a kid and treated it like the middle-of-the-woods version of hot chocolate. Anyway, I was sold on hot drinks.

Back in Kansas, I forgot about all this, until I moved to France, where I discovered an impressive range of exotic, delicious teas. The French are amused by the English's fondness for tea, but they drink plenty as well. I went through a phase in France where I drank their amazing fruity teas, but black tea with milk and sugar remained my favourite.

In Morocco, they drink hot sweet green mint tea fairly continuously throughout the day. Not having been a huge fan of green tea prior to this, it only took one experience of my hostess pouring steaming tea from a magical silver teapot from two feet above the tiny clear-glass cup (without spilling a drop), filling the air with minty steam for me to be totally sold. I still have the magical silver teapot I bought at the marketplace there, and if I could ever manage to actually recreate real Moroccan sweet green mint tea, I could die a happy woman.

Upon returning to Kansas from Europe, this time I brought my tea-drinking with me. Although not a part of the culture the way it is in other places, it should be noted that the best tea in the world does, in fact, come in the form of double chai lattes at Radina's Coffeehouse. Also, America is the only place I've been where people enjoy so much iced tea, which is delicious. So America gets honours in those areas.

In England, when I went and visited my friend Kat and her wonderful family, I was overjoyed that the expectation seemed to be that everyone would have a cup of tea to sip on at all times. If my cup was getting low, Kat's lovely mother Clodagh would have a new one made before I'd noticed that I'd almost finished. (F.Y.I. Wonderful, motherly, kind people like Clodagh are a perfect match with lovely, warm, soothing tea).

In Japan, of course, they drink their own green tea, which again, I cannot reproduce. I wish I could, and I swear it doesn't look like they do anything special, but no, mine continues to taste like grass, while theirs is delicious. Oh well.

In Canada, they're a bit in-between, but you can safely assume that most everyone has tea at home, and most people drink it regularly (as far as I know).

In NZ (I bet you were wondering if I would ever get here), whenever a guest arrives anywhere, they are asked if they would like a hot drink. Of course, cold drinks are usually available as well, but the assumption is that you would either like tea or coffee. "Tea" is black tea, and if you say tea, that is what you will get, unless you specifically ask for some special kind. In fact, when I asked for black tea in my early days in NZ, the friendly barista was good-naturedly confused and stumbled through several uncertain questions before figuring out that I meant "normal tea." It makes me think of my friend Kathy in Canada, who asserts that all fruity or herbal teas are not tea at all. You'd fit in well here, Kathy.

Hmmm, I am looking back and realizing that everything I've written so far was originally intended to be a small aside before I got to the real point of my post, but it seems I've gotten carried away. Oh well.

The real point is actually the use of the word "tea" in NZ. The overuse of it, to be exact. Tea is important, I'll grant you. And I love it. But I am forced to admit, at least syntactically, that there are limits to its usefulness, because it starts to be confusing. Let me demonstrate.

From Emma's Kiwi dictionary:

~ Tea - the evening meal
~ Tea - a hot beverage (sometimes known as a "cuppa")
~ Tea (Morning/Afternoon) - a snack
~ Tea (usually Morning/Afternoon) - a break from work

Real examples of conversations that have caused confusion, or at least double-takes, on my part:

~ Parent at kindergarten:"I was so tired when I got home, and then I had to cook tea, and I almost burned the mashed potatoes."
       Personally, I almost missed the surprising introduction of mashed potatoes into this confusing phrase, fixated as I was on trying to figure out if she'd really said, "cook tea." I figured it out in the end.

~ As I'm finishing a cup of tea at a friend's house: "Why don't you stay for tea?"
       Fortunately, by that time I'd been here long enough that I only stared at my empty glass for a second or two before the neurons connected and I was able to respond.

~ To a child: "We're having toast and fruit for afternoon tea. Would you like some?"
       The children do not find this confusing, although I feel contradictory as I say it.

~ At work: "Where is Sarah?" "She's having a cup of tea."
       Meaning, in this case, simply that she's on her break (doing whatever), although it could just as easily mean (as far as I can figure out) that she is actually consuming a hot beverage.

~ Parent at kindergarten: "I didn't have time to make tea, so we got fish and chips."
       Because everyone knows those are interchangeable.

~ At work: "Have you had your afternoon tea yet?"
       Despite all appearances, this has nothing to do with consuming anything, but with having your break.

~ Me: "Would you like to come over for tea?" My friend: "Sure, what are you cooking?" Me (frantically): "No, I meant to drink. A cup of tea."
       Although I am learning to cook, the idea of finding myself with a guest at my house expecting a meal I've prepared is pretty scary, making this the worst offense of the multiple meanings of this word.

And most recently, just last week...
~ A coworker: "When I'm on the early shift and have to go to bed at 8:30, I can't even have tea or I can't sleep."
       By this time, I am so used to "tea" meaning "dinner" that I actually thought she didn't eat dinner when she was on the early shift, which I found almost as appalling as the idea of eating meaning that you can't sleep. Fortunately, she was not looking at me when she said this, and by the time she did, I'd figured it out and did not look appalled anymore.

So you can understand how this could be confusing, right? I don't mind words having multiple meanings, but when they can be used in contexts that don't immediately illuminate the difference, it is sometimes very difficult to comprehend and respond appropriately. Oddly, the Kiwis never seem to find any use of the word confusing, so it must become clear with more usage and practice. We'll see how I do in a few more years.