tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8825055425170299721.post3675922392046698008..comments2024-03-20T16:34:04.414-04:00Comments on Alex Zorach's Tea Blog: Is "herbal tea" tea?Alex Zorachhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08335878680429494039noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8825055425170299721.post-12551105007606305212010-05-14T16:33:49.147-04:002010-05-14T16:33:49.147-04:00Thanks so much for this response, Margaret...is th...Thanks so much for this response, Margaret...is <a href="http://www.examiner.com/x-12909-Tea-Examiner~y2009m9d15-Tea-101-What-is-a-tisane" rel="nofollow">this article</a> the article you were referring to, or is it another one?<br /><br />I wasn't aware that there was this aggressive a sort of marketing campaign...sounds like really dirty business to me...and if it is true, I'd like to find some reliable sources that could verify it, and perhaps write more about it. I would agree with you, if that is really what went on, that it is unethical and deceitful.<br /><br />I've always wondered what has motivated people to make such a strong case against the use of the word "tea" in herbal teas...and it wouldn't surprise me to find that there were monied interests behind it...tea snobbery alone seems insufficient to explain the zeal with which some people have advocated for that cause (especially when there are so many other worthier causes--like sustainability--to be fighting for in the tea world).Alex Zorachhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08335878680429494039noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8825055425170299721.post-3648702967653020592010-05-14T16:28:02.830-04:002010-05-14T16:28:02.830-04:00Thank you for this blog post, Alex. I am glad to k...Thank you for this blog post, Alex. I am glad to know that I am not the only tea drinker on the Internet to feel this way. I have a similar article I am about to post on Tea Examiner, but have been waiting while I handle more urgent tea topics.<br />The whole "it isn't tea" subject irks me for a few reasons. First, I have seen tea bloggers claim that saying herbal tea is a misuse of the English language. Well, I have a BA in the science of language and I know how English works. Saying "herbal tea" is not calling the substance tea in the sense of Camellia sinensis. It is an adjective designating the fact that the substance is something other than true tea, the way the term prairie dog distinguishes the fact that the animal in question is not a dog.<br />The other thing that irks me most was that no one had a problem with the term herbal tea for well over one hundred years. But in the 1980's tea companies thought that growing presence of herbal teas in the grocery stores threatened their market. They lobbied to have it forbidden to use the term tea for anything other than true tea, but they lost badly. Since then they have been trying to win by an ongoing propaganda campaign. Some bloggers have even been paid to spread the word that no true tea lover would ever use the term herbal tea and that the correct word is tisane.<br />However, tisane does not mean herbal tea in the English language. It means a decoction, a liquid created by boiling, not an infusion.<br />The whole campaign is wrong from the gitgo and, in my mind, bordering on the unethical and deceitful.Margaret Studerhttp://www.examiner.com/x-12909-Tea-Examinernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8825055425170299721.post-72129726407635855962010-04-04T16:18:20.633-04:002010-04-04T16:18:20.633-04:00Thanks for this post! I've always use the word...Thanks for this post! I've always use the word "tea" for all types of infusions. It just makes sense to me.Bretthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07391009406909467410noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8825055425170299721.post-45059269060231699492010-04-02T08:47:52.044-04:002010-04-02T08:47:52.044-04:00Glad to spark controversy!
=)
I love being able ...Glad to spark controversy!<br /><br />=)<br /><br />I love being able to disagree and engage in good dialogue. One thing that I find so exciting about tea is how people have such different tastes and opinions...I love it when someone tries a tea someone else can't stand, and it becomes their favorite. It's those differences in tastes that are responsible for all the amazing diversity there is in tea!Alex Zorachhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08335878680429494039noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8825055425170299721.post-68311844545116291142010-04-01T20:44:50.955-04:002010-04-01T20:44:50.955-04:00Good post Alex. Don't necessarily agree, but y...Good post Alex. Don't necessarily agree, but your argument is more persuasive than I expected.<br /><br />It is funny how militant some #teafanatics are about this topic.<br /><br />Thanks for the provocation.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15691055489477622428noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8825055425170299721.post-41087198787430562212010-04-01T18:25:18.135-04:002010-04-01T18:25:18.135-04:00Okay, i give in - in private i always called them ...Okay, i give in - in private i always called them tea anyway. Nice articleMarlenahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01075020988377774265noreply@blogger.com