THIS IS THE WORST THING

[elisi]

*Watches video*

*Closes tab*

*Burns computer* https://t.co/P5JU9MozTf

— Yorkshire Tea (@YorkshireTea) May 7, 2020

(Direct link: https://twitter.com/YorkshireTea/status/1258303746313990144)

For anyone non-British, here is Yorkshire Tea's guide to How to make a proper brew

Comments

[owlboy]

I could feel the bile rising in my throat as soon as she said ''I mix a lot of ingredients''

[elisi]

It's the way it KEEPS GETTING WORSE. :D

[astrogirl]

Why do I feel the sudden, oddly panicky urge to rush in and swear up and down that this is not a normal American thing? :)

(We do often heat water in the microwave, though. Not me, because I encountered an electric kettle on a trip to Australia, went "WHERE HAS THIS BEEN ALL MY LIFE?" and immediately hunted down one for myself, but I think most Americans are not properly aware of their options in the matter, sadly. If they even drink enough tea to make specialized water-heating equipment seem worthwhile at all.)

[eve11]

Agree, I am horrified. I am horrified by southern sweet tea in general, but omg, heating up iced tea powder in a microwave ... I think that bypasses Limbo/purgatory and puts one straight into like the 7th level of hell.

ETA and yes, the electric kettle is great! I got one for my dad a few years ago and he loves it. He never realized that they have an auto-off functionality once the water boils so he was worried about getting one for a long time.

[elisi]

There are plenty of people in the comments saying this too, but British people are certain that no one else knows how to make proper tea.

And - as someone who moved here age 19 - I agree with this. British tea > all other tea.

Re. the issue of kettles then it is BEWILDERING to me that electric kettles are not a thing. Like people still having carriages instead of cars. (I think it's something to do with low voltage in the mains, but even so.)

[wolfy_writing]

Yeah, American, I made it a couple of seconds into the video and was all "We're not all like that!"

Electric kettles really caught on in my family after we found out about them. Even my grandmother who moved into a senior center so she wouldn't have to cook anymore and wanted to get rid of ninety percent of her kitchen equipment decided she could use an electric kettle.

[gillo]

I knew instantly which video it had to be, so spared myself the cost of the brain bleach by not watching it again. Under no circumstances should that concoction be called tea, or even tea-adjacent.

[elisi]

I feel like surely it can't be real - but on the other hand this is 2020, so *hands*

[desdemonaspace]

I don't even like tea that much, but that is disgusting. All those flavored powders. That isn't tea; it's an abomination.

As for me, in summer I make a giant pot of green tea and chill it, and drink it iced. I quit pop (aka soda) years ago, after a scorching bladder infection. (Sorry, I know, TMI.) Iced tea is my summer go-to drink. No milk, no sugar. It the southern United States it's all "sweet tea." Yuck.

[elisi]

I don't even like tea that much, but that is disgusting. All those flavored powders. That isn't tea; it's an abomination.
It quite literally has no tea in it. :O

As for me, in summer I make a giant pot of green tea and chill it, and drink it iced. I quit pop (aka soda) years ago, after a scorching bladder infection. (Sorry, I know, TMI.) Iced tea is my summer go-to drink. No milk, no sugar. It the southern United States it's all "sweet tea." Yuck.
Cold tea sounds like a sensible thing in summer. And funnily enough in Yorkshire fizzy drinks are known as 'pop'. :)

[shadowkat]

Regarding the tea video? That's how Southerners make tea. In the South, if you want iced tea or tea period, you have to say "unsweetened" or they'll put sugar in it and not just a little sugar. They find it tasteless without sugar.

In the North, we don't do it that way. You don't have to ask for "unsweetened" iced tea in New York, you can find it easily. But in South Carolina, Georgia, Virginia, Alabama and the South - they like their tea sweet.

I can tell the woman in the video is from the South, just from listening to her - very thick Southern accent.

[elisi]

Mmm, the accent is very obvious! :D

And the sheer amount of sugar is deadly. Here some people will have sugar, some not. But it tends to be a single teaspoon...

(The main point is of course that there's no tea in what she brewed.)

[thedothatgirl]

WTF

Was there any tea leaves in that group of 'ingredients' ? More like a recipe for type 2 diabetes.

[elisi]

There is some Lipton instant (which I don't class as tea). So no. Just a lot of sugar & flavourings.

[masakochan]

The more she added- the more my jaw kept dropping in horror. (though that amount of sugar looks just about correct if she were making southern Sweet Tea.)

[elisi]

The ability to continually making it WORSE was impressive. Horrifying, but impressive.

The amount of sugar makes my toes curl.

[speakr2customrs.livejournal.com]

Kill it! Kill it with fire!

[elisi]

[kathyh]

That is an abomination! I nearly went into diabetic shock watching it but tea it most certainly is not, not even "nearly, but not quite tea", but nothing approaching tea...ever.

[elisi]

I know!! There is NO TEA in there. Quite literally. D:

[kazzy-cee.livejournal.com]

OMG what a disgusting brew!!!! That's not tea woman!!!!

[elisi]

Sorry, you all had to share my pain...

[azewewish.livejournal.com]

As a Southerner, I am appalled and disavow this

[elisi]

You are not the only one!

[double_dutchess]

Ummm... Am I mistaken or is there no actual tea in that tea?

[elisi]

No, you are correct. No actual tea.

[sea_thoughts]

I feel like there needs to be some kind of PDO for tea!

[elisi]

PDO? (Sorry, my acronym skills have deserted me. I am sure that whatever point you are making is correct.)

[poniesandphotos.livejournal.com]

Oh boy. Gross. I don't mind a little sugar in my tea but I like it to be...mostly...you know...tea.

[elisi]

Not sugar with water & flavourings...

[jerusha]

Only from a Southerner... If you knew how much sugar went into sweet tea, which is the default beverage in the South, this would not surprise you.

[elisi]

My reaction to sugary tea of any description:



(Not that that was actually tea. For starters, it didn't contain any actual tea...)