Thursday, September 14, 2006

Latest Shape in Teabags

No, not camel-shaped. No, not Sphinx-shaped. Not fez-shaped, either.

Pyramid-shaped - that's right! Got it in four!

Don't think we haven't noticed, Mr. Lipton. Those of us at the mercy of time (who must settle for teabag-tea not pot-made tea) have found over the past couple of years that the old familiar teabag has taken on a new shape. At first, it was just the frou-frou specialty teas that offered up delicate silk mesh pyramids of tea. I kinda hated to dunk them into the hot water, those little works of art, so unlike the flat or flow-through bags we've all come to know and love and press on our tired old eyes after they've done their beverage duty.

But now it seems everyone, even Mr. Lipton , is jumping on the pyramid camel-hump (the equivalent of an Egyptian bandwagon, see). Turns out, we've only been drinking tea bits and residue all these years. That's what was chucked into our little baggies with a string. (Yeah. Thanks for that information New York Times.) Ah, but now, the little mesh pyramids accommodate actual tea leaves, giving us tea almost like Mama used to make in her earthenware pot (except for my mama, who only drank coffee).

So go ahead and dunk away. Teabags are now tres, tres chic-a-mundo.

(You comin' around to this anytime soon, Mr. Twinings? I'm still looking for Earl Grey in a pyramid. Ahem.)

7 comments:

Joy Des Jardins said...

Ewwww, tea bits and residue? I've been a tea drinker all my life...now, I find this out! Oh well, I'm still breathing; and besides..."what you don't know, won't hurt you."

Do we REALLY need pyramid bags? I wonder what will be next....astrological signs? Hey, come to think of it...I'd love those!

Chris said...

What??? I don't believe it!! You don't mean that the UK have beaten the States in this innovative development. PG Tips have been doing pyramid teabags for ages and ages now. Don't see the point (or4) of them myself.

Now, if they were star-shaped......

MaryB said...

Yeah, we're way behind you on the teabag design. Too busy working on that terror-thing and keeping up with how many babies Britney Spears has had, I guess.

Do me a favor - crack open one of those PG Tips bags and see if there's any difference in the contents versus a regular teabag. Joy and I want to know.

Anonymous said...

Always stick with " Constant Comment " ,a
Very good tea , which by the way they have Earl Grey in the bag , (let him out). My wife drinks this since she is not a fan of coffee . I only partake when I am out of coffee. Tea drinking adds a little class to things . Why even down here in Chattaboogie we have a real honest to goodness English tea room , run by of all things a real lady from England. My youngest son's girlfriend took my wife one day during Christmas break for tea.
They both loved it. Just gimme a black coffee and a Krisp Kreme , and I'm happy.

Chris said...

Just in the interests of science I shall soon be producing a report on the contents of tea bags. Do you think I can apply for a grant?

Signed: A Real Lady from England

MaryB said...

Yes, Jay - I've been to the tea room in Chattanooga. Very nice. I'm still a Twinings Earl Grey girl, though.

Chris - I think you've hit a Mother Lode idea here. If they can give grants to folks to try to determine whether eating too much makes people fat, then your teabag-testing should go over big! "Do tea bits and residue in flat bags taste as good as tea leaves in pyramid-shaped ones?" Run with it, girl. (You'll have to travel the world over testing your theory, you know - apply for a huge travel expense budget, as well.)

jomoore said...

Obviously the content of your teabag (regardless of its shape, in my humble opinion) is fairly important, but the biggest factor in good-tea-making is the hotness of your water.

Just remember: pot-to-kettle not kettle-to-pot!

Apologies for the use of the word 'hotness'. In short, the water must be boiling!!