4 ms·

>If you are drinking something that did not come from this plant (chamomile, mint, tulsi, rooibos, etc) it is not tea). I hear this every once in awhile and at

by aplusbi 16y ago

>If you are drinking something that did not come from this plant (chamomile, mint, tulsi, rooibos, etc) it is not tea). I hear this every once in awhile and at best it's pedantic and at worst it's just wrong. What do you call chamomile tea? An infusion? Even if it is technically wrong everybody calls infusions "tea" and I think it's safe to argue that the word has evolved beyond the original meaning.

silentbicycle 16y ago
"Tisane" is technically correct, though outside of a tea shop I don't think it matters that much. When it's not clear from context, I just say "herbal tea".
- KingOfB 16y ago
  I say the same, but technically I'm not sure it's any better as tea is an herbal tea, but not all herbal tea's are teas... Ok, I'll stop. It's the same as people calling tomatoes vegetables - technically wrong and no one cares.
  - aplusbi 16y ago
    Tomatoes ARE vegetables. They are also fruits. The noun "vegetable" doesn't have a strict definition and tomatoes fall into that classification. Botanically speaking they are berries.
  - philwelch 16y ago
    "Vegetable" is a culinary distinction for plant matter eaten at dinner; tomatoes are vegetables. "Fruit" is a biological distinction for plant matter that contains seeds within an edible shell; tomatoes are fruits.
gdl 16y ago
Corruption of the English language aside, chamomile or mint infusions are no more "teas" than they are "coffees". They're all just plant stuff steeped in water, but the flavors and cultures involved vary dramatically. I'm normally pretty liberal about language but it bugs me to have to specify a latin species name, or "tea made from tea" to make it clear what I'm drinking. Although phrases like "green tea" or "black tea" are widely-understood and fairly unambiguous in situations where one can be more specific, there isn't a good way to refer to the entire class of beverages made from only that plant.

by aplusbi 16y ago

silentbicycle 16y ago

"Tisane" is technically correct, though outside of a tea shop I don't think it matters that much. When it's not clear from context, I just say "herbal tea".

KingOfB 16y ago
I say the same, but technically I'm not sure it's any better as tea is an herbal tea, but not all herbal tea's are teas... Ok, I'll stop. It's the same as people calling tomatoes vegetables - technically wrong and no one cares.
- aplusbi 16y ago
  Tomatoes ARE vegetables. They are also fruits. The noun "vegetable" doesn't have a strict definition and tomatoes fall into that classification. Botanically speaking they are berries.
- philwelch 16y ago
  "Vegetable" is a culinary distinction for plant matter eaten at dinner; tomatoes are vegetables. "Fruit" is a biological distinction for plant matter that contains seeds within an edible shell; tomatoes are fruits.

gdl 16y ago

Corruption of the English language aside, chamomile or mint infusions are no more "teas" than they are "coffees". They're all just plant stuff steeped in water, but the flavors and cultures involved vary dramatically. I'm normally pretty liberal about language but it bugs me to have to specify a latin species name, or "tea made from tea" to make it clear what I'm drinking. Although phrases like "green tea" or "black tea" are widely-understood and fairly unambiguous in situations where one can be more specific, there isn't a good way to refer to the entire class of beverages made from only that plant.