Viddler

I have a question that you might want to address in a future episode.

What are the qualifications that make Tea, Tea? ie, Herbal Teas - not really "tea" but still called "Tea". If I buy coffee in a little bag and steep it, is it Tea? What are the rules?

I've always wondered that -- Have you already talked about this in an episode? I haven't seen all the way through every episode *shame*.

crashingtothese, aka crashingtothesea, aka Matthew

I think they mentioned that in the first episode, where it was some kind of herbal concoction. In my opinion, if it's not Camellia Sinensis, it's not tea. But the alternatives to saying "herbal tea" are kind of awkward.. "herbal infusion"? Tisane? So even as a certified tea snob, I let "herbal tea" slide.

I agree with masto, official tea comes from the tea plant (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camellia_sinensis) What's most interesting to me is that all teas come from this one plant; green teas, white teas, Earl Grey, Lapsang Souchong, dare I say Lipton. They are only different based on where they're grown, how they're prepared or how they're flavored after preparation.

Herbal teas are herbs that can be infused in hot water but don't contain any official tea. But it's hard to stop people from saying that this is "tea", so most people just call them herbal teas to keep it easy.

Masto already said this of course, but I hope this clarifies a little!