Very Delicious Tea?!

A podcast for English learners!  Improve your listening skills, practice your pronunciation, learn new vocabulary!     
  
This episode, I'm chatting with Satu about my favourite drink in the world = tea!   We chatted about the difference between tea bags and loose-leaf tea, who drinks the most tea in the world, and what tea is best to drink at different times of the day...

Vocabulary tip = It's ok to say 'very'!  Here we look at the difference between 'very' + Gradable adjectives and their Ungradable versions...

Presenter = Sam @_emaileng (Twitter, IG), @emaileng (TikTok)     

Music = "Baby Bloodheart" by Mara Carlyle   @MaraCarlyle    www.maracarlyle.bandcamp.com       

Artwork = Penny Rossano  @pennyrossanomusicart (IG)     www.pennyrossanoillustrations.com     

Guest = Satu   www.aito-tea.fi    @aito_tea (IG)

Transcript

EPISODE 32 = VERY DELICIOUS TEA?!

Hello!  And welcome to Chat ENG – a podcast where people chat about how they learn and use English.  My name is Sam, I’m a CELTA teacher and a performer, and I have a particular interest in pronunciation and expression.   

In each episode, non-native and native speakers will chat about their experiences with English, share their advice and, at the end, I’ll give some pronunciation tips for you to take away and practice.  

So – ready?  Let’s get Chat ENG!

This episode, I really wanted to talk about my favourite drink in the whole world = tea! So, I decided to have a virtual chat with a cuppa with my friend Satu, who is from Finland and has an online tea business!

We chatted about the difference between tea bags and loose-leaf tea, who drinks the most tea in the world, and what tea is best to drink at different times of the day, but I started by asking Satu to tell me a little bit about herself…

INTERVIEW

Sa: So, yeah, my name is Satu, and I own a small tea company only for online business. I’ve been only for a year and plus!

S: A new business! That’s excellent!

Sa:  Yeah!

S: In honour of our tea chat today, I am drinking Green tea. So, what are you drinking today?

Sa: Okay - my choice was the same, except I’m having Lemon Sencha.

S:  Lemon Sencha! (Yup!)  So, is Lemon Sencha from Japan?  

Sa: Yeah. 

S:  So, my Green tea was from a tea bag - is there a big difference between tea in a bag and tea that's loose that you then have to put in something?

Sa:  So I think that choice is the style of preparation. So yeah, most people find it much easier and quicker to use bag tea. (Yeah) Yeah. No need for any kind of measurement - just brew. But some say that bag tea isn't as flavourful as loose leaf, because the leaves used in most bags are tiny bits...and also, the size of the bag limits the infusion ability. And also the ritual of brewing loose leaf can be both relaxing and meditative... but it takes, of course, more time... and with loose leaf you can have the ability to create a perfect cup of tea with your own personal preferences!

S:  So can be very specific with our tea!

Sa:  Yes, and of course, loose-leaf teas are made up of whole unbroken leaves, so they need room to expand for full-bodied flavour, so you have to choose your strainer accordingly.

S: Okay 

Sa: But in terms of health benefits, it doesn't matter how you brew - as long as you choose high quality tea!

S: So much information at the beginning of our chat! I love it! Let's go back to the beginning. So, you’re Finnish - is tea very popular in Finland?

Sa:  Well, yeah, we are famous coffee drinkers - that's true...that's true! Yeah! But tea came to Finland over 300 years ago from Sweden and Russia, but the Finnish tea culture has been changing over the past decade. For most people, they consume Black tea, but the popularity of Green tea is rapidly growing - many consumers have acknowledged the health benefits of teas, and are increasingly willing to try out new flavours and new types of tea. But - we are way behind... so Turkey is the largest consumer of tea... 

S:  Is it? 

Sa:  Yeah!  They annually, per person, drink 3.16 kilos. (Woah! Okay!) Then there is Ireland, with 2.19 kilos, and UK is third with 1.94 kilos. And Finland is way behind with 240 grammes per person.

S:  That's quite a difference!  Yeah, I mean, I'm not surprised we drink so much tea, but I'm surprised we're only third!  I don't suppose it tells you whether it's more Black than Green tea that they drink, or is it just tea in total?

Sa:  If I remember correctly, for UK Black tea was the most popular.

S:  And so the Finnish then, drinking their tea - is it just Black tea, or do they add milk, sugar, honey? How do they prepare it?

Sa:  There is no special data with this, so - I really don't know. Personally, I wouldn't add anything. Yeah...

S: Just black.

Sa: Just black! 

S:  In the UK, we have big discussions about how you should prepare tea with milk. Do you put the milk first and then the tea, or do you put the tea first and then the milk...and what colour should the tea be... 

Sa:  Wow! Yeah, okay! 

S: But what about for you, then? Do you have a favourite type of tea?

Sa: Well - it kind of depends what time I drink.

S: So, this is an important point. What types of tea do people drink according to the morning, the afternoon, and the evening? 

Sa: Well, there are of course no rules, but I hope people would explore because, like, in the morning, I would choose Matcha or Black as they contain a higher amount of caffeine - and if you have an empty stomach in the morning and want to manage your pH level, you can try White tea - that eases you into the day because it has (a) reduced amount of caffeine.  And Green tea is perfect for mid-morning for more concentration and focus.  (To) Suppress your “before lunch growls”, you can try Japan Sencha or Genmaicha, they too have a lower level of caffeine, so they spruce you up nicely! 

 S: Okay

Sa: After lunch, for reducing bloating and aiding digestion, try Lemongrass Ginger or try Peppermint.  And for the evening, Rooibos tea - it's caffeine-free, comes in great flavours, delicious hot or cold.  And for bedtime, soothing and calming Chamomile - the most popular tea for help you relax.

S:  Yeah, I drink a lot of chamomile tea in the evenings. Do you? 

Sa: No!

S:  Were herbal teas always popular or have they become more popular, do you think, recently?

Sa:  I think it's becoming more popular - but, of course, herbal tea is a bit of a misleading name, as these blends typically don't contain any tea leaves. So, yeah, these infusions are made of dried fruits, flowers, spices and herbs. So, the variety of flavour is really enormous. Then, of course, they have many health benefits because of the antioxidants and minerals and vitamins, but - always with herbal tea - check the ingredients to avoid any risk with certain medical conditions. 

S: That's a good point. Yes.

Sa:  Yeah. And also keep (an) eye on the added sugar. 

S: Oh, yeah. I hadn't thought of that. 

Sa: Yeah. 

S:  I'm interested in the change between Black tea and Green tea and now White tea. So, what differences do we see with White tea?

Sa: White tea, they pluck only the tea shrub buds and the first two leaves (Okay), and then they process it very lightly.

S:  And this is better for your digestion?

Sa:  It's more richer with antioxidants... yeah, and it has less caffeine.

S:  Okay, so do you think we should go from Black tea to White tea to Green tea?

Sa: Yeah, I would say Black tea is morning tea, Green tea is mid-morning. But again, if you prefer a low caffeine, then why not White tea?

S: Tell me a little bit about Matcha tea - you said that you drink Matcha tea in the mornings.

Sa:  Yeah. Matcha is made out of the whole leaf (Okay) and it's grown under the shade. So, you consume the whole leaf and that's why you get antioxidants with that.

S: Right - not just brewing it, but actually consuming it. 

Sa:  Yeah, because it's fine powder.

S: Right.

Sa: But it's a bit trickier to brew - you have to whisk it.

S: And do you make it with water or with milk?

Sa: I like Matcha latte. So, my quick version would be that I add the Matcha into a tiny bit of cold milk, and then whisk it, and then add warm water - you're not supposed to use boiling water because that destroys the kind of green leaf. Always with Green tea, you’re not supposed to use boiling water - only with Black tea and herbal tea...

S: Gosh! So we have to also be careful of the temperature of the water. 

Sa: Yes. 

S: Is that because Green tea is more sensitive?

Sa:  Yeah, you ruin the green leaf - so the Black tea is already oxidised fully. That's why it's black...

S:  Gotcha! Gosh, I never really think about these things - you just take the bag, put the water, and then drink!

Sa: True!

S:  With you and your company then, Satu - have you discovered some teas that you had never heard of before?

Sa: Yeah - for me, Matcha was a new thing. (Okay.) And also mate - I never heard that one.

S: What's that? How do you spell it? M-A-T?  M-A-T-E?

Sa: Mate - that's an herb, original from South America. 

S:  Ah, okay. 

Sa: And it’s really packed with caffeine - so it gives you energy and stimulates your mind, so yeah!

S: I guess you have to be careful, maybe, if it's packed with caffeine.

Sa: Oh, yes. Yes, of course the type and amount of tea leaves, and the water temperature, and brewing time that affects the amount of caffeine in a cup. So I have some approximate amount in a cup - like Mate has around 80 milligrammes (Okay) versus Black tea has around 50 milligrammes in a cup, so, yeah, (so, that’s a lot!) Yeah.

S: So, do you have any plans to sell any new special teas at any time soon?

Sa: Yeah, I have. Of course, Christmas is approaching so I have a few Christmas-flavoured teas and something exciting coming soon! 

S: This is exciting!  So, with Christmas teas, what flavours do you find in these teas? 

Sa: Apple is very common, and of course Cinnamon, Anais - all those warm kind of tastes...

S: Yeah.  Any other tips about tea before we finish?

Sa: Somehow tea is kind of comforting for me and I always wondered why I take the tea cup with both hands. (Yeah). I don't know. It's, yeah, it's (an) easy drink after you hike outside because of the cold weather - it's really nice to have a cup of tea...

S: It certainly is!

Transcribed by https://otter.ai

(Music)

Holding your cup of tea with both hands, especially on a cold day, is indeed very comforting!  If you’re interested in looking at Satu’s tea offerings, you can find her at https://aito-tea.fi Learning about Mate, or Maté, tea was very interesting!

So, this episode’s pronunciation tip is a vocabulary tip - specifically, it’s an adjectives tip.  Now, I’ve noticed more and more that there are many English language accounts on social media that keep telling learners to STOP SAYING VERY!  Why are they doing this?  Well, I think these teaching accounts are trying to encourage learners to use different, more interesting vocabulary - which is very helpful!  However, there’s a little more information that you should know before you just stop saying “very”...

In English, we have 2 groups of adjectives: Gradable and Ungradable. Now, imagine these 2 groups sit on a scale of 0 - 5.   Gradable adjectives, such as big, small, cold, hot, funny, tasty, nice, are the adjectives that sit between 0-4 and can move up or down the scale, so made stronger or weaker, with adverbs.  For example, let’s put the adjective ‘cold’ at number 1 - to go down the scale to 0, we can say phrases like “I’m a bit cold” or “I’m quite cold” = meaning less than “cold”.  If you want to move up the scale, to show you are more than “cold”, we can add words like “very”, “really”, “so” and “extremely”.  So, your scale could be: “I’m a bit cold” = 0, “I’m cold” = 1, “I’m very cold” or “I’m really cold” = 2 or 3, “I’m so cold” or “I’m extremely cold” = 3 or 4.  Notice also how you can use your intonation, the way you say the word, to show how you feel!

But... what happens when ‘cold’ + these adverbs are just not strong enough?  Say hello to Ungradable adjectives!  These are the extreme versions and sit at number 5 on our scale!  We move from “I’m so cold” or “I’m extremely cold” to “I’m FREEZING!”.  If you want to make this 5++, you can use adverbs like “absolutely”, “completely”, “totally”, or “utterly”, so “I’m absolutely freezing!” Important note: we cannot - or shouldn’t - say “very freezing” -    ‘very’ only links to Gradable adjectives!

The important point here is nuance.  If you think about the scale, the difference between “very cold” and “freezing” is actually quite big, so just changing from one to the other may not be as similar as you think…

To practice this difference, here are 3 situations with a Gradable adjective + “very” and its Ungradable version. 

First:  Interesting = Gradable adjective, “very interesting” 

           Fascinating = Ungradable adjective (no “very”) 

Try this difference:  The class was very interesting today!

                                  The class was fascinating today!

Next:  Angry = Gradable adjective, “very angry”

           Furious = Ungradable adjective (no ‘very’)

Try this difference:  I’m very angry with you!

                                    I’m furious with you!

Finally:  Tasty = Gradable adjective, “very tasty”

              Delicious = Ungradable adjective (no ‘very’)

Try this difference:  Your dish was very tasty!

                                    Your dish was delicious! 

So, to recap: Gradable adjectives can be modified up or down, stronger or weaker, and the word ‘very’ is very useful to express where on the scale you are.  Ungradable adjectives are the extreme and don’t link to ‘very’!  Over to you to practice!

So there we are!  The transcript of this episode is available to read on the podcast’s webpage, so take a look!    Join me next time for more pronunciation and grammar tips, more advice and, most importantly, more chatting!   My thanks again to Satu and, for her music, a huge thanks to the wonderful Mara Carlyle.   Bye for now!