Unsolicited Swagger when Sipping Tea | Are you a Tea Snob - use the Check-list!

Needless to say, this is due to my irresistible habit of observing things and forming knee-jerk opinions. I had always been intrigued by how people try to put in a bit of style when smoking, always holding their poison in a way that it looks sacred, something that makes them elite – a class apart. To some extent, this is understandable. Smoking is about getting a high, and perhaps the high includes an ego boost, too. What I couldn’t understand is why people behave in a slightly similar way when sipping tea or coffee. This is not about some uptight tea drinking etiquette or weird tea serving rules like adding the milk last!

You are a tea snob if you pay a big tip for a single serving of tea at a cafe

Are you a tea snob?

You are a tea snob if your definition of eating out means starting and ending the meal with tea

If you hit up any online UK tabloid, something like the Daily Mail UK, you will find lifestyle experts churning out heaps of summarized rules of tea subcultures. However, some people have mannerisms that are hard to explain. They have the same, slower-than-life head movement, some taking time to blink in ultra-slow motion, sighing with each sip, looking around as if they have been served the nectar of Life, and soon, they will be Immortals. 

You are a tea snob if you start discussing tea flavors during conversations about family, career, and relationships

If you are actually trying to grab attention at a bistro or café, this works, but I have seen folks do it habitually, perhaps unconsciously, and it just doesn’t make sense. Exuding attitude when having a cup of tea at your work desk or when trying to rush through the getting-ready-in-the-morning regimen just doesn’t make sense. 

You are a tea snob if you talk about types of tea when people talk about recipes and food

Add to this the fact that some people sip excruciatingly slow, to the point of making you believe that the texture of their stuff is so heavenly that you need to ensure that each droplet makes an impact on your tongue, and you should feel every sip’s molecular impact as the liquid slowly makes it way down your throat. 

You are a tea snob if you think a couple of green teas can work wonders with the gravest infection you have caught

Honestly, I should not be saying much about the etiquette of sipping tea since I confess to making those irritating, slurpy noises, taking the time to savor each sip. However, I am not as loud as some comedians out there who make themselves heard across the room. Habitually, I cannot allow the tea to cool down and sip when it is rather hot, almost boiling. This is also a part of my tonsil and throat allergy management approach, i.e., sipping down extra-hot fluids helps to keep my throat calm. 

You are a tea snob if you think milk within chai amounts to 'drinking milk'

QUICK CHECKLIST: 

Diagnose if You Suffer From Tea Snob Syndrome

1. The Slow-Motion Sip:

You don’t drink tea — you perform it. Every sip is an audition for a perfume ad. You pause midair so others can witness the sacred choreography of your wrist. In your mind, you’re in slow motion; in reality, you’ve just been staring at a mug for three minutes while your meeting started without you.

2. The Pinky Manifesto:

Your pinky is on a personal rebellion against gravity and good sense. It refuses to conform, hovering like a miniature periscope of pride. You tell yourself it’s “a British thing.” It isn’t. It’s an involuntary muscle spasm of entitlement.

3. The Herbal Healer Complex:

You treat every illness like a tea pairing opportunity. Fever? Tulsi infusion. Existential dread? Chamomile. Job loss? Matcha. You genuinely believe the right brew could fix the Indian healthcare system. You might actually be right — but only if the tea is intravenously administered.

4. The Temperature Tragedy:

You sip tea when it’s molten, not because you like it that way, but because it proves your pain tolerance and spiritual superiority. Each burn on your tongue is a badge of devotion. You call it mindfulness; the rest of us call it third-degree masochism.

5. The Café Philosopher:

You can’t just drink tea; you must discuss it. Loudly. Preferably near a window, with one elbow artfully draped over your chair. You talk about “notes” and “undertones” as though your Darjeeling were a Bordeaux. You think the staff loves you. They don’t. They’re timing your cup refills to your monologues.

6. The Instagram Alchemist:

Your tea isn’t ready until it’s photographed. You’ll rearrange spoons, tweak shadows, and tilt lemon wedges at 37 degrees for “natural light.” The tea goes cold — but aesthetics, like enlightenment, require sacrifice. You don’t drink tea; you curate it.

7. The Teabag Tourist:

You travel with more sachets than socks. The hotel already has tea, but you need your tea — ethically sourced from a Himalayan farm where monks hand-pick the leaves while chanting about oxidation. Customs officers think you’re smuggling narcotics; you’re just smuggling serenity.

8. The Office Herbal Evangelist:

You arrive at work with a thermos the size of a fire extinguisher. Everyone knows what you’re brewing — because the scent of ginger-lemon-holy basil has colonized three cubicles. You offer unsolicited detox advice to coworkers who just wanted a cappuccino. Congratulations: you’ve weaponized wellness.

9. The Green Tea Martyr:

You hate the taste of green tea but insist on drinking it — loudly announcing, “It’s good for my metabolism.” You wince at every sip, eyes watering, but keep going because health is supposed to hurt. It’s less a beverage, more a moral performance.

10. The Ritual Purist:

You believe adding milk to chai is a form of cultural vandalism. You whisper “barbaric” when someone stirs sugar. You claim to appreciate “the leaf’s integrity,” as if oxidized leaves had souls. Tea, to you, isn’t a drink; it’s a fragile belief system.

11. The Philosophical Slurper:

You insist that slurping “enhances the flavor profile.” Translation: you enjoy annoying people under the pretense of expertise. Your tablemates flinch, your cup resonates like a foghorn, and you call it “oxygenating the palate.” Civilization was not built for this.

12. The Brand Loyalist:

You’ve attached your identity to a brand of tea the way teenagers attach themselves to musicians. You casually drop its name in every third sentence. If someone offers you another brand, you react as if they’ve suggested battery acid. You think loyalty makes you refined; it just makes you predictable.

13. The Wellness Oracle:

You keep citing “scientific studies” about the antioxidants in oolong, though you’ve never read one. You pronounce “catechins” like a philosopher citing Nietzsche. Every conversation somehow becomes a TED Talk about your gut flora. You are the reason science communicators drink whiskey.

14. The Seasonal Strategist:

Your tea rotation has more planning than a government budget. Summer is for mint blends, monsoon for masala chai, winter for turmeric elixirs. You don’t adapt to the weather; the weather adapts to your beverage calendar. Climate change can wait — first, you must sleep responsibly.

15. The Family Historian:

You trace your tea-drinking lineage back five generations, conveniently omitting that your great-grandfather drank boiled dust in a tin cup. You claim “it’s in my blood.” If you ever got tested, your hemoglobin would probably brew if boiled.

16. The Conversational Hijacker:

Someone mentions their promotion, and you respond, “Oh, I was sipping this amazing Earl Grey when I got my first break.” You treat human emotions as segues into flavor notes. You may not realize it, but you’ve turned empathy into a product placement.

17. The Spiritual Steeper:

You insist that tea has vibrations. You steep “intentionally.” You believe the energy of your thoughts infuses the cup. You don’t need tea, honestly — you need Wi-Fi and therapy.

18. The Tea-Set Fetishist:

You own more kettles than books. You have glass ones, copper ones, portable ones, each with a tragic story about why it’s the one. You speak of your infuser like others speak of vintage wine cellars. You call it minimalism while living inside a ceramic museum.

19. The Pinky of Progress:

You complain about colonial hangovers but drink with colonial posture. You reject Western influence — except when your teacup handle is bone china. You call it decolonized sipping; it’s really performative contradiction steeped in irony.

20. The Late-Night Philosopher:

You can’t sleep, so you brew tea “to think.” You stare into the cup as if it holds divine answers. It doesn’t. It holds tannins. But you’ll sip slowly anyway, because sometimes delusion is the only comforting flavor left.

Final Indicator: The Existential Kettle Test

If your electric kettle has a permanent home beside your bed — and you’d rather lose your phone than your favorite brew — you’re not just a tea snob. You’re a beverage existentialist. You don’t drink tea to wake up; you drink it to remember who you are.

Updated on January 27th, 2018: Another thing I have noticed among people consuming tea from a cup is that their pinky finger tends to get deviated. While the rest of the fingers are comfortably curled around to secure the cup, the pinky manages to stay apart, raised vertically, at a slight angle. Is this about the pinky existing in a zone of absolute freedom? Enjoying too much democracy, perhaps? Is the pinky a standalone entity that is snooty and chooses not to conform to the convention that imposes itself on the index finger, the thumb, and their closest colleagues?

You are a tea snob if you travel with tea bags of at least 5 different types

Updated on January 29th, 2018: for the first time during this Winter season, I am not liking the green tea a lot. Want to revert to this habit to ensure the health gains are not lost. A season of sweet indulgences, 2018 has been calorie-fi-cally unrelenting...just had a lovely gajar ka halwa sort of mithai from a teammate. The verdict? Unrealistically good!! 

You are a tea snob if you start naming kids and pets as Lavender, Chamomile, or Herby

Updated on February 22nd, 2018: feeling a bit pressured in sticking to my tea-sipping ways now that the summer season is on the verge of starting. Ginger tea has been my savior for the last two months or so, used each time I felt some soreness or harshness in my throat. Might try other ways of consuming ginger, apart from pickling it in lemon. Herbal teas don't taste that good without the milk and sugar, though I am not very fond of tea high on the sugar aspect. 

You are a tea snob if you have almost daily stories about having your cup of tea

Updated on April 5th, 2018: it is the proper, hate-worthy season, here in Delhi, and regular herbal or green tea blends have given way to simple concoctions prepared with home-boiled ginger, honey, and peppermint. The servings are small. The mix gets steamed up rather well in my flask by the time I reach the office. Want to hold on to this one rather easy, healthy habit throughout the sun-drenched season. 

You are a tea snob if your bedside has electrical kettles and tea bags instead of your phone or a family photo

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