Thursday, June 12, 2008

Tea Thesaurus

by NIISONGE


How many words in English can we use to describe tea? Here are a few I have come up with – the most obvious, of course. Feel free to contribute to this list.


Make Tea
Words Synonymous with Make Tea
cook tea
boil tea
brew tea
simmer tea
steep tea
infuse tea
prepare tea
stew tea
whisk tea
make tea
do tea
zap (microwave) tea [not recommended though]
nuke tea
percolate tea
filter-drip tea [yuck]
plunge tea [using tea plunger]
decoct tea
mash tea
fix tea


Drink Tea
Words Synonymous with Drink Tea
Drink
Gulp
Sip
Taste
Slurp
Imbibe
Quaff
Guzzle
Swig
Glug down
Take tea
Eat tea
Consume tea
Partake of tea
Swallow tea
Suck tea [through straw]
Lap tea
Indulge in tea
Delight in tea [my personal favorite]
(Take) pleasure in tea
Have tea
(Take a) dose of tea
Swish tea
(Get a) fix of tea [addictive substance]
Enjoy tea
(Take) comfort in tea
Warm up with tea
Cool down with tea
Engage in tea


Tea Leaf
Words Synonymous with Tea (Leaf)
Tea
Cha
Pekoe
Oolong
Souchong
Puer (pu-er, pu-erh)
Black tea
White tea
Red tea
Yellow tea
Green tea
Gunpowder
Hyson
Earl Grey
Chunmee
Shoumei
Scented tea
Brick tea
Bing cha (Beeng cha)
Matcha
Sencha
Shincha
Gyokuro
Bancha
Genmaicha
Tencha
Kukicha
Houjicha
Powdered tea
Loose-leaf tea
Whole-leaf tea
CTC tea
Tea fannings
Tea dust
Formosan
Wuyi
Le thé
Thea [latin word for tea]
Rare tea
Fine tea
Camellia sinensis (C. sinensis)
Camellia assamica (C. assamica)


Tea Waste
Words Synonymous with Tea Waste
Tea fines
Tea dregs
Tea dross
Tea particles
Tea residue
Tea remains
Tea sediment
Tea deposits
Tea scum
Tea cast-offs


Tea Infusion
Words Synonymous with Tea (Infusion)
Infusion
Nectar
Weak Tea
Strong Tea
Steep
Agony of the leaves
Unfurling of the leaves
Dance of the leaf
Leaf juice [I made that up]
Leaf elixir [maybe?]
Decoction
Tea essence
Tea Soup
Tea preparation

Tea Beverage
Words Synonymous with Tea (Beverage)
Tea
Milk tea
Lemon tea
Sweet tea
Honey tea
Bubble tea
Hot tea
Iced tea
Sun tea
Bottled tea
Canned tea
Boxed tea
Powdered tea
Instant tea
Tea bag tea
Loose-leaf tea
Ready-to-drink (RTD) tea
Premium tea
Cheap tea
Restaurant tea
Supermarket tea
Rare tea
Fine tea
Tea dose [more like hourly dose]

Tea Measures
Tea Measure Words
a cup of tea
a pot of tea
a glass of tea
a mug of tea
a bowl of tea
a pitcher of tea
a spot of tea
a drop of tea
a teaspoon (of tea leaf)
a can of tea
a bottle of tea
a bag of tea
a packet of tea
a sachet of tea
a cache of tea
a package of tea
a box of tea
a brick of tea
a cake of tea
a ton of tea
a pinch of tea
an ounce of tea
a gram of tea
a pound/kilo of tea
a gallon/liter of tea
a scoop of tea
a cupboard full of tea
a tong of tea [can we say that in English?]
all the tea in China [kind of cliché]
a caddy of tea
a natsume of tea
a cha-he of tea
a mouthful of tea
a draught of tea
a dose of tea
a demitasse of tea
a shot of tea

Tea Storage
(Places for storing tea)
tea cupboard
tea cave
tea chest
tea library
tea urn [some people actually store puer in large earthenware urns with a wooden lid.]
tea fridge
tea freezer
tea shelf
tea pantry


Tea Utensil
(Words associated with utensil)
tea utensils
tea ware
tea things
tea implements
tea tools
tea équipage
tea equipment
tea treasures
tea toys

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

Corax,

Here's a few that might be added to your list:

have tea
decoct tea
decoction
swish
tea essence
rare tea
fine tea
draught
dose

Steve.

corax said...

thank you steve! but [speaking of IP] this is warren's list, not mine. he forgot to put his name at the top, but it does say 'posted by warren' at the bottom of the post. that is not always invariably accurate either, as i often post others' work for them [with proper attribution, of course].

in fact i myself was puzzling over a number of possible additions to this one. i was thinking of 'decoct[ion],' as you did, and some others, but then i stalled over the question of 'quaffing' tea. don't the chinese have an idiom for this -- 'bull-drinking' i think?

Anonymous said...

Warren (and Corax),

My apologies for addressing my comment to Corax and missing your credit at the end of the lists.

The posting is a nice puzzle. Something to noodle over tea itself.

Thanks for the thoughts.

Steve.

anodyne said...

To "mash tea" or to brew tea.

http://www.peevish.co.uk/slang/m.htm

Warren said...

Steve, no need to apologize. I take no claim to what I've posted. Basically, I thought if we all worked together on this, and all add words or usages, then that would be quite a list. Not my list - but OUR list.

Warren said...

Steve:
[A dose of tea].
Sounds medicinal.

Here's another:
Drink tea - get a fix of tea
(addictive substance).

Make tea - fix tea.

Michel said...

warren what a fun list.

On the cuboard full of tea idea.

tea chest
tea cave
tea library see nada's blog afelicificlife (12 gentlemen )

Warren said...

Here are some more:

DRINK TEA
swallow tea
suck tea [through straw]
lap tea
indulge in tea
delight in tea [my personal favorite]
(take) pleasure in tea

MAKE TEA
plunge tea [using tea plunger]

TEA MEASURES
a caddy of tea
a natsume of tea
a cha he of tea


TEA (the leaf)
Formosan
Wuyi
Le thé
Thea [latin word for tea] http://la.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thea

Anonymous said...

Warren,

Regarding the phrase "dose of tea" as medicinal. You have it exactly right.

The history of tea began with herbal practices. From the Han through the Tang dynasties and later, tea was a beverage and as well as a tonic. Moreover, tea's medicinal uses were closely connected with Daoist practices: alchemistry and meditation. In the pursuit of immortality and enlightenment, tea was prescribed in precise doses. In alchemy, tea prepared the body for the mineral and metallic regimens of the adept. In meditation, which was also an important alchemical practice, the adept similarly took doses of tea as an aid to concentration, to relax the body and sharpen the mind. The Song of Tea was a literary description of both the alchemical and meditational uses of tea.

Steve.

Warren said...

[Corax]
don't the chinese have an idiom for this -- 'bull-drinking' i think?

[niisonge]
Yes, you're absolutely right. It's 牛飲 (niú yǐn) in Chinese. Literally ranslates to bull-drink. (Which is kind of Chinglish).

Then there is another:
鯨吸牛飲 (jīng xī niú yǐn)
Drink like a whale, drink like a bull. (or whale drink and bull drink).

It means to quaff or guzzle down.