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by Logan Wood

Hollywood & Tea: A Match Made in Cinematic Heaven


Screen life often imitates real life, and such is the case with the public’s fondness for tea. In other words, even movies reflect people’s love of tea, with notable characters shown on screen sipping this healthy, aromatic beverage that can be served either hot or cold. Some characters express their vast knowledge of tea types and blends, others wax lyrical about them, and some just enjoy them a little too much.

So yes, Hollywood and tea are a match made in cinematic heaven, as these four characters prove:

Colin “The Forger” Blythe, The Great Escape

Colin Blythe (played by Donald Pleasance) likes his tea perfect. Unfortunately, this is not what he gets to drink during his time as a POW. He has to make do with what’s available, which is likely to be a poor substitute for good quality tea judging from his “wretched leaves” reference while lamenting how pathetic his tea is. Blythe is not a fan of tea without milk either, saying, “Tea without milk is so uncivilized”.

Ramona Flowers, Scott Pilgrim Versus The World

Ramona Flowers knows her tea, and is a self-confessed tea connoisseur. In one scene, she shows Scott a cabinet full of tea, much to the surprise of the Sex Bob-Omb bassist, who goes on to ask Flowers, "There's more than one kind?" Included in her enormous collection is green tea, one the healthiest things a person can drink, and Earl Grey, which is a tea blend flavored with bergamot. It is a relaxant that can aid in blood sugar regulation, hydration, and fever relief. She also mentions raspberry tea, which you can use to make our highly recommended Watermelon & Raspberry-Lemonade Tea.

Huo Yuanjia, Fearless

This film is based on the real-life story of Huo Yuanjia, a martial artist who knows quite a lot about tea, although he wasn't a tea collector like Flowers. He talks about the importance of blends and even connects tea quality with human judgment. In the end, Huo wants tea drinkers to enjoy the different blends of tea exactly for what they are and what they offer. Based on the clip below, Huo likely drank herbal tea, and based on the points he raised, we’ll just assume that he enjoyed all sorts of blends. The type of tea doesn’t matter to Huo, so it shouldn’t matter to us either.

James Bond

Black and white photograph of James Bond holding a cup of tea

Pinterest

Die-hard Bond fans will question 007’s inclusion in this list because he clearly prefers other drinks, but we included him since his choice of tea informs The Telegraph is Yin Hao. This tea, as all tea lovers know, is the highest traditional grade of jasmine tea, and it became more popular due to the Bond connection. Last year, in fact, we pegged jasmine tea as the second top tea of 2017, with Ashwagandha Root & Jasmine Green Tea by Atman Tea Co. as our recommendation. When it come to making things cool, nobody does it better than James Bond. He has made introductions cool: “The name’s Bond . . . James Bond”, and ordering drinks cool: “shaken, not stirred”. Bond has inspired multiple spin offs, franchises, and parodies. The slot game Agent Jane Blonde released by Slingo is an obvious nod to the British super spy, but with a playful twist that fans of the character will find humorous. We’re not sure if Agent Blonde is a tea lover, but based on Bond's taste for tea, we believe that she just might also take a liking to jasmine tea. That would be a good choice as this tea has a range of health benefits. It can reduce the risk of heart attack, strengthen the immune system, and eliminate harmful bacteria. In short, it is perfect for super spies.

Any true-blue tea lover will surely be able to relate to the characters on this list, all of whom have helped raise the profile of this humble beverage.

 

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