@TheEdVerse Knowing that tea in the Realms is basically anything from hot herbal drinks to actual tea from Kara-tur, I was curious if you had recommendations for us on Earth to use for a Realms themed dinner party?
— ElminstersBedpan (@EBedpan) December 7, 2019
1)
Most merchants and common folk drink what would be sold in our world as “green tea,” unless they’re drinking a tissane made locally or in that household from freely-available berries. 2)
So if I assume your dinner party emulates the Heartlands, or the Dales, or Waterdeep and environs, most likely would be green tea, followed by wild raspberry tea, blackberry tea, gooseberry tea, and then rosehip tea.#Realmslore— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) December 8, 2019
3)
If I’m incorrect in that assumption, then the most likely/popular teas would shift to match local sources, with a steady rise in black tea as one moved east across Faerûn. With a few oddities: in Luiren and Veldorn, crickets are added to tea (imparts a nutty. 4)
…flavour), and in Chult, certain folk swear by dried snake hatchlings (though as Elminster told me darkly, "I stand not among them").
Nobility and wannabe nobility (nouveau riche wealthy) everywhere like to be exclusive, and drink 'special' teas (secret custom…#Realmslore— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) December 8, 2019
5)
…blends, chocolate dissolved in tea, and so on, or even mixing tea with liqueurs. (Elminster frowns on THAT, too.)
Hope this is of help!#Realmslore— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) December 8, 2019
Oh, wow, thank you! I was planning on it being more Waterdhavian than dales, but I may just have to have more than one dinner at this rate. It's ALWAYS good to have a pretext for more dinner parties. Feeding each other is the glue that binds together civilization. :}
— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) December 8, 2019