With the Week 6 theme being Coffee, it wouldn’t make sense not to feature the Tea and Coffee Society (TACSOC)! I got to chat with Annie, Jasmine and Jelynne.
To the question that many of us (or maybe it’s just me) are curious about, Annie and Jasmine said that yes, they are quite addicted to coffee and tea. Annie said that her routine would usually be to drink coffee in the morning and then tea in the afternoon and evening. Jelynne denied she was addicted to coffee but playfully admitted to being addicted to tea.
“I like socialising and tea and coffee.”
The three wanted to meet likeminded people who had a passion for tea and coffee. They also had an interest in the processes related to brewing coffee and tea. The society was a good place for them to meet friends but also learn about coffee beans, different teas and much more.
TACSOC wants to give their members a chance to try different teas. They do this through their weekly gatherings. Each week they have a different theme such as floral tea. They also hold other events such as high teas, and do café crawls in the city to discover more and relax. They also hold workshops for their members to learn more about coffee and tea.
“Basically our goal is to let people make friends while they’re enjoying coffee and tea.”
Annie, Jasmine and Jelynne all started drinking coffee at different stages for different reasons. Drinking traditional Chinese teas as a child, Annie grew up to try different teas at an older age and started drinking coffee in Year 11 under the stress of the HSC. Jelynne started recently, while Jasmine had taken sips of her mum’s coffee as a child and has since been quite addicted.
I asked what tea and coffee was to Annie, Jasmine and Jelynne. Annie joked about it being an addiction before they all agreed that there was much more of a social aspect to it.
“More than it being a beverage, it’s a way to bring people together.”
They all believed drinking coffee or tea helped bring people together whether this was family, old friends or new friends.
“One is that we are coffee and tea snobs.”
On misconceptions about their society, they answered that some people thought they were quite an exclusive group. Jasmine explained that some people thought that TACSOC members felt a sense of superiority in relation to tea and coffee. Jasmine explained that everyone had different tastes with tea and coffee and that they themselves were still learning, so that was definitely not true.
“You can always try different teas and coffees out, but there’s also the people.”
They also explained that you don’t particularly have to love coffee and tea to join. TACSOC is big on the social aspect and letting people meet others. They are happy for anyone to join and explore their tastes.
Imagining what their life would be without coffee or tea they seemed quite shaken:
“I wouldn’t be able to wake up, I’d probably sleep through my exams and I probably couldn’t study as much.”
“Drinking water everyday sounds bad.”
On something they wanted to say to all UNSW students, they replied with similar answers.
“Get involved with volunteering, join a society. Try to do sub-committees and really just try to experience university because you won’t have that chance in life again.”
“University is not all about studying and getting your degree. It’s more about teaching you how to socialise and it’s probably the best experience that you’ll get in your whole life. It’s not about how you need to contribute, it’s more about how you can get the most out of it.”
“Enjoy the journey, just let everything flow naturally. Make sure you grab all the opportunities you can and be grateful for the things you have.”
They all playfully (maybe not so much) said to join the Tea and Coffee Society.
On recommendations, I asked what their go-to drink was. These were their choices:
“Green tea. Chamomile tea. Flat white with almond milk. T2 Green Rose tea. Skim cappuccino. French earl grey.” I’ll definitely be trying one of those and seeing how it goes!
