Quotes about tea

„Any musician who says he is playing better either on tea, the needle, or when he is juiced, is a plain, straight liar. When I get too much to drink, I can't even finger well, let alone play decent ideas. … You can miss the most important years of your life, the years of possible creation.“

—  Charlie Parker American jazz saxophonist and composer 1920 - 1955

As quoted in Hear Me Talkin' to Ya: The Story of Jazz As Told by the Men Who Made It (1955) edited by by Nat Shapiro and Nat Hentoff, p. 379

„I don't drink coffee I take tea my dear
I like my toast done on one side…"

()“

—  Sting English musician 1951

Source: Nothing Like the Sun

„The telling of a story, like virtually everything in this life, was always made all the easier by a cup of tea.“

—  Alexander McCall Smith, book The Miracle at Speedy Motors

Source: The Miracle at Speedy Motors

„Tea, though ridiculed by those who are naturally coarse in their nervous sensibilities … will always be the favourite beverage of the intellectual.“

—  Thomas De Quincey, book Confessions of an English Opium-Eater

Confessions of an English Opium-Eater (1822-1856)

„There are few hours in life more agreeable than the hour dedicated to the ceremony known as afternoon tea.“

—  Henry James, book The Portrait of a Lady

Source: The Portrait of a Lady

„If you are cold, tea will warm you;
if you are too heated, it will cool you;
If you are depressed, it will cheer you;
If you are excited, it will calm you.“

—  William Ewart Gladstone British Liberal politician and prime minister of the United Kingdom 1809 - 1898

„Women are like tea bags. You never know how strong they are until you put them in hot water.“

—  Eleanor Roosevelt American politician, diplomat, and activist, and First Lady of the United States 1884 - 1962

Another quote often attributed to her without an original source in her writings, as in The Wit and Wisdom of Eleanor Roosevelt (1996), p. 199. But once again archivists have not been able to find the quote in any of her writings, see the comment from Ralph Keyes in The Quote Verifier above.
A very similar remark was attributed to Nancy Reagan, in The Observer (29 March 1981): "A woman is like a teabag — only in hot water do you realize how strong she is."
Variants:
A woman is like a teabag. You never know how strong she is until she gets into hot water.
A woman is like a tea bag, you can not tell how strong she is until you put her in hot water.
A woman is like a tea bag; you can't tell how strong she is and how much to trust her until you put her in hot water.
Disputed

„You can't get a cup of tea large enough or a book long enough to suit me.“

—  Clive Staples Lewis Christian apologist, novelist, and Medievalist 1898 - 1963

As quoted in Of This and Other Worlds (1982) by Walter Hooper, Preface, p. 9

„Indian Gold, Indian tea and Indian petrol to the nation: When car manufacturer Hyundai made her brand ambassador for their Getz model, production capacity doubled. She had not yet won a major tournament, but her fame was spreading well beyond Asia: soon she would be on the front of Time magazine and selected by the New Statesman as one of 10 young people with the potential to change the world.“

—  Sania Mirza Indian tennis player 1986

India's most wanted

„I could more easily contain Niagara Falls in a tea cup than I can comprehend the wild, uncontainable love of God.“

—  Brennan Manning writer, American Roman Catholic priest and United States Marine 1934 - 2013

Source: The Ragamuffin Gospel: Good News for the Bedraggled, Beat-Up, and Burnt Out

„p> And at our feet unbroken lay
The glass that had whirled us thither away:
And in the grass, among the flowers
We sat and wished all sorts of things:
O, we were wealthier than kings!
We ruled the world for several hours!And then, it seemed, we knew not why,
All the daisies began to die.
We wished them alive again; but soon
The trees all fled up towards the moon
Like peacocks through the sunlit air:
And the butterflies flapped into silver fish;
And each wish spoiled another wish;
Till we threw the glass down in despair;
For, getting whatever you want to get,
Is like drinking tea from a fishing net.</p“

—  Alfred Noyes English poet 1880 - 1958

Part III : The Mystic Ruby
The Flower of Old Japan and Other Poems (1907), The Flower of Old Japan

„A woman is like a tea bag; you never know how strong she is until she gets into hot water. “

—  Eleanor Roosevelt American politician, diplomat, and activist, and First Lady of the United States 1884 - 1962

„Far from New England's blustering shore,
New England's worm her hulk shall bore,
And sink her in the Indian seas,
Twine, wine, and hides, and China teas.“

—  Henry David Thoreau 1817-1862 American poet, essayist, naturalist, and abolitionist 1817 - 1862

Monday, Though All the Fates Should Prove Unkind, st. 2
A Week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/etext03/7cncd10.txt (1849), Monday

„…. well with me now is Geoffrey Robinson. He was once voted 'After-dinner Speaker of the Year', so if you've had your tea, you're in for a treat“

—  Eddie Mair Scottish broadcaster 1965

Mon 14 Feb 2011.
From PM and Broadcasting House

„All you’re supposed to do is every once in a while give the boys a little tea and sympathy.“

—  Robert Anderson American playwright, screenwriter, and theater producer 1917 - 2009

"Tea and Sympathy" (1957) act 1

„Tea heads are gregarious, they are sensitive, and they are paranoiac. If you get to be known as a "drag" or a "bring down," you can't do business with them.“

—  William S. Burroughs, book Junkie

Junkie (1953)

„Many days later another caravan was passing and a man saw something on top of the highest dune there. And when they went up to see, they found Outka, Mimouna and Aicha; they were still there, lying the same way as when they had gone to sleep. And all three of the glasses… were full of sand. That was how they had their tea in the Sahara.“

—  Paul Bowles, book The Sheltering Sky

The Sheltering Sky (1949)

„I want to drink a cup of tea to all those Kennedys who went and all those Kennedys who stayed.“

—  John F. Kennedy 35th president of the United States of America 1917 - 1963

While visiting his ancestral homestead in Wexford, as quoted in BBC News http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/june/27/newsid_4461000/4461115.stm
1963

„I drive from home to my office, a small apartment on the river in the center of Dublin. I write there from 9 a. m. to lunchtime, I take a simple lunch—bread, cheese, nice cup of tea—work until 6 p. m., then home for dinner. Viewed from outside my head it is a singularly dull and uneventful day, but inside my head … aaah.“

—  John Banville Irish writer 1945