Another Buffy inspired fandom blend as I continue my rewatch of the series in French!! I rewatch this series at least once a year, but often rewatch my favourite seasons several times (3, 6, and 7). It’s not that I’m not enjoying this rewatch with the French voice over, but something about it feels less “bingeable” to me – maybe because I have to focus so intently on the episode in order to catch what’s going on and read the subtitles, so I can’t multitask as much!?
I was trying to think, as I drank this tea and watched the show, what my ideal “Xander Harris” fandom blend would be like – I had a clear idea of the direction that I would take the Angel blend, but I struggled with how I would approach this one. It’s going to seem like I don’t like any of the characters (that’s because I’m saving the blends for the characters I do like for last), but I actually am not a fan of Xander – I was the first time I ever watched the show, but the more I rewatch it the less I enjoy him. I find him pretty misogynistic, unsupportive of his friends for a lot of the series, and a ton of his early season focus was about him being a whiny baby about not being able to be with Buffy and then unappreciative about his relationship with Cordy…
In fact, here’s a whole article about why he sucks:
He does show some growth throughout the series, especially in the later seasons, but it’s a slow process – so maybe I would choose a young sheng pu’erh for a Xander themed tea as the base? Something that starts off really unpleasant, but that has the potential to develop into something nicer. Maybe toss in some green tea as well, because of how bitter it can be and to capitalize on the phrase “green with envy” as a way of expressing his general jealousy. Maybe some peppermint; both to continue the green theme, but also because of how “cool” Xander both wants to be/thinks he is. The one thing that I do think this blend gets right (in terms of capturing the character) is the blueberry – I think having something blue, because of how whiny/mopey he is, feels appropriate.
So there you have it – sheng, green tea, mint and blueberry.
As for this tea and how it tastes!?
Well, I don’t think it captures Xander Harris but I do think it’s pretty pleasant. The cup I steeped felt a little thin/weak, so in the future I would up the amount of leaf used by a little bit but there was a really nice balance between sweet berry and tart berry overall. I think the blueberry is the strongest flavour element present, and while I could detect that there were other contributing fruit flavours at play, I would not have been able to pin point peach or apricot as those contributors.
I imagine it would probably be nice iced, actually!
People who liked this
Comments
I’m looking forward to your other notes on Buffy teas and teas you’d reimagine! I watched Buffy ages ago and might find Xander more annoying now… but I refuse to read the Xander article you linked. I remember Riley was annoying.
Riley and Dawn were both awful – thankfully no teas to explore for either of them!
Captain Cardboard was somehow both obnoxious and boring at the same time. Dawn was extremely whiny on a show full of seemingly empowered women. I actually liked Harmony better than either of them and Harmony was written to be annoying. I never hated Xander as much as I found him to be just “blah”. Some of the things he did though were inexcusable. Any witch worth her salt will tell you that Love Spells are a massive NO-NO. And for someone who was supposedly the “Heart” of the gang, he always seemed to be putting other people down.
I used to be hooked on Buffy back in the day. Now, I’m not sure I could stand to rewatch some of the episodes.
I actually love Harmony – she started off very skin deep/shallow but got some great late series development and became some amazing comic relief. As much as there is a solid handful of characters I’m not fond of and a few moments that have aged a little poorly, this is still probably my all time favourite TV show. You just have to be able to accept the negatives without ignoring the root of why those things/characters are poorly received now vs when the show first aired. It’s like Friends and Ross – he was loved then, but has aged like milk/probably wouldn’t fly as a character now. Doesn’t mean Friends isn’t a good show/wasn’t deserving of the love it got.
That’s funny Shanie, I almost said cardboard Riley. haha.
I never watched Friends but am intrigued why Ross has aged badly?
While never having seen a full episode of Friends besides the pilot, I fully understand the sentiment. In Pro Wrestling, there was a time period from 97-01 called “The Attitude Era” that is almost universally regarded as the best thing ever. However, looking back on some of the stuff now, with the cultural shift that has occurred in the last 10 years or so, and YEAH, it’s a good thing it was happening then and not now. I highly suspect I would have a different user name if I saw my beloved Shane-O doing some of that ish today.
Just briefly scanned the Ross pages… and again, didn’t watch a single episode of Friends… but isn’t that the types of things ALL the characters on Friends did, so they’d have something to base a show around?
I’m looking forward to your other notes on Buffy teas and teas you’d reimagine! I watched Buffy ages ago and might find Xander more annoying now… but I refuse to read the Xander article you linked. I remember Riley was annoying.
Riley and Dawn were both awful – thankfully no teas to explore for either of them!
Captain Cardboard was somehow both obnoxious and boring at the same time. Dawn was extremely whiny on a show full of seemingly empowered women. I actually liked Harmony better than either of them and Harmony was written to be annoying. I never hated Xander as much as I found him to be just “blah”. Some of the things he did though were inexcusable. Any witch worth her salt will tell you that Love Spells are a massive NO-NO. And for someone who was supposedly the “Heart” of the gang, he always seemed to be putting other people down.
I used to be hooked on Buffy back in the day. Now, I’m not sure I could stand to rewatch some of the episodes.
I actually love Harmony – she started off very skin deep/shallow but got some great late series development and became some amazing comic relief. As much as there is a solid handful of characters I’m not fond of and a few moments that have aged a little poorly, this is still probably my all time favourite TV show. You just have to be able to accept the negatives without ignoring the root of why those things/characters are poorly received now vs when the show first aired. It’s like Friends and Ross – he was loved then, but has aged like milk/probably wouldn’t fly as a character now. Doesn’t mean Friends isn’t a good show/wasn’t deserving of the love it got.
That’s funny Shanie, I almost said cardboard Riley. haha.
I never watched Friends but am intrigued why Ross has aged badly?
https://www.cinemablend.com/television/2488249/friends-reasons-why-ross-is-the-worst
https://www.buzzfeed.com/elliewoodward/problematic-things-ross-from-friends-did
https://evoke.ie/2018/04/04/showbiz/tv/ross-geller-worst-character-ever
Soooo many things…
While never having seen a full episode of Friends besides the pilot, I fully understand the sentiment. In Pro Wrestling, there was a time period from 97-01 called “The Attitude Era” that is almost universally regarded as the best thing ever. However, looking back on some of the stuff now, with the cultural shift that has occurred in the last 10 years or so, and YEAH, it’s a good thing it was happening then and not now. I highly suspect I would have a different user name if I saw my beloved Shane-O doing some of that ish today.
Just briefly scanned the Ross pages… and again, didn’t watch a single episode of Friends… but isn’t that the types of things ALL the characters on Friends did, so they’d have something to base a show around?