Picard’s Tea Order Makes No Sense

[Admiral2]

I know it doesn’t really matter. I know it sounds cool for Picard to bark: ‘Tea. Earl Grey. Hot.’

But how does that make sense? Earl Grey is a type of tea. It wouldn’t realistically refer to anything except tea, so why does Picard feel the need to specify tea? Is he afraid of getting some Earl Grey wine or an Earl Grey donut? Ridiculous.

Then there’s the ‘hot’. Earl Grey is not served cold. It’s my tea of choice, and let me tell you that not once have I been asked whether I take it hot or cold. I suppose you might get iced Earl Grey, but people usually refer to ‘iced tea’ and ‘tea’ separately. You’d be pretty miffed if you asked for a cup of tea and got some iced tea instead. You shouldn’t need to specify your tea should be hot.

And what does ‘hot’ even mean? Like if you said this to someone at Starbucks, what would that tell them that a simple order of Earl Grey wouldn’t? Tea comes hot as standard. That’s information you can’t really do anything with. It’s too vague to act on. You’d either just tell the computer ‘Earl Grey’ or give some more exact instruction than ‘hot’.

So maybe it’s some kind of Picard preference where he’s set his ‘hot’ to an exact temperature? But if it’s a preference, I’d ask again why he needs to bother saying the ‘tea’ bit. And since it’s his standard cup, surely if he was setting a preference then he’d make the wording simpler. Just saying ‘tea’ or ‘Earl Grey’ would give his default order with no need to specify temperature. This makes me think it isn’t some kind of preference he’s set.

So, Picard should really just say ‘Earl Grey’. The ‘tea’ and ‘hot’ are completely useless. I suggest we all stop watching TNG until this madness is explained or a formal apology is penned by the writers.

There's probably more than one variety of tea in the replicator's databanks, and of course there's more than one way to drink tea, so Picard specifies with the order.

"Tea." He's specifying the type of beverage he wants.
"Earl Gray." He's specifying the variety of the beverage he wants.
"Hot." The only really vague command, but specific enough to tell he doesn't want it cold or room temperature.

If you're talking about ordering Earl Gray at a Starbuck's you'd have point, but a replicator is not a Cafe and it's brain is not that of barista, so it wouldn't have the common sense to know that "of course you serve Earl Gray hot," It has machine intelligence, and unless part of its function is to read people's minds, no part of Picard's order is unnecessary if he wants to get the tea he wants.

Should he have presets? Presets require identification, so whenever he wanted tea he would have to say something like "Picard, beverage choice one-A" or "This is Captain Picard. Replicate tea according to standard parameters" or the replicator would have to have biometric technology in order to determine it's Picard ordering the tea and some schmuck from the lower decks. How is any of that more efficient than just speaking four one-syllable words into the machine to get the same result?

I hope you're joking about the boycott/apology thing, because it would be the height of idiocy if you were serious.

 

[Orphalesion]

Well tastes and customs change over time, and for all we know in the 24th century people enjoy earl grey hot and cold.
It's also noteworthy that Picard's Earl Grey Tea never has any milk in it...

 

[NCC-73515]

Well tastes and customs change over time, and for all we know in the 24th century people enjoy earl grey hot and cold.
It's also noteworthy that Picard's Earl Grey Tea never has any milk in it...

Cold black tea is nice in hot weather
He put milk and sugar in it in his dream at the beginning of PIC

 

[Orphalesion]

Cold black tea is nice in hot weather
He put milk and sugar in it in his dream at the beginning of PIC

I like drinking cold chai tea in hot weather (and hot chai tea too, I just never tried it with Earl Grey)
On TNG it always looked like there wasn't any milk in it, from what I remember it was always a dark brown liquid in a tea glass.

 

[Swedish Borg]

It makes no sense that the Enterprise computer is so stupid that it has to be told everything every time. When someone moves toward the replicator they should get what they usually order at that time of day without having to ask for it. They would have to talk only if there is a change in their habit.

 

[Nerys Myk]

Not really seeing the problem He asks for a type of beverage, the flavor and how it should be served .

 

[Swedish Borg]

Not really seeing the problem He asks for a type of beverage, the flavor and how it should be served .

The problem is that a computer that can create geniuses is dumber than a sack of dirt.

 

[Nerys Myk]

The problem is that a computer that can create geniuses is dumber than a sack of dirt.

Not seeing a computer problem.

 

[FederationHistorian]

Not seeing the problem.

1) There are all types of teas on Earth alone. And many more in Picard's time from various worlds due to cultural exchanges.

2) People do drink iced tea, after all. Which is different from hot or warm tea.

3) Maybe the standard setting for tea isn't warm enough for Picard? Hence the request for it to be hot.

 

[Jayson1]

I guess we can assume Garak forgot to add the , hot, part when he tried to drink it because he didn't like it. But considering Carddassians like drinking fish juice I am not sure that is a negative if your human wanting to try it out.

 

[C.E. Evans]

Given that there are people who'd rather brew their own cup of tea, if Picard simply said "Earl Grey," the replicator would just dispense a bunch of Earl Grey tea leaves. But if he says, "Tea. Earl Grey...," the replicator knows he wants the actual brewed beverage. The same thing might apply to coffee too, then again maybe not.

 

[Orphalesion]

Though honestly, it's curious that he (or anybody else) never specifies how much of any given drink or meal he wants to have. Like, idk "Earl Grey, Hot, 250ml" The computer knows the amount, but not the temperature?

Given that there are people who'd rather brew their own cup of tea, if Picard simply said "Earl Grey," the replicator would just dispense a bunch of Earl Grey tea leaves. But if he says, "Tea. Earl Grey...," the replicator knows he wants the actual brewed beverage. The same thing might apply to coffee too, then again maybe not.

I feel in that case you'd have to ask specifically for a tea bag/leaves

 

[AntonyF]

If I go search Ocado right now just for earl grey, I get teas, and cakes, and alcohol. That's a computer where I just told it early grey. Okay you'd HOPE that it was more clever in the 24th century, but fundamentally you are asking a computer something where the term can be matched to various things. That is unlikely to change.

Preferences will be the thing, and at that point he should just be able to say 'tea' and have that set as a favourite.

 

[C.E. Evans]

I feel in that case you'd have to ask specifically for a tea bag/leaves

That could be the default. It would explain the need to specify it as a beverage first.

 

[Swedish Borg]

The computer should be attuned to everyone's preferences. When Picard moves toward the replicator, the computer knows what Picard drinks at that time of day and so he should just make it for him unless told otherwise.

So we're supposed to believe that the computer can emulate Moriarty, a character that can outsmart the whole crew of the enterprise but at the same time, it's so stupid that it can't even do what I just said?

If there is one among you that understands what I am saying please manifest yourself.

 

[Farscape One]

Oddly enough, I can see this being a reality.

Look at humans... I personally know some that are incredibly smart but are VERY inept in basic things.

 

[Nerys Myk]

Though honestly, it's curious that he (or anybody else) never specifies how much of any given drink or meal he wants to have. Like, idk "Earl Grey, Hot, 250ml" The computer knows the amount, but not the temperature?



I feel in that case you'd have to ask specifically for a tea bag/leaves

Earl Grey Hot

 

[CorporalCaptain]

like making selections from a menu: Tea / Earl Grey / Hot.

That's exactly what it is. It's perhaps somewhat amusing, but at the end of the day quite the non-issue.

 

[Oddish]

So we're supposed to believe that the computer can emulate Moriarty, a character that can outsmart the whole crew of the enterprise but at the same time, it's so stupid that it can't even do what I just said?

Moriarty was an anomaly... the computer can create a sentient AI but not be sentient itself. How does that work?

Regarding replicator talk, it's true. Normally, if you wanted a simple spaghetti dinner, you would have to say something like: "Computer, replicate two hundred grams of spaghetti noodles, cooked al dente, with 150 millilitres of tomato sauce with basil, oregano, and mushrooms. Include 100 grams of Carsar salad with croutons and an 80-gram slice of garlic bread. Serve the pasta and bread to 70 degrees, and serve the salad at 5. And put it on a white bone china plate."

So somewhere in the replicator's memory, it must have the knowledge that if a person says "One spaghetti dinner", it dispenses that.

 

[Swedish Borg]

...

So somewhere in the replicator's memory, it must have the knowledge that if a person says "One spaghetti dinner", it dispenses that.

Precisely, if you're gonna eat the same thing you ate ten days ago you don't have to repeat the whole damn recipe. Just give a code name or a number (like in a Chinese restaurant) and the computer will know what you want.