By popular demand – a column about tea! Since writing this column, lots of people have asked me in comments and on Twitter about British tea-drinking habits, or how to drink tea the British way. So here you go! Stop press: I found out whilst writing this that I had just too many words to say about tea – and so did everyone around me. In fact, those around me are likely to say that having too many words is not a rare occurrence where I’m concerned. But anyway. Here’s your intro post on how the Brits drink tea, and it will be followed by a sequel next week. Hooray!
There’s no doubt that us Brits have very strong opinions on the best way to make a pot – or mug – of tea. To keep things straightforward for the purpose of this column, when I say ‘tea’ I am talking about traditional English Breakfast tea. Green tea, Earl Grey, Lapsang Souchong…they all have their place, but that place ain’t here.
Let’s start with some fun facts (I love fun facts on a Friday). First off, we have a UK Tea Council. Awesome. Their website is even tea.co.uk. According to the UKTC, we drink a total of 165 million cups of tea per day (and still only 70 million cups of coffee. Tea wins! Hooray!). 96% of the tea we drink is from a tea bag, and 98% is made with milk. 30% of people take sugar in their tea. We have a number of slang words for tea, including brew, Rosie Lee, cuppa and cha.
Now I shall address the important tea issues of the modern age. To dunk or not to dunk? When should the milk be added? What kind of tea leaves should one use in the first place? Let’s start at the start…
What Kind Of Tea Should I Be Drinking?
The answer to this question is really just a matter of taste. The only thing I can unequivocally state is that your tea should be fairtrade. It may cost a few pence more in the supermarket, but the difference per cup is practically nothing. Realistically, to drink tea the British way on a daily basis, you should choose a good tea bag, preferably one in the pyramid shape that allows the leaves space while the drink brews. Which brand, variety or country of origin is up to you.
To Dunk Or Not To Dunk?
Be warned: dunking biscuits in your tea will ruin your drink – but the trade-off is worth it. There’s nothing like biting into a chocolate bourbon creme that’s been in some hot tea for just the right amount of time. “But what’s that right amount of time?” I hear you cry! That question was answered by Dr Len Fisher of University of Bristol, who won an Ig Nobel Prize from Harvard’s Annals of Improbable Research for his equation explaining the art of dunking.
When To Add The Milk
For years I fought the fight on the side of adding the milk last. I used to cite half-remembered ‘scientific evidence’ that had somehow convinced me years ago that the fat from the milk would stop the tea brewing properly. Turns out I was wrong. After numerous debates, and a spell of making tea with a scummy layer of film on top (gross), I tried it milk-first. And have never looked back. I found that adding the water to the milk-teabag combo resulted in a much smoother cuppa and, weirdly, it somehow seems to need *less* time to brew. Support for my newfound stance comes from a recent study by the Royal Society of Chemistry, as cited on The Telegraph website. Apparently adding the milk to hot water does something to the molecules that makes it behave – and taste – like UHT. UHT in tea should be avoided at all costs, unless the only other option is not having tea at all. Even tea without any milk is preferable to tea with UHT. But I digress. Adding the water to the milk means the milk is warmed more slowly.
Now, you will need to do your own research before taking my word for it. As convinced as I am that putting the milk in the cup first is right, I caused a bit of a Twitter storm with the suggestion when researching this column. One of my friends felt so strongly as to say “NO! Whoever puts milk in tea first is just WRONG.” My Dad also had a lot to say…there’s a good chance I’ll be disowned by taking this stance in this column. Hi, Dad! The only real convincing argument was posited by George Orwell in his 1946 Evening Standard article on the eleven golden rules of tea drinking, entitled A Nice Cup Of Tea. He said you should always add the milk after the tea has brewed because “one can exactly regulate the amount of milk whereas one is liable to put in too much milk if one does it the other way round.” Fair point, George, fair point.
Why Do We Like Tea So Much, Anyway?
First of all, we like tea because we’re used to tea. It’s not only a social habit, it’s also a mild addiction. Tea contains caffeine, caffeine is addictive and it means we crave more. The taste of tea is more palate-friendly than coffee which, plus the lower caffeine levels, means parents will allow their children to drink (weak) tea a long time before they will be allowed coffee. Tea is also good for your health – antioxidants and all that. Lastly, we drink it because it’s traditional. Need an excuse to meet up with a friend in the afternoon? Arrange to meet for a cuppa. Having a personal drama? Your friend/sister/mum will put the kettle on. Check out next week’s post for more tea-worthy situations and how to make tea the British way!
Image via phrases.org.uk.
I’m so glad you referenced ol George. Discovered his tea rules last year and loved it
More important than the milk debate is the water debate: Tea should be brewed with fresh boiling water, i.e. not just hot, or boiled water, and not water that has been boiled before. It’s all to do with oxygen content. Brew for two minutes, pour. Done.
Adding milk to a hot cup of tea heats the milk very quickly, and has a similar effect on its taste to boiling milk, hence the reference to UHT (Ultra-High-Temperature) treated milk. Adding the milk to your cup first allows the milk to be warmed gently as you pour in the tea from your teapot. Because only a vulgarian would make tea in a mug with a teabag.
Also, according to Homeland, Yorkshire Gold is the terrorist’s tea of choice. So a nice bit of product placement there. Not sure they thought that one through…
milk last, always, unless using a teapot, then put it in whenever you like. if you add it first while using a tea bag it will lower the temperature and the tea wont brew nicely.
ahhh tea… everyone has there own style I guess
Good article. I’ve never been sure whether to add milk first or last, either (until now, of course!). I wish you’d written about full, loose-leaf tea, though!
Ah, the great milk debate! My grandmother always insists that it must be added last, but I recently noticed that my local deli adds it first, and I had been trying to crack their secret for an amazing cuppa for months.
To all those new to tea drinking, i would like to add a fab little pointer. Being British (well Manx) i have had to learn to prepare for the unseeable tea mis-haps. One of which occured this morning. No milk in the house. First reaction: Aaaaahhh! What am i going to do!?
Well, thanks to my parents i know exactly what to do in this situation. Cordial Juice.
It’s a fantastic substitute and immediately turns your brilliant yorkshire tea into a lovely fruit tea
No fresh juice gals, that wont be nice, Cordial.
Cordial saved my morning and now i have a brilliant pineapple and orange tea
Yay tea!
Great article!
Love this! During my occupational therapy training we actually spent about 3 classes looking at the different ways people make tea and why tea is so important to us!
If you love tea as much as I do, a great tea to try is SoRen Tea. I just got to sample it locally here in Atlanta, GA and was impressed by the flavor and complexity of such a new product. http://www.sorentea.com
I love everything British, but I hate tea…sigh. I’ve just acquired a taste for iced coffee, so maybe a love of tea will come in time. I have had tea once or twice in my life, but I added so much sugar and milk that it wasn’t really tea any more…
I’m from Denmark but have lived in Britain for a few years now, and I always think it’s hilarious that I have to import tea from home (or buy Teapigs, but that’s only for special occasions!). We don’t have milk in our tea back home, but obviously British tea in general is so strong because it is anticipated that the drinker will add milk. So it’s too strong for me! Tea+milk is really a very different drink than tea on its own.
Definitely milk in first as you say… Tea leaves do make a tastier brew than bags though. I first saw Orange Pekoe PG Tips tea in Canada and did manage to get that from a Whittard shop in the UK.
I love this! I’m from Australia, but last year I was in England for 9 months, and oh good god, I have never drunken so much tea! It was only when I returned home that I realised how hardcode my tea-addiction had become: at least 8 cups a day!! I would have one with every meal, at work, and always when socialising with ANYONE. Also, I used to drink “black tea” back home, but if ever I asked for tea without milk in England, people would look at me as if I had two heads!! And don’t even think about asking for green tea! Now, I love my English Breakfast (with a dash of milk of course)!
LOVE THIS!!!
Great article! My only other question is what you think the perfect brewing time is for the tea. I’ve always wondered!
Hi Molly, from what I see, the perfect brewing time mostly depends on how strong you like your tea. The only risk is that over-brewing can mean scum/film on the top of the liquid, which is pretty gross!
Are English Breakfast and Orange Pekoe the same tea? This is a thing I have always wondered as they are the only two black teas I will drink. They taste similar but I am no tea connoisseur…
Hi Terryn, I looked it up on Wikipedia as I hadn’t even heard of Orange Pekoe tea! It seems that the USA uses it as a generic term for black teas. English Breakfast is also sort of a generic term but it does usually mean a specific blend.
Yorkshire Tea!!!!!!
I’m a pretty big tea drinker and enjoyed reading this, whilst drinking my tea. I do sometimes like milk in tea, but mostly in the form of a tea latte, rather than just milk tea. I recently read that adding marshmallows to tea is surprisingly delicious and I’m looking forward to trying that. Tea is comforting and also such a nice way to ease into the morning. Happy tea time to you!
http://www.bundtsofsteel.blogspot.com
Happy tea time to you too! I shall certainly try the marshmallow thing very soon.
Good article, couldn’t agree more about the UHT milk, it makes tea undrinkable and makes me feel nauseous. Tea made from a pot always tastes better for some reason, though most of us in the UK make it in mugs for speed and to save on washing up.
This is a great article. Did you know that milk used to be a ‘class’ thing? People would put milk in first to make sure the boiling water wouldn’t break fine china. Now it’s all up to taste.
Also anther interesting fact for you, sugar in tea used to be taken as a sign of wealth, but in the 18th Century William Wilberforce and others petitioned the British people to stop taking sugar in tea as the sugar was a product of the slave trade. It became a sign that one agreed with abolition.
I was just about to mention the “fine china” bit! I was taught to put milk in first, as well, just for that very reason. Excellent article! : )
Lovely!! Made me so nostalgic.
I do tend to drink coffee 98% of the time more purely due to living in America for 10 years but whenever I visit my mum in Houston or travel home to fair Scotland, you bet my first instinct is to a have a wee cup of tea.