A Nice Cuppa

Tea is as British as Big Ben, The Queen and bad teeth. So when one crosses the pond to visit this lovely land, coffee is not on the top of the list of things to try. While you can’t walk 100 yards without seeing a Starbucks or Costa Coffee on the street (the only decent places for coffee), the Brits are still tea lovers. Even transplants to the States are known to still stop mid-afternoon for tea and a biscuit.

Tea actually came to England by way of the Netherlands after 1610 with tea houses showing up in 1659 (ironically, 7 years after the first coffeehouse opened in London). The traditional High Tea began in the 1700’s as an aide to stave off hunger and is usually served between 4pm and 5pm.

The most popular and probably most famous blend is English Breakfast. The tea is one of the strongest and as the name suggests, is mostly consumed in the morning with a splash of milk. Black teas have more caffeine per pound than coffee but because less is used to brew a cup, it contains less caffeine per serving. The tea leaves are smaller than other teas so as to brew quickly and to impart more of their flavor. Traditional black teas are brewed using boiling hot water with a brew time of between 4 and 5 minutes. Loose tea is best brewed in a teapot to allow the leaves ample room to activate. The teapot should be warmed with a splash of hot water that has been discarded before the leaves are added. For a 6 cup teapot, 3-4 teaspoons of loose tea leaves or 3-4 tea bags are to be used for proper strength. If using loose tea, it is said that the leaves left at the bottom of your cup can be “read” to predict your future. I wonder if they have special “leaf readers”?

Incidentally milk was first added to tea in attempt to make it healthier. Now the benefits of tea are widely known but milk is still added to stronger black teas. There has been a bit if a milk debate in England, should milk be poured first or second? In Victorian England there was a great deal of snobbery associated with tea…does that shock you at all? Milk was poured into the cheap ceramics so the cups would not crack due to the heat of the tea. Those that could afford the finer quality ceramics would pour the milk after the tea to show the superiority of their cups. Today, it is easier to add the correct amount of milk into your cup after you tea has been poured. Though the milk does dissolve beautifully if poured first.

So now you are on your way to a perfect “cuppa” British tea. Stay tuned for some yummy treats to enjoy with your morning or afternoon tea.