Could you tell me about the Tea consumed in England?!
Could you tell me about the Tea consumed in England?
First off what kind of tea do the British prefer in London, Cambridge, and Liverpool? What are the major brands? Black tea, green tea, cetone tea? Secondly, is the tea mixed with milk and sugar? If so, how much? Do they use Skim milk, Vitamin D milk, whole milk, or do they really use cream of some kind? Also is it OK to leave the tea bag in the cup longer than 3 minutes or does this ruine the flavor or something? Thirdly, do they ever use artificial sugar?
Lastly, do the British ever drink green tea with milk mixed in? I heard someone say that milk is not supposed to be added to green tea but that might only by true for the States.
How is it supposed to be served correctly. I don't know because I'm from the States. The tea bag is never supposed to be left in the cup right?
Answers:
What a question! Where do I start??? I live just outside London and our major hobby is drinking tea!!! There's also very much a UK class system with regard to it too.
Basically, people like me (working class) drink tea from a mug. We buy the major brands at the supermarket (Eg - Tetleys, Ty-Phoo, PG Tips, or if you're a bit further down the social scale or on a lower incomethe supermarket's own brand). You put the tea bag in the mug and add the boiling water, stirring it for about 20 seconds. Take the tea bag out, add milk, usually semi-skimmed and add sugar if required. I'd say I'm in the average band with 1 sugar, and probably it's split being the rest having none or 2 sugars although in the health conscious age we live in maybe no sugar is on the rise. Sweetener is getting bigger over here amongst women mainly and there are big brands such as Canderel or Heremsetas doing big business. Mainly playing the "assist a diet" card!
The higher social classes drink their tea from china cups and usually make it in a teapot. Either using tea bags or the older generation using a tea strainer and pouring boiling water onto tea leaves in the strainer. and into the cup. My gran used to do this but it doesn't get seen so much now.
Somewhere more affluent, eg Cambridge or anywhere out in the country will have tea rooms, which is basically the equivalent of a very up market "Starbucks" specialising with tea from all over the world.
In working life, tea's still a big thing. We all have tea breaks and most offices have a tea club where you all put in money to buy tea, milk sugar for the office for these tea breaks.
Green tea I've never had but there is a big swing for "weird teas" with the trendy set. There's a big company called "Twynings" who advertise a lot on the telly lot of fruit flavoured tea, and Prince Charles is a big "strange tea drinker".
To sum up the rest of your questions -
London - the favourite tea is the popular supermarket brands and it could be any of the names I've mentioned but it'll definitely be one of them.
Tea is mixed with milk and sugar and could be whole, semi-skimmed or skimmed, usually again skimmed is taken by women on a diet as a weight loss aid. Cream I only know of to be added to coffee over here.
The tea bag is no way in the cup anywhere near 3 minutes. If it is the flavour goes far too strong and the tea is called "stewed".
Artificial sugar - yes, big market for it.
And tea bag - Well out of the cup before you drink it!
Hope that helped.................. I'm off for a cuppa myself now after all that!
Tea is drunk in whichever way one prefers! There is a whole tea aisle in supermarkets as tastes are so varied. Personally I leave the teabag in for about 2 minutes (approx, I don't time it as that would be quite strange!) and have it with milk and one sugar. I am not British though, but all 4 of my flatmates are (they are from London, Kent, Manchester and Belfast) and have it the same way with varying amounts of sugar.
PS. you are quite mad, aren't you?
Being a former Chef in Canada and having worked in hotels that serve "High Tea", and as to your first question, the selection of teas in the UK is pretty well consistant, PG Tips, Yorkshire, Brooke Bond and several other regoinal and national brands,they have loose teas and bags, green teas are available but they tend to drink the black teas from Indian, Ceylon (Sri Lanka), Darjeeling a high mountian Indian tea, there is still alot from China, but it is the Orange Pekoe type, and is a blend of several teas, even some from Africa like Kenya.
I was a big fan of the Marks and Spencer Strong Kenyan 80, as to your second question it is always whole milk, some will use cream and sugar is very popular, artifical swetners are available but not popular, it is a taste thing to if you leave the bag in longer, I am partial to making it in a pot, as I like more than one cup, and in a cup, mugs are for coffee.
Green teas are drank in the UK but more for health reasons or the ethnic areas, Japanese, a good mint tea from Morroco is a blend of green teas, sugar and mint, and some of the Arabic countrys like it to and with the cross section of ethnic groups in the UK it is widely available.
To be correctly served you pour the tea and the add your milk/cream and or sugar, leaving the bag on your saucer is a no-no, along with on the table or on you napkin, if your at a place that has a High tea service, alot of them have strainers for the loose tea leaves to be caught in. I am a big fan of tea and it is not the fault of the American public, but in the US, I have found tea is more a summer chilled drink, and have been to different areas and had Lipton and other America teas and if you should get a chance to make a trip to Canada and find a box of PG Tips you will be ordering it from the British based mail order companies in the US from that time on. I am not critizing the way or type of tea in the US, it could still dated back to that incident in Boston in the 1770's.
Well I am from Scotland.
Tetley tea bags is what I prefer.
Made in a teapot.
Cow's milk works best (I like semi skimmed milk).
I personally don't take sugar in my tea and yes some people do use artificial sweeteners..
Believe it or not........ but us Brits have heard of green tea....... for quiet a few years now.... and no we don't put milk in it either
;)
We don't all drink it you know! I'm British and I hate tea!