British Tea Joy

[Jimster]

WOW!!
I never realized the scope and depth and endless nuances of creating a “proper” cuppa tea. Yikes! Reminds me of learning to program a hobby grade radio. After I finish this box of Tetleys I’ll have do some online ordering of Yorkshire loose leaf just to satisfy my curiosity. Tea strainers and small porcelain tea pots aren’t exactly prolific around my “neck of the woods” but I’m determined to give it a go.
I certainly appreciate all the educational and entertaining responses. Yet another reason this my most enjoyable forum and the most visited by far. And this morning I didn’t add any sugar or milk which seems to be my preference.

[jarndice]

WOW!!
I never realized the scope and depth and endless nuances of creating a “proper” cuppa tea. Yikes! Reminds me of learning to program a hobby grade radio. After I finish this box of Tetleys I’ll have do some online ordering of Yorkshire loose leaf just to satisfy my curiosity. Tea strainers and small porcelain tea pots aren’t exactly prolific around my “neck of the woods” but I’m determined to give it a go.
I certainly appreciate all the educational and entertaining responses. Yet another reason this my most enjoyable forum and the most visited by far. And this morning I didn’t add any sugar or milk which seems to be my preference.

Jimster please except my apologies on behalf of those English people who first brought civilised behaviour to the colonies for patently obviously failing to educate their children in the very basic essentials such as how to make a PROPER cup of tea and the required utensils to carry out this essential task.

[Son of a gun-ner]

Not allowing the staff to make tea goes back to the time when tea was far too expensive not to lock it up. It was mainly about light fingers. Same for when the head of the household carved the meat, all about keeping an eye on ones valuables

As for warming the cups, it probably depends who taught one, I should think our richer southern ancestors had more experience with the more expensive luxuries

[43rdRecceReg]

Whilst Shaun gives a detailed, genteel, and almost Jeeves-like account of the art of slurping tea- my earliest memories were of tea 'mashing' the day long in the pot, much as barley does in the distillery.
The Teapot was topped up with loose tea, and boiling water, throughout the day and- when the ever darker content was not being chugged back, a padded caddy was put on the pot to retain the heat.
Given that there's a fair amount of caffeine in loose tea, the resultant potent dark 'Sergeant Major' brew could guarantee a good night of blether, tales, hand-wringing, and games. (At that time, the 'Wireless' was pretty much the only other entertainment available). This near-lethal 'Sgt Major' style of brewing (essentially, not to waste any tea- a lesson learned from WW2 rationing, which was still in force in the early 1950s )...can also be found, oddly enough, among the Bedouin in North Africa. As with their turbo-charged coffee, the tea can induce an alarmingly fast heart-rate, and the jitters in the unwary
Not much beats a good loose tea brew in a pot. There's a vast array of flavours to choose from, but I'd go for a Yorkshire tea based on Darjeeling.

[Jimster]

Definitely ordering some Yorkshire after my Tetley is used up! Awesome history lessons here.

[jarndice]

I did want to regale anyone who would listen about my coffee drinking experiences but I reckoned I had gone on for too long already with my child's guide to making a decent cup of tea BUT you pushed me into it,
I had some pretty awful times in the Middle East (Yemen) losing my best friend John Balcombe amongst other nastiness but when we went up country we were in a world where honour is life,
At the end of a long day as the evening chill came over the bivvie we would share the company of our Bedoo guides and they would make our coffee,
They would gather the little metal coffee cans together and wash them under the hot steam coming from the percolater,
The thick black treacle textured hot coffee would be measured out into each coffee can and like magic a large solid block of sugar would be produced.
Our host would take his knife from his belt and as we sucked/chewed our coffee he would chip away at the sugar lump handing a piece to everyone sitting around the bivvie, as we drank we would suck the sugar lump NEVER DIP it in the coffee and we would relax for the first time that day in the company of people for whom you would give your life as they would for you.
A good smoke and all was well with the world.

[Will01Capri]

hahahahahahahahaha

i don't do tea at all, but this thread made me laugh

thanks for bringing smile to my face, i think i just continue to drink Orange Juice or Whisky