British High Tea Time

[PaulTheScandinavian]

Ok TV-shows as we all know don’t always reveal the truth about every day live. But I think for sure some Britains have Tea Time others don’t.

Some have cream tea, with scones and clotted cream. And for shure some use milk and sugar, some don’t and yes they might do it one day and skip it another day. Drinking tea is at least such an individual thing, than smoking pipes.

When it comes to questions wether British people drink it with cream or not, I don’t know.

I like it a lot, but I am a German. There’s is a thing in the north of Germany called “Ostfriesen-Tee”. It’s a strong, black, almost malty tasting tea blend with assorted Indian Assam teas. And they use to drink that strong hot brew with some rock candy and … cream. It’s a speciality. And it tastes great, especially when it’s cold outside.

One of my favorite breakfast teas, Thile and Bünting green Bands, although these are something hard to get outside of Deutschlands''

 

[romaso]

Growing up I pictured Americans waddling around from one can of coke to the next burger, fact or fiction?

Pretty close! But in my case it's waddling from one (or more) cans of beer to the burger...

 

[OzPiper]

The more delicate white and green teas are best without milk.
Tea is grown in a multitude of countries and terroir plays a large part in how delicate or robust they are.

Delicate teas eg Darjeeling are best enjoyed without milk or with a slice of lemon
Milk is more suited to robust teas eg those from Assam, Sri Lanka. Malaysia, Africa

Black teas are graded and the finest, most delicate ones (TGFOP and FTGFOP) are best enjoyed black or with lemon

The lowest grades especially fines are best with milk and sweetened because they tend to be bitter and tannic.
Chai marsala traditionally is tea fines blended with spices, and is typically served with milk and lots of sugar.
I take mine with condensed from time to time - an indulgence from my childhood.

Cultural mores dictate the tea service.
Chinese tea (white, green, oolong or Pueh-er) is always served withOUT milk. Asking for milk or is frowned upon.
The Brits, used to drinking the more robust brews from India, Sri Lanka and Africa prefer theirs with milk

 

[Grangerous]

Prefer mine with Granger. Black Tea lightened with milk and honey is my usual accompaniment.

 

[UB 40]

One of my favorite breakfast teas, Thile and Bünting green Bands, although these are something hard to get outside of Deutschlands''

Order online Bünting:

shop.buenting-tee.de - https://shop.buenting-tee.de/search_result.php?q=Ostfriesen+tee

Thiele:

Aromatischer Ostfriesentee aus Ostfriesland | THIELE TEE

Unser Ostfriesentee eignet sich ganz hervorragend für eine stilvolle Zeremonie der Teezubereitung | THIELE TEE | Seit 150 Jahren Erfahrung | Jetzt ka…

www.thiele-tee.de

 

[mortonbriar]

@The Amish Tyrant @Briar Tuck @romaso you are good sports!

The British high tea made it's way to the colonies, but here in New Zealand if you were to create a stereotype, it would be the billy of tea on the campfire, starting strong, but getting progressively weaker as the day goes on. And no milk, cream, sugar or honey.

 

[beefeater33]

Always English or Irish Breakfast tea for me, brewed strong, served with a splash of heavy cream....... been drinking it this way for 40+ years and probably won't change anytime soon............

 

[Deano]

Fact or fiction? Probably a little more varied than either of those answers...

Growing up I pictured Americans waddling around from one can of coke to the next burger, fact or fiction?

Dammit. Now ive got a hankerin for a cheese burger. Im gonna waddle out to the car and head for the drive thru. Better get some fries too. Have to super size them as Fritz Chiweenie likes them too.

 

[sablebrush52]

Tea is tea, to be enjoyed however one likes it. High tea is something altogether different, involving various accompaniments like cucumber sandwiches, chicken paté, tea cakes and other delicacies. Wife #2 went to school in England and learned the ritual and practice of a high tea. She used to produce the most amazing high teas

 

[mso489]

English tea time is a standard picker-upper in the afternoon and works for a lot of non-English people as a way to fight the afternoon blahs, with a strong cup of tea and maybe a light snack. The origins and authenticity of so-called "high tea" may have some basis, but it was picked up in the U.S. as a fad, serving lots of flavored teas with lots of little sandwiches made with a variety of fillings, that I would eat with my late wife at little tea shop, with me chowing down like a grizzly bear at a picnic table. I don't believe that was any sort of English ceremonial dining, but I enjoyed it for what it was and made more than a meal of it. Grrrr-Err-chomp.

 

[mawnansmiff]

What is shown on TV shows regards us Brits making and drinking our tea is both hilarious and wrong. We don't (as a rule) put 6 teaspoons of sugar in our tea and neither do we use cream (a cream tea is an entirely different thing and likely where the confusion lies), usually a splash of milk suffices.

What always make me laugh is when someone on TV has just made a brew and passes it to the other person. The other person accepts the piping hot cup by grabbing it around the waist of the cup without flinching .

As a young teen I drank my (English breakfast) tea black and unsweetened, now at 61 I use one teaspoon of sugar & a splash of full cream milk .

Regards,

Jay.

 

[BarrelProof]

Always English or Irish Breakfast tea for me, brewed strong, served with a splash of heavy cream....... been drinking it this way for 40+ years and probably won't change anytime soon............

Out of curiosity, when you say brewed strong, what does that entail?

I remember my dad would add an extra bag every now and again. I weigh my tea so I can kinda control ratios that way, but I’m curious as to how you do it. It’s always interesting to hear how other folks do it, with it being so subjective.

 

[mawnansmiff]

Out of curiosity, when you say brewed strong, what does that entail?

I remember my dad would add an extra bag every now and again. I weigh my tea so I can kinda control ratios that way, but I’m curious as to how you do it. It’s always interesting to hear how other folks do it, with it being so subjective.

Brewed strong is basically leaving the loose tea or tea bag longer in the teapot afore pouring. That way more of the tannins are extracted from the leaves.

Adding more tea would also give a stronger brew but in a different way, especially if poured soon after making.

That's my understanding anyway.

Regards,

Jay.

 

[canucklehead]

I guess my English/Canadian family had low tea. My great aunts and grandmother would always have Tetley or Lipton tea, usually plain, occasionally with milk and sugar. Typically accompanied by rice cakes with a thick smear of margarine, digestive biscuits, and a handful of Werther's hard caramels.

 

[BarrelProof]

Brewed strong is basically leaving the loose tea or tea bag longer in the teapot afore pouring. That way more of the tannins are extracted from the leaves.

Adding more tea would also give a stronger brew but in a different way, especially if poured soon after making.

That's my understanding anyway.

Regards,

Jay.

Same way I do it, then. More tea or longer infusions. Nice!

 

[mingc]

I enjoy my Earl Gray amd other non-Chinese black teas with a dash of half and half (a 50/50 milk and cream concoction that is sold in every super market in the US).

Teas from China, I drink plain, e.g., Jasmine, Oolong, Gunpowder, etc. Chrysanthemum tea is a secret that others do not seem to have discovered yet. It is admittedly very similar to Chamomile.

I've yet to develop an appreciation for Pu'er; I find it too earthy.

My indulgence is East Indian chai masala made from scratch, using strong black tea cooked in milk with fresh ginger, cardamon, cloves, cinnamon and black pepper. I like it spicy with lots of ginger.

If I want to make it Brit, I made cucumber sandwiches: buttered white bread, thin slices of cucumber, cut in triangles with crusts removed. They are surprisingly tasty.

 

[BarrelProof]

I enjoy my Earl Gray amd other non-Chinese black teas with a dash of half and half (a 50/50 milk and cream concoction that is sold in every super market in the US).

Teas from China, I drink plain, e.g., Jasmine, Oolong, Gunpowder, etc. Chrysanthemum tea is a secret that others do not seem to have discovered yet. It is admittedly very similar to Chamomile.

I've yet to develop an appreciation for Pu'er; I find it too earthy.

My indulgence is East Indian chai masala made from scratch, using strong black tea cooked in milk with fresh ginger, cardamon, cloves, cinnamon and black pepper. I like it spicy with lots of ginger.

If I want to make it Brit, I made cucumber sandwiches: buttered white bread, thin slices of cucumber, cut in triangles with crusts removed. They are surprisingly tasty.

Chrysanthemum tea is incredible.

 

[PaulTheScandinavian]

Brewed strong is basically leaving the loose tea or tea bag longer in the teapot afore pouring. That way more of the tannins are extracted from the leaves.

Adding more tea would also give a stronger brew but in a different way, especially if poured soon after making.

That's my understanding anyway.

Regards,

Jay.

so called ''Builder's brew..

 

[AJL67]

I've found most actually like to use milk and milk that's slightly warmed as not to chill the tea.

 

[OzPiper]

Chrysanthemum tea is incredible.

I prefer an infusion of chrysanthemum flowers on their own.
On occasions I add some to Pu'er to "lift the flavour"

Much preferred to jasmine, which I find too over-powering.