A question for our UK members about tea

C

CarolfromTX

Senior Member
Location
Central Texas
We watch a fair amount of British TV (largely mysteries) and are looking at a trip to the UK in the future, God willing. I drink two big mugs of PG Tips every morning. I have noticed that “tea” appears to mean different things, depending on the occasion. There’s a tea shop, where you can get a cup of tea accompanied by sweet or savory snacks. Then there’s just a cuppa, administered in times of stress. OR, there’s the instance where tea seems to mean the evening meal. And we’ve attended a tea on a cruise, with little finger sandwiches or pastries. So my question is: how do I know which tea you mean? And what is High Tea?

I have to add, in Texas, if you order tea, it will come on ice, and you must specify sweet or unsweetened, so y’all don’t have a corner on ambiguity. LOL!
 

CarolfromTX said:
We watch a fair amount of British TV (largely mysteries) and are looking at a trip to the UK in the future, God willing. I drink two big mugs of PG Tips every morning. I have noticed that “tea” appears to mean different things, depending on the occasion. There’s a tea shop, where you can get a cup of tea accompanied by sweet or savory snacks. Then there’s just a cuppa, administered in times of stress. OR, there’s the instance where tea seems to mean the evening meal. And we’ve attended a tea on a cruise, with little finger sandwiches or pastries. So my question is: how do I know which tea you mean? And what is High Tea?

I have to add, in Texas, if you order tea, it will come on ice, and you must specify sweet or unsweetened, so y’all don’t have a corner on ambiguity. LOL!
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Tea is as you would normally have it anywhere...cuppa tea.. ( PG tips or lots of other variants)... tea at the cafe or tearoom... or at home

High Tea is late afternoon Tea served with scones, or cakes.. and usually people only have that in restaurants or high end cafes.. and hotels

Tea is what Northern UK call the last meal of the day.. In the south we call it dinner

When you order Tea in the UK you will always get it hot unless you specifically ask for ice tea...
 
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Holly has described the variants of tea perfectly, right down to a "T." What can cause ambiguity is fusion. To get a good brew of tea the water must be boiling, not just off boiling but bubbling away. The boiling water causes the tea to fuse giving the liquid it's classic taste.

Tea manufacturers sell a variety of teas one being: Fusion teas, hence the ambiguity, also known as “flavoured teas," they are black or green teas that have been blended with other herbs, fruits, or oils to produce a brew that boasts extra tasting notes and an elevated flavour profile.

Have you heard of Fruit Tea? Fruit Tea is made by cutting or grating the chosen fruits into small pieces and then drying them. The teas are produced by blending a variety of dried fruits, and some contain up to ten different ingredients. The skill in blending the mix is to achieve the right balance and the perfect taste experience.

This sacrilegious Brit doesn't like tea but my wife does, I drink a Kenyan blend of coffee known as Peaberry, always black without sugar.
 

Not a Brit but I like tea. Only hot tea, no sugar or milk! Can't stand what is called sweet tea that is available in the South. Years ago, I always enjoyed afternoon tea on cruise ships served by white coat waiters with sweet treats like scones with jam and whipped cream.

I like a black tea in the morning and an herbal tea at night.
 
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Tea is a concept meaning many things.

Saying to someone "you must come to tea" is like saying to a holiday friend keep in touch! Yoh don't mean it and you would be most embarrassed if they ever turned up. It can be a drink a meal or romantic occasion. It is the first meal you like to take with your in laws when you start courting your wife and rituals must be followed. This is an important and major step in a relationship only one short of the betrothal itself Bear in mind I'm 80 odd so the practises may have changed since my day!

Tea as a drink is also a ritual. Firstly you will never get tea from a tea bag. Oxygen is very important in the infusion process and that is why you must always use freshly drawn water, purists will actually make sure they run the faucet first to get freshwater and the water must be freshly boiled and still bubbling before the oxygen gets boiled off. You must always use leaf tea as the bouquet and flavour of tea depends to a large percentage on that explosion of aromatics as the boiling water hits the tea leaves. This can never happen with a tea bag as the water will cool a nanodegree before it gets through the fabric of the tea bag and touches the tea. That flavour is then gone for ever.

If you go to a tea room the tea should be brought in a teapot on a tray without bits of string hanging down the outside and you leave it to brew for your own time before pouring.

When we had American friends over to see us my wife took Patti to the Dorchester for afternoon tea. That's about as good as it gets and as authentic!

My remarks only apply to Indian style tea China tea is a delicacy in its own right and is the only suitable accompaniment the Chinese food

sorry to go on so but you did ask!
 
horseless carriage said:
Holly has described the variants of tea perfectly, right down to a "T." What can cause ambiguity is fusion. To get a good brew of tea the water must be boiling, not just off boiling but bubbling away. The boiling water causes the tea to fuse giving the liquid it's classic taste.

Tea manufacturers sell a variety of teas one being: Fusion teas, hence the ambiguity, also known as “flavoured teas," they are black or green teas that have been blended with other herbs, fruits, or oils to produce a brew that boasts extra tasting notes and an elevated flavour profile.

Have you heard of Fruit Tea? Fruit Tea is made by cutting or grating the chosen fruits into small pieces and then drying them. The teas are produced by blending a variety of dried fruits, and some contain up to ten different ingredients. The skill in blending the mix is to achieve the right balance and the perfect taste experience.

This sacrilegious Brit doesn't like tea but my wife does, I drink a Kenyan blend of coffee known as Peaberry, always black without sugar.
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I always serve tea by also filling the cup or tea pot its served in with very hot water for a couple minutes as this seems to keep the tea at a nice hot temp for drinking. My brit neighbor seems to really appreciate that as well as the lemon raspberry cake I serve her for "high tea"...she says its so "civilized"...lol.
 
Liberty said:
I always serve tea by also filling the cup or tea pot its served in with very hot water for a couple minutes as this seems to keep the tea at a nice hot temp for drinking. My brit neighbor seems to really appreciate that as well as the lemon raspberry cake I serve her for "high tea"...she says its so "civilized"...lol.
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"Civilised," is wordplay, something we Brits do all the time, another being the use of the royal term, 'one,' instead of the first person singular,'I.' As in: "One does have standards, you know."
 
British Meals….

Breakfast: This is also called brekkie by some but not common. Breakfast is usually the same everywhere though the contents of breakfast will vary hugely. Both Britain and Ireland are famous for their cooked breakfast.

Elevenses: This is known around the world as the morning coffee or tea break. The term comes from the industrial revolution in Britain which saw the rise of factories and mills throughout Britain which coincided with tea becoming the drink of the workers (formerly it had been gin and beer, so perhaps a good move). The Tea Break came into being when the benefits of drinking tea and the revitalizing of the workforce came to be known. Hence, the tea break was born as was the more familiar elevenses.

Lunch: A meal in the middle of the day.
School lunches in the mid 20th century were always called "School Dinners" and it is felt this is where the confusion came from. The traditional Sunday lunch (usually consisting of Roast Beef and Yorkshire Puddings) is also often called Sunday dinner or a Sunday Roast.

Afternoon tea: Traditionally eaten around three to four in the afternoon, and though popular since the 18th century, it went into decline after World War II. The popularity of this treat is now back, though more for holidays and weekends than a daily event.

Tea (when meaning dinner and not the drink): This is considered a mainly northern working-class term. When used in this context, it is eaten early evening and will often the main meal of the day on returning home from work.

Dinner: This is dinner and eaten from early to the late evening, used in the same way around the world.

Supper: Supper can also be an evening meal but when attached to an invitation changes slightly. An invitation to supper would mean the arrangement is more casual than an invitation to dinner, which is usually more formal. Supper is also considered a hot or cold snack before bedtime but again more a working-class term when the evening meal was served around 5 p.m. meaning by bedtime many would be a little peckish.

As one can see… in Britain we never stop eating :ROFLMAO:
 
hollydolly said:
Tea is as you would normally have it anywhere...cuppa tea.. ( PG tips or lots of other variants)... tea at the cafe or tearoom... or at home

High Tea is late afternoon Tea served with scones, or cakes.. and usually people only have that in restaurants or high end cafes.. and hotels

Tea is what Northern UK call the last meal of the day.. In the south we call it dinner

When you order Tea in the UK you will always get it hot unless you specifically ask for ice tea...
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Thank you for that. The last meal in our houses is called Tea time, 'they' came from Scotland and Ireland ☺️
 
Jamala said:
British Meals….

Breakfast: This is also called brekkie by some but not common. Breakfast is usually the same everywhere though the contents of breakfast will vary hugely. Both Britain and Ireland are famous for their cooked breakfast.

Elevenses: This is known around the world as the morning coffee or tea break. The term comes from the industrial revolution in Britain which saw the rise of factories and mills throughout Britain which coincided with tea becoming the drink of the workers (formerly it had been gin and beer, so perhaps a good move). The Tea Break came into being when the benefits of drinking tea and the revitalizing of the workforce came to be known. Hence, the tea break was born as was the more familiar elevenses.

Lunch: A meal in the middle of the day.
School lunches in the mid 20th century were always called "School Dinners" and it is felt this is where the confusion came from. The traditional Sunday lunch (usually consisting of Roast Beef and Yorkshire Puddings) is also often called Sunday dinner or a Sunday Roast.

Afternoon tea: Traditionally eaten around three to four in the afternoon, and though popular since the 18th century, it went into decline after World War II. The popularity of this treat is now back, though more for holidays and weekends than a daily event.

Tea (when meaning dinner and not the drink): This is considered a mainly northern working-class term. When used in this context, it is eaten early evening and will often the main meal of the day on returning home from work.

Dinner: This is dinner and eaten from early to the late evening, used in the same way around the world.

Supper: Supper can also be an evening meal but when attached to an invitation changes slightly. An invitation to supper would mean the arrangement is more casual than an invitation to dinner, which is usually more formal. Supper is also considered a hot or cold snack before bedtime but again more a working-class term when the evening meal was served around 5 p.m. meaning by bedtime many would be a little peckish.

As one can see… in Britain we never stop eating :ROFLMAO:
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🤣 You forgot 'second breakfast'.

Pippin - Second breakfast - Bing video
 
Growing up, we always called the mid-day meal dinner and the evening meal tea. I think it may have been because at school, we had dinner time so, when we got home, it was tea time. I can't remember hearing the word "lunch" until later on, at work. I thought it was because lunch tended to be a lighter mid-day meal and people seemed to have their cooked meal in the evening. We used to get luncheon vouchers which we could use to put towards the cost of our work lunches.

Mum would make tea in a teapot and she would pour some hot water in the teapot first, swirl it round and tip it away before putting in the leaves. Oh and she used a tea strainer. These days it's a teabag in a mug :)
 
I used to drink tea rather than coffee, and brewed my own from leaves of the distinctive varieties. Then I experienced really good coffee, and went down that rabbit hole largely not to return.

Many American restaurants if tea is ordered will bring you a Lipton tea bag or something similar together with a small metallic container of hot water. While wait staff hurries to refill coffee, they are less diligent with tea, and even when bringing more hot water upon request will often not supply a second tea bag, expecting you to use the expended one… 😩
 
Jamala said:
British Meals….

Breakfast: This is also called brekkie by some but not common. Breakfast is usually the same everywhere though the contents of breakfast will vary hugely. Both Britain and Ireland are famous for their cooked breakfast.

Elevenses: This is known around the world as the morning coffee or tea break. The term comes from the industrial revolution in Britain which saw the rise of factories and mills throughout Britain which coincided with tea becoming the drink of the workers (formerly it had been gin and beer, so perhaps a good move). The Tea Break came into being when the benefits of drinking tea and the revitalizing of the workforce came to be known. Hence, the tea break was born as was the more familiar elevenses.

Lunch: A meal in the middle of the day.
School lunches in the mid 20th century were always called "School Dinners" and it is felt this is where the confusion came from. The traditional Sunday lunch (usually consisting of Roast Beef and Yorkshire Puddings) is also often called Sunday dinner or a Sunday Roast.

Afternoon tea: Traditionally eaten around three to four in the afternoon, and though popular since the 18th century, it went into decline after World War II. The popularity of this treat is now back, though more for holidays and weekends than a daily event.

Tea (when meaning dinner and not the drink): This is considered a mainly northern working-class term. When used in this context, it is eaten early evening and will often the main meal of the day on returning home from work.

Dinner: This is dinner and eaten from early to the late evening, used in the same way around the world.

Supper: Supper can also be an evening meal but when attached to an invitation changes slightly. An invitation to supper would mean the arrangement is more casual than an invitation to dinner, which is usually more formal. Supper is also considered a hot or cold snack before bedtime but again more a working-class term when the evening meal was served around 5 p.m. meaning by bedtime many would be a little peckish.

As one can see… in Britain we never stop eating :ROFLMAO:
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This is so interesting! I always thought "tea" was a mid-afternoon snack with scones and such. I had no idea it is an evening meal. I thought I knew a lot about the U.K., as I live in Canada (one of the "colonies"). Apparently, not. LOL

Geez, I'd weigh 300 pounds if I followed your eating customs!! LOL
 
Mrs Oy drinks tea - Earl Grey. I'm a coffee person.

If there's no coffee or I've had a few already that day sometimes I'll have tea. But mine has to be a strong "proper" tea, none of the flowery perfume stuff Mrs Oy drinks. Just a strong cup of PG Tips or similar. Affectionately known as a "Builder's Brew" :)
 

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