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Why are Brits so obsessed with tea - Contenido educativo
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Why are the Brits so obsessed with tea? Let's find out.
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Hi, I'm Kate and this is Anglophenia.
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Now one of the first things you'll be asked by most Brits is,
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would you like a cup of tea?
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Yes, we're rather fond of a proper brew, which is what we call a nice cup of tea.
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And it's our go-to solution for almost any scenario.
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Want an excuse to gossip with your friends?
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Invite them over for a cup of tea.
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Do you have a builder doing some work on your house?
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It would be offensive not to offer him a cuppa.
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Going through a personal drama? Yep, you guessed it, a cup of tea will make everyone feel better.
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It's hardly surprising then that the UK race through a whopping 165 million cups of tea every day.
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Seriously, that is a lot of cup lifting. But it's how we stay in such great shape.
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But how have we become one of the biggest tea drinking nations per capita in the world?
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Here are a few interesting moments in history that helped make tea a quintessentially British
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affair.
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Our love of tea goes back to the mid 1600s when the British East India Company dominated
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the tea imported to Britain.
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We had a constant and growing supply of tea, which was convenient as we had been excluded
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from the coffee exporting Mediterranean during our wars with France and Spain at the time.
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Whilst our surrounding countries remained hooked on coffee, Britain became a tea-drinking
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nation.
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Tea hasn't always been the innocent drink we know and love today.
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During the 1700s, increasing tea prices saw a rise in both tea smuggling and fake teas,
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which were often used tea leaves mixed with other leaves and then dyed.
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These lower-priced teas were sold to the working classes, which meant that tea, even if it
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wasn't the best quality, were no longer just for the rich.
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Afternoon tea, also known as low tea due to the low tables it was served on,
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came about in around 1841 thanks to the very hungry tummy of one woman,
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Anna Russell, the Duchess of Bedford, who took social convention into her own hands
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and began enjoying a pot of tea and a light snack to satisfy that sinking feeling in the late afternoon.
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Before long, afternoon tea became quite the social event.
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Queen Victoria, a friend of the Duchess's, formalised afternoon tea
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with her Buckingham Palace tea receptions.
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I think my invite may have gotten lost in the post.
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Today afternoon tea is enjoyed at around 4 o'clock in the afternoon and is made up of
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a selection of finger sandwiches, scones, pastries and homemade cakes.
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Cream tea is a simpler version with scones, clotted cream, jam and of course a pot of
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tea and it's my personal favourite.
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Not to be mistaken for afternoon tea, high tea, also known as meat tea, was in fact a
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hot meal of meat pies, vegetables and bread, eaten at the end of the day with a cup of
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tea by factory workers during the Industrial Revolution. It was called high tea due to
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the high tables it was served on, but these were just regular sized tables.
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Today, in many parts of the UK, the evening meal is often referred to as tea, which can
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be a tad confusing if you're expecting sandwiches and a slice of cake.
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In the 1880s, tea rooms became fashionable with women, as respectable places they could
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go to meet their friends for a discreet chat and even discuss politics. Eventually, tea
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rooms became an integral part of the women's liberation movement. Tea was also used as
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a morale booster to soldiers during the Second World War, with the Prime Minister Winston
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Churchill stating that tea is more important than bullets. Hear, hear.
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Interestingly, 96% of tea consumed in Britain comes in the form of a tea bag, which just
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so happens to be an American invention. During the early 1900s, tea merchant Thomas Sullivan
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sent out tea samples to his customers in silken sachets. Americans were naturally enthusiastic
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about these new-fangled, super-convenient tea bags, but they didn't catch on in Britain
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until the 1950s. But boy, do we love them now.
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So there you are, just a few examples of how tea has become part of British culture and
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society. Now with all this talk of tea, I bet you're wondering how to make a proper
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cup of tea. Well, you're in luck. In the next episode, you're formally invited to tea with
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Anglophenia as we show you how to make a nice cuppa the British way.
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In the meantime, subscribe for more episodes. And remember, you can tweet us at Anglophenia
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and follow us on Facebook by liking our page. Thanks for watching.
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My tea leaves predict you'll enjoy this one. Oh, your total tea loved that one. That one
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is quality.
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- Subido por:
- Andrea S.
- Licencia:
- Dominio público
- Visualizaciones:
- 90
- Fecha:
- 10 de octubre de 2020 - 12:21
- Visibilidad:
- Público
- Centro:
- EOI E.O.I. DE ALCORCON
- Duración:
- 04′ 41″
- Relación de aspecto:
- 1.78:1
- Resolución:
- 1280x720 píxeles
- Tamaño:
- 28.25 MBytes
