Hopefully, you'll enjoy a couple of these cool facts that I learned:
First off, this shouldn't be a surprise: The people of England consume more tea per capital than in any other country in the world, which can be explained by their well known breaks, called “tea times.”
- It's the first thing that they drink in the morning and the last thing that they drink at night.
- In England there are really two kinds of tea meals. "Low Tea" also called "Afternoon Tea" is served on a low table with a light offering of food such as dainty thin sandwiches and scones. "High Tea" served at a high table or dining room table is a more substantial meal. This would be considered supper in the working class home. Food would include a hot dish, hefty sandwiches, scones, cakes and biscuits. Of course, each of these traditions includes tea, and lots of it.
- In afternoon tea, hot tea accompanies traditional sweets such as scones, shortbread, biscuits and buns. If the scones come with clotted cream and jam, the repast is known as cream tea.
- When adding sugar or milk to the tea, you do not stir with the spoon, but rather gently fold the tea two or three times.
- Never raise your saucer unless you are standing while drinking tea.
- The practice of eating this meal at a high dining table rather than a low tea table resulted in the expression "high tea." (She compared "high tea" to the big long tables that you see in Harry Potter (when they eat in the grand hall with a whole bunch of people.))
- Whenever someone is very sad or has lost a loved one, the first thing an English person will say is: "would you like a cup of tea?"
- In order for one not to spill the hot liquid onto oneself, the proper way to hold the vessel of a cup with no handle is to place one’s thumb at the six o'clock position and one’s index and middle fingers at the twelve o'clock position, while gently raising one’s pinkie up for balance.
- the average British person drinks about 3 glasses of tea a day
I took some pictures of myself when I went to "low tea."
