When, at 3.30pm sharp, one's 'man' declares that 'Tea is served', every Englishman on the planet will drop whatever he is doing, and devote half an hour to drinking his preferred 'cuppa', accompanied by a couple of McVities dark Chocolate Digestives, or a slice of Battenberg.
Loin-cloth wearing 'bearers', on the slippery slopes of the Himalayas, carry boxes of biscuits so that the Sahib can take Tea at that prescribed moment. If the snow is not too deep they might also fight their way through to deliver his Cucumber sandwiches.
Especially trained Sherpas can even be employed to ensure delivery of Lemon Drizzle Cake; but these men are rare (and expensive). Only the privileged can guarantee such delicacies.
Luckily my hearing is 20/20, and from Haddock's I can always hear Lady M's distant voice declaring that it's Tea Time (we don't have a 'man'), and without any disastrous obstacle to inhibit her, there is often that famous Lemon Drizzle Cake to accompany my two afternoon cups of Lapsang.
Lucky is he, or she, to be English at 3.30pm, whether they be in an Igloo in Manhattan, or a Teepee in Barnsley. A subject of Her Majesty should never be denied his or her daily cup of Tea.
Tea leaves; more difficult to find nowadays, so I send for our 'loose tea' from Twinings in Ireland. A just in case box is winging its way next week. Just love drinking promiscuous tea;)
ReplyDeleteWe do still use a Teapot and loose Tea leaves, but not as often as we should.
DeleteCan't remember the last time I had afternoon tea. The only time I've had Battenberg was in Brighton.
ReplyDeleteWe sit down to afternoon Tea every day; usually outdoors (but not at the moment).
DeletePhilippe could never quite understand this need for tea and it was always a bit of a joke between us when I stopped working and disappeared.
ReplyDeleteWhen we first came to live here, people thought that Tea was an invalid's drink; only to be touched in cases of severe illness.
DeleteSurely there is not an Englishman on the Planet who does not like tea ?
ReplyDeleteI've not heard of one!
DeleteDitto here...for your reply above. Tea was for a sore stomach. Green tea has become popular and all sorts of 'foreign' teas are sold in the supermarket now, including twinnings English breakfast tea. I don't see people drinking it but they must otherwise it wouldn't be on sale.
ReplyDeleteI want to be a sahib-issa and have my tea and mcvities served at 3 by a servant , please
It can be arranged!
DeleteThe Welsh have afternoon tea as well!
ReplyDeleteLaverbread Tea doesn't count!
DeleteNever tasted laverbread - it's only a 'thing' in one part of Wales. Bara Brith is more like it.
DeleteI've never had it either. For someone who is part-Welsh, I rather regret it. I'm sure I'd like it; I do most things.
DeleteScottish here - but I do make Bara Brith and I soak the fruit in a combination of cold tea and Scotch! Adds that nice touch of something extra with my afternoon tea!
DeletePS - just finishing my first cuppa of the morning at the moment.
For those who've never heard of laverbread, it's not bread at all, nor cake. It's seaweed, often mixed with oats, fried and usually eaten with a fried breakfast!
DeleteAn aquired taste then.
DeleteJo in Auckland
I've abandoned all teabags for the five different types of tea I keep, except for those horrible fruit teas which some people drink. We have a Tea Shop in Stornoway selling nothing else but dozens of teas I've never heard of. It may sell coffee as well - I haven't looked. My main drink is coffee when I'm not having a meal.
ReplyDeleteI've recently taken up drinking Green Tea. The quality changes dramatically, so you have to try several. Like you, I do tend to drink more Coffee than Tea.
DeleteWe here drink coffee most of the time, tea only when we are sick.
ReplyDeleteThat's how they used to be here. Nowadays most people drink Tea as well as Coffee.
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ReplyDeleteSorry - spelling error....
DeleteHa! This reminds me of the time back in the 1980s when we were invited to stay with Spanish friends at their holiday home in the mountains outside Madrid. They proudly produced a small teapot and a pack of Liptons yellow label teabags for us and stood around to watch curiously as we went through the process of brewing tea. All went well until we added the milk. Horror and incredulity ensued and I am sure we went down in their estimation after that.
Did they not add milk to their Coffee? I don't see why it should seem so strange.
DeleteI think at that time they only drank herbal teas and had not tried the English Breakfast variety so adding milk seemed quite strange to them.
DeleteEverything looks better after a cup of Rosy Lee. XXXX
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely.
DeleteNot every Englishman. For me, "tea is served" (or more likely "Yer tea's ready", not that we have a 'man' either) means evening meal: as in the the BBC series Back In Time For Tea. And the song lyrics: "I like a nice cup of tea with my dinner, And a nice cup of tea with my tea" It's one of the words that helps pinpoint your origins in the British-Irish dialect quiz.
ReplyDeleteI'm a Southerner where we call Tea Tea, and Dinner Dinner. We have Lunch Ladies at Lunch time, and eat Breakfast in the morning. Only when Pigs fly will I drink Tea with my Dinner.
DeleteI like my cup of tea. I have just had a cup after my dinner (lunch) of cold beef with Lea and Perrins and a tomato and bread and butter. No five a day here, one tomato will do for today. I will have a cup of tea and a chocolate digestive later this afternoon with my brother.
ReplyDeleteI'm a 'meat and one veg' person too. I'm just about to have my Tea, rather than a choc digestive, today I shall have a Cannelé; a little cake from Bordeaux.
DeleteI've started to drink tea again after a coffee holiday ....spiffing
ReplyDeleteThere's now't like a nice cuppa.
DeleteI love tea time! Between 3 and 4 every day DH and I have tea and a sweet. Actually he has coffee and I have tea (with cream). So see... even in the States we have tea time! We were both born and raised in New Orleans where Coffee is King, so coffee is a big part of our lives too. But my dad and his family were from London... so tea was always there. I tend to prefer coffee in the morning and tea in the afternoon. Coffee wakes me up and tea is 'comfort'.
ReplyDeleteI have my first cup of Coffee in front of me at this very moment, but come 3.30 pm it will be Tea. The best of both worlds.
DeleteA cuppa is always better with a little sweet treat to go with it. Great tradition.
ReplyDeleteYou can't have afternoon Tea without a biscuit or some cake. It is illegal.
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