Tea drinking

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

... come now, Mary I died of influenza or ovarian cancer, Mary II died of smallpox (you may recall P'cells musicke thereanent). No real Queen Mary had her head cut orf...



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[vinteuil]

??? She drank her communion wine from a saucer???!!!

... if, as I suspect, ferneyhiccup is referring to Mary Queen of the Scots - she were a Catholic and probably would not have taken Communion in Both Kinds but only in the form of a wafer. No saucer required.

[oddoneout]

Hence the expression, still in use in the '50s in Cornwall, 'a dish of tea'.'.

As a matter of interest does that term date originally from the time when tea cups were dishes ie without handles? I've heard it elsewhere and I'm sure that when I was a child one of my aged relatives used to say it.

[Lat-Literal]

Strong builders tea , not much milk is my favourite but am also partial to a cup of Yunnan china tea and a china darjeeling mix on occasion but always very little milk . I find milky tea revolting .

The first point is key. It has to be in a mug and be suited to the black woolly hat one is wearing. No logo for the Victorian lady, no Last of the Summer Wine shenanigans and no elaborate Chinese ceremony with contraptions. The green, red and white of PG Tips - a splendid name that has somehow managed to survive - conveys the same bright, fresh and robust domesticity as a packet of Persil or a bottle of HP sauce. The only other tea I have is lemon which I give to a friend once a month before the half times scores. It seems only fair as I normally have two pints of citrus flavoured bitter in the countryside pub and he has just one to ensure he is under the limit when driving home during the second half.

[vinteuil]

.

http://rsvpfortea.blogspot.co.uk/2010/03/dish-of-tea.html

[oddoneout]

And what of ritual?
Milk in after water..

I take it that refers to the tea infused water and a cup? As opposed to a variation of the senior moment scenario when milk and boiling water end up in the tea pot sans tea leaf.....

[oddoneout]

Back in antiquity (1960s) people ‘round my way loved sterraz in their tea! I’ve never had it, but I liked drinking sterilised milk. Can you still get it, I wonder?

That sent a lurch to my gastrics! Sterilised milk was a feature of far too many childhood camping holidays in Scotland. Its fridgeless keeping properties were useful(although the crown cap less so when travelling, necessitating strategic thermos decanting) both for us, and as a way of ensuring reasonable availability in shops, and it meant we weren't in danger of contracting TB or brucellosis, but I can still remember the taste rendered tea undrinkable for me, and I had to eat the breakfast porridge without benefit of milk - no sugar either in our family. Places where there was an early morning bread delivery were to be welcomed for the chance of morning rolls and marmalade instead.
I imagine that the advent of UHT milk has largely removed the need for sterilised, although the semi-skimmed and fullfat UHT still suffer from similar 'characteristic flavour' issues. The skimmed version has almost no taste and I used it for many years.

[Bryn]

On the subject of treated milk. I recall many Indian restaurants used to use evaporated milk in tea. Perhaps some still do. A Fijian colleague of Indian origin is certainly fond of its use. Come to think of it, he used to run a restaurant.

[oddoneout]

On the subject of treated milk. I recall many Indian restaurants used to use evaporated milk in tea. Perhaps some still do. A Fijian colleague of Indian origin is certainly fond of its use. Come to think of it, he used to run a restaurant.

A tin of evap or condensed milk stood on the table with the sugar was not unknown in this country either.
My Dutch in-laws used evap in their coffee as a substitute for the creamer they had at home(which as far as I could see was the same thing but often came in smaller containers.)

[kernelbogey]

As a matter of interest does that term date originally from the time when tea cups were dishes ie without handles? I've heard it elsewhere and I'm sure that when I was a child one of my aged relatives used to say it.

My understanding is that the saucer, or dish, in the early days of tea drinking was on the deep side (you can still see such in antique and charity shops): the tea was decanted from the cup (holding carefully by the handle) into the dish in small portions and slurping in the erstwhile Beefy manner.

[kernelbogey]

I commend Teapigs' Liquorice and Peppermint (70% L, 30% P).

I was alerted to it by a friend who had discovered it as a useful deterrent from drinking a random glass of wine too frequently with his spouse (!). It's quite sweet and very liquoricey, and I drink it as an occasional treat (not for his reason). A bit pricey, so a rare one!

[Daniel]

I had a very lovely grandfather who valued life highly (he went to prison for being a conscientious objector), but try giving him a cup of tea that wasn't full to the top and you risked the moment being your last. Amongst other things he introduced me to Lapsang Souchong as a child and I've always liked it since, its smokiness seems irresistible at the right moment and it carries with it for me, a fairly deep seated though illusory sense of belonging.

I'm always slightly disappointed when served tea in a cup in regular situations, there's something slightly etiolated and museum-like about the experience, like putting a child in a suit. Most people I know do serve tea in mugs, one even puts the mug on a doily in a saucer which I find a mildly amusing/appealing custom. When I was about twenty it was suggested to me that I stop drinking coffee to avoid exacerbating an ulcer like symptom, for some reason I took the advice to heart and haven't drunk it since.

I clearly haven't lived, as the idea of drinking my tea from the saucer seems an unsettling distance from any comfort zone I'm familiar with. I have a feeling that if I'd tried it as a child, I wouldn't be here talking about it today.

[Bryn]

My understanding is that the saucer, or dish, in the early days of tea drinking was on the deep side (you can still see such in antique and charity shops): the tea was decanted from the cup (holding carefully by the handle) into the dish in small portions and slurping in the erstwhile Beefy manner.

When the Windsor Farm Shop first opened its gates to the hoi polloi the tea served in their then tea room (now coffee shop) came in a pot (replete with tea bag) and the cup was more like a bowl with a handle. Customer complaints about how quickly the tea went cold soon put an end to such nonsense. Today, proper cups and saucers are provided. Re. drinking from the saucer, I had an uncle who always took that approach. He hated hot tea but did not want to wait for it to cool in the cup.

[Beef Oven!]

A tin of evap or condensed milk stood on the table with the sugar was not unknown in this country either.
My Dutch in-laws used evap in their coffee as a substitute for the creamer they had at home(which as far as I could see was the same thing but often came in smaller containers.)

I love ‘vap. Haven’t had it for ages, though.

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

I'm always slightly disappointed when served tea in a cup in regular situations, there's something slightly etiolated and museum-like about the experience, like putting a child in a suit. Most people I know do serve tea in mugs

Yes - but it does taste better if the mug is bone china, rather than ... t'other stuff. (?Earthenware? ?Stoneware? ?Pottery??)