Traditional Drink in Britain

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Содержание:

• History of tea in England;• The first tea house for women;• Afternoon tea - a very British tradition;• Three types of Afternoon, or Low Tea;• High Tea;• Tea and milk;• The traditional way of making tea;• Tea words and phrases;• Conclusion

History of tea in England Britain is a tea-drinking nation. Every day they

drink 165 million cups of tea and each year around 144 thousand tons of tea are imported. The custom of drinking tea dates back to the third millennium BC in China.

The first tea reached England between 1652 and 1654 when Portuguese and Dutch traders brought tea leaves back as a curiosity (диковина), along with silks and spices (шелка и специи).

King Charles II and his wife, the Portuguese Infanta (Португальская принцесса) Catherine de Braganza were both tea drinkers. When they took the throne of England tea became very popular among the aristocracy (аристократия).

The first tea house for women In coffee houses of the time,

women were unwelcome. This was a tradition of the gentleman's clubs of the day. It was for this reason that Thomas Twining opened the first tea house for women in 1717, and it immediately became a great success. The name “Twining” remains today as the mark of the first class quality tea.

Afternoon tea - a very British tradition Afternoon tea was

introduced in England by Anna, the seventh Duchess of Bedford, in the year 1840. The Duchess became hungry around four o'clock in the afternoon. She asked that a tray of tea, bread and butter and cake be brought to her room during the late afternoon.

This became a habit of hers and she began inviting friends to join her.

Afternoon tea became popular. Rich ladies invited their friends to their houses for an afternoon cup of tea. They started offering their visitors sandwiches and cakes too. Soon everyone was enjoying Afternoon tea.

Afternoon Tea (The traditional 4 o'clock

tea)

This is a small meal, not a drink. Traditionally it consists of tea (or coffee) served with the following:

freshly baked scones served with cream and jam (known as cream tea);

afternoon tea sandwiches - thinly sliced cucumber sandwiches with the crusts cut off;

assorted pastries.

Afternoon Tea or "low tea" Afternoon tea is also called "low tea"

because it was usually taken in a sitting room where low tables (like a coffee table) were placed near sofas or chairs.

Afternoon Tea today Afternoon tea is not common these days because

most adults go out to work. However, you can still have Afternoon tea at the many tea rooms around England.

High Tea High Tea - the traditional 6 o'clock tea. The

British working population did not have Afternoon Tea. They had a meal about midday, and a meal after work, between five and seven o'clock. This meal was called 'high tea' or just 'tea'.

High tea was a meal that combined sweet scones (булочки), cakes, buns or tea breads , cheese on toasts, cold meat and pickles (маринованные огурцы) on toasts. This meal is now often replaced with supper.

Tea and milk Tea in Britain is

traditionally brewed (заваривают) in a warmed china teapot, adding one spoonful of tea per person and one for the pot. Most Britons like their tea strong (крепкий) and dark, but with a lot of milk. They never add cream to tea. Cream is too heavy and masks the taste of the tea.

Interesting fact

Years ago, the milk was poured into the cup first, so as not to crack the porcelain ( чтобы не разбить фарфор).

The traditional way of making tea

• Boil some fresh cold water. • Put some hot water into the teapot to

make it warm. • Pour the water away. • Put one teaspoon of tea-leaves per

person, and one extra tea-spoon, into the pot.

• Pour boiling water onto the tea. • Leave for a few minutes. • Serve.

Tea words and phrases

Tea break, High Tea, tea time, tea party, tea towel, my cup of tea and many more terms have derived from the tradition of drinking tea.

Tea breaks are when tea and biscuits are served. The traditional time for tea breaks are at 11:00 am (Elevensee) and 4 pm in the afternoon.

If something is not quite to your taste, it’s probably 'not your cup of tea'. e.g. “Windsurfing is not my cup of tea.”

If someone asks you if you 'would like a cuppa', they are asking if you would like a cup of tea.

If someone says 'let me be mother' or 'shall I be mother', they are offering to pour out the tea from the teapot.

Conclusion Traditional love of English people for tea is

well known. Today the people of Britain drink more tea than any other nation in the world. The English usually say, “If you are hot, tea will cool you off, if you are cold, it will warm you up.”

Литература и Интернет ресурсы:

• George Mikes Speak Out- Москва: Глосса Пресс,6/2003;

• http://www.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/customs/questions/food/tea.htm;

• http://www.historic-uk.com/CultureUK/AfternoonTea.htm;

• http://www.silax.ru/14.html;• http://londonmania.ru/?issue_id=104&id=128;• http://chai.rb1.ru/cont.php?rid=1&id=45