Tea Time: Drinking My Body Weight in Steeped Leaves

I’ve consumed more tea in 10 months than I have in the previous 24 years of my life. I thought Brits just swapped tea for coffee in the morning, but they swap it for every other drink at any other time of day. When you think of tea, I’m sure you think of a couple of delicate old women sitting huddled around around teapot on a doily-laden table. But, that’s not the case. Most people drink tea at any time of day, regardless of what activity they are engaging in or how hot it is outside.

It’s taken quite a bit of getting used to but I’ve really started to enjoy drinking tea. So much so, that I bought my own kettle and have acquired an impressive collection of tea, if I do say so myself. I drink at least three cups of tea a day – even more when I’m hanging out with Andy, who drinks tea like a tea-drinking fish.

I know British people drink tea out of tradition, and I suppose that’s why I was introduced to British tea culture. But, I’ve become an avid tea-drinker likely due to the weather. It’s mid-May and it’s still rainy and cold, and nothing is as comforting as a warm beverage when it’s dreary outside. It’s not as sweet as hot chocolate and it doesn’t get you as wired as coffee, so it sits comfortably in a ceramic teapot somewhere in between.

My lovely little ceramic teapot was purchased from a charity shop for £1.

What you should know about drinking tea in England:

1. ‘Tea’ is just ‘tea’. If someone asks you for a cup of tea, they don’t mean ‘Earl Grey’ or ‘English Breakfast’ or even ‘Orange Pekoe’. They just want ‘tea’. Here, you can buy plain ol’ tea from Tetley or PG Tips, and it doesn’t belong to a special genre or have a particular name.

2. ‘Tea’ can also be a meal. It consists of light and lovely snacks during the mid-afternoon around 4pm. You don’t have to drink tea at ‘tea’, but it is still called ‘tea’ regardless of the type of drink you’re consuming.

3. ‘Brew’ as a slang term refers to a cup of tea (or coffee, depending on where you’re from). When I initially heard people talking about waking up with a brew, I thought it meant that they had a severe alcohol problem – but not so. A ‘brew’ is just an innocent cup of tea.

Before I go, I’ll give you some tips on where to purchase tea: Whittard’s of London. That’s it. Nowhere else. I wasn’t even incredibly impressed with Harrod’s selection of tea. Whittard’s has a huge selection of black, herbal, looseleaf and iced teas. They’re normally on offer, so you can get 3 for £6 or £7, just a little bit more expensive than they would be at Tesco but much better quality. 

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