How To...Have A Spot of Tea
First of all, biscuits must be prepared. All biscuit choices are acceptable (although Digestives or Walker's Shortbread are preferred) as showcased in my arrangement:
Next, you have to use a teapot. For your auditory and visual experience, pouring out of a teapot is non-negotiable, and that's before we even mention the taste buds. Proven to brew to perfection, a Brown Betty is the only way to go. If none of these reasons convince you, think of your reputation as a Brit (or an anglophile). You're letting us down kettle-pourers. Despicable.
Finally, and most importantly, your tea choice must match the occasion. Keeping a fully stocked cabinet in preparation for visitors of all varieties is essential for you to have a spot of tea. I drank this one alone, so naturally the choice was PG Tips, but I had Yorkshire Gold on hand in case my very proper neighbors decided to drop by. One must keep up appearances, after all.
Do you agree with our advice, or are we totally out of line by failing to mention the order of the milk and tea pour? Tell us your tea essentials in the comments!
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For us Yanks… I like my tea with a shortbread… Yorkshire Red or Typhoo… Pg Tips is ok.. but prefer the Yorkshire… also with milk and sugar in the raw!!! It’s the only way to go!!!
You definitely need to address the order of milk and tea. You also need to explain to Anglophiles that if they should be so lucky as to get clotted cream then they need to put the jam on the scone first, not the cream. It’s not butter! And finally you should let them know that what Americans call scones is definitely not the same thing as a scone in the U.K.
When I visited Great Britain and Southern Ireland, I drank tea with sugar and cream. (When in Rome…) But here at home in the Southern US, I must admit that I prefer sugar and lemon.
It is also essential to know when and how to add the splash of cream so critical to the workaday cuppa! Unless, of course, you are a splash less tea drinker. Tea and tolerance for all!
“Do go on.”
Amongst the young, there are some who do not know how (or why) to scald a teapot, or, horrors, think it acceptable to wash one. Little respect is given the proper application of the tea-ball.
Perhaps an actual step-by-step is called for in these vital areas.