You will learn about the history and traditions of British tea drinking

1. Tea Drinking
in Britain

2. Tea in Britain
• The United Kingdom drinks the most tea in the
world!
• Tea is a way of life for the British.
• Many people drink it first with breakfast, then
mid-morning, with lunch, at tea-time (around 5
o’clock), with dinner and finally just before bed.
• There are almost 1,500 different teas in Britain.
They all vary (варьируются, отличаются)in style,
taste, and color.

3. History of tea drinking
• Tea was first brought to Britain from China in
the early 17th century.
• Tea drinking became fashionable (модный)
in England after Charles II married the
Portuguese princess Catherine of Braganza.
She loved tea and introduced (представила,
познакомила) it to the royal court
(королевский двор).
• Tea was an expensive product. It was only for
the rich and often kept under lock and key.

4. History of afternoon tea
Afternoon tea became fashionable in the early 19th
century thanks to Anna, the Duchess (герцогиня) of
Bedford. In those times dinner was served as late as 8
p.m. For the Duchess Anna Maria of Bedford 6 hours
between meals was simply too long. She began to ask
for a cup of tea and light snacks (закуски, перекус)
to be served around 5 pm, and then began to invite
guests to join her. The custom of “afternoon tea” was
born, and it spread (распространился) among the
upper classes and then among the workers, for
whom this late afternoon meal became the main of
the day.

5. First tea shops
• The first tea shop for ladies was opened by
Thomas Twining in 1717 and slowly tea shops
began to appear throughout England making the
drinking of tea available (доступный) to
everyone.
• The British liked the new drink for its taste. It was
also believed that tea cured lots of diseases.
However, the most important thing was that
drinking tea prevented (предотвращало)lots of
diseases – to make the drink people used boiled
water and drank less raw (сырой) water.

6. Low Tea (afternoon tea) vs. High Tea
• Low tea is also known as
“afternoon tea”.
• Low tea was served on low lounge
chairs and sofas with low tables
(similar to coffee tables).
• Low tea was enjoyed by the
aristocracy.
• Low tea is served around 4-5 p.m.
and includes Devonshire cream tea,
crustless ( без корочки)
sandwiches, sweets, and cakes.
• Low tea is the “posh” ( шикарный)
tea, served today in country tea
rooms or city hotels.
* Devonshire cream tea – a form of afternoon tea light
meal, consisting of tea, taken with scones, clotted cream (
топленые сливки) and jam.
• High tea was served on high chairs
around a table.
• High tea was enjoyed by the working
class.
• High tea is traditionally an end of day
meal for the working class, which
includes things like cold meats, pies,
salad, pickles ( соленья), bread and
butter, cakes, and a pot (чайник) of tea.
• Usually shortened to just “tea“, the term
is still used in the Midlands and the
North of England.
• If you visit the north of England today,
you may hear someone say, “I’ve got to
get home and make the tea for the kids“,
meaning that they need to prepare
meals.

7. British Tea
• Traditional tea time was 4 or 5 o’clock and
finished no later than 7 o’clock
• Black tea is served with milk, never cream
• Tea is served with scones with strawberry jam
and cream and small sandwiches
• Tea is often served with 2 or more teaspoons of
sugar
A scone

8. Tea Etiquette
• Once the tea is ready,remove (удалите) the tea bag from
the cup and place on the saucer (блюдце) – never use
the string (веревочка) to wrap (оборачивать) or
squeeze (сжимать, выдавливать)the tea bag.
• Pour the milk in the tea after the tea is already in the cup.
• Never stir (мешать) your tea in circles – only stir in from
the front to the back
• After stirring remove the spoon and place it on the
saucer.
• Never hold your cup with your pinkie finger (мезинец)
extended.
• Never sip (прихлебывать) from the spoon.

9. Milk in First or Tea in First?
• Originally ( первоначально)milk was always added
before the tea to prevent the hot tea from cracking
(разламывать, трескаться) the china
(фарфоровый) cups.
• However, the finest china was much stronger and
didn’t crack. So putting the milk after tea became a
way for the upper class to show they had the best
china.
• Pouring milk after the tea also lets you judge
(судить) the strength more easily—too much milk
can ruin the perfect cup of tea.