# The British and Tea: Why? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 2, 2001, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-british-and-tea-why/48052 "2001-01-02T04:05:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Vinnie\_Virginslayer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/53a042/32.png) [@Vinnie\_Virginslayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Vinnie_Virginslayer)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2001, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-british-and-tea-why/48052/1 "2001-01-02T04:05:11Z")
Why the British obsession with tea, anyway? ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2001, 6:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-british-and-tea-why/48052/2 "2001-01-02T06:03:31Z")
Search engine use is recommended ([www.google.com](http://www.google.com)) before asking such a broad question. Some links that will answer your question. [http://www.stashtea.com/facts.htm](http://www.stashtea.com/facts.htm) [http://www.thebritishshoppe.com/a\_tea\_history\_from\_the\_british\_shoppe.htm](http://www.thebritishshoppe.com/a_tea_history_from_the_british_shoppe.htm) ---
**Author:** ![King\_Rat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/7bcc69/32.png) [@King\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/King_Rat)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2001, 7:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-british-and-tea-why/48052/3 "2001-01-02T07:15:03Z")
It tastes good and is most delightful. Actually I would like to take a stab at this even though I’m not British (notwithstanding my nickname.) What are the most enjoyable things in life? Food? Drink? Sex? We become focused on things that we enjoy. Hence the obsession with sex, food, and drink. So I think that the British like tea for the same reasons you may like wine or steak. It tastes good. I love both coffee and tea. As to the rituals that surround their use - whether in an English drawing room or a Japanese tea ceremony - I’ll let someone else answer that. ---
**Author:** ![Crusoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/49beb7/32.png) [@Crusoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crusoe)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2001, 8:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-british-and-tea-why/48052/4 "2001-01-02T08:54:49Z")
Here’s a complete guess: when Britain had an Empire, it included India. It was easier to import tea from India than coffee from South America or Africa, and the British colonial population in India may have developed a taste for it that they brought back to Britain. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2001, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-british-and-tea-why/48052/5 "2001-01-02T13:44:03Z")
OTOH, what is it with the American obsession with coffee? ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2001, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-british-and-tea-why/48052/6 "2001-01-02T18:48:23Z")
Yeah, and what _I_ want to know is, do the workers at Lipton’s take coffee breaks? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![occ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8c91f0/32.png) [@occ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/occ)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2001, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-british-and-tea-why/48052/7 "2001-01-02T19:29:01Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by RealityChuck \* > \*\*OTOH, what is it with the American obsession with coffee? \*\* Easy! We drink it to spite the Britishers! 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Finagle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@Finagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Finagle)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2001, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-british-and-tea-why/48052/8 "2001-01-02T22:35:20Z")
Well, if you live in a climate where it’s raw, chilly, misty, and damp much of the time, something warm is probably appreciated. And, a possibly important feature in previous centuries, tea is boiled, so along with beer and gin, it’s something to drink that won’t give you typhoid or dysentery. ---
**Author:** ![Celyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9dc877/32.png) [@Celyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Celyn)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2001, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-british-and-tea-why/48052/9 "2001-01-02T22:44:26Z")
But one should only use the cheap nasty tea-bag things, because proper tea is theft. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2001, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-british-and-tea-why/48052/10 "2001-01-02T23:10:38Z")
One word: India ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2001, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-british-and-tea-why/48052/11 "2001-01-02T23:22:05Z")
> [@](#): > > But one should only use the cheap nasty tea-bag things, because proper tea is theft. Nice one. I’m using that one! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![manhattan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/manhattan/32/7_2.png) [@manhattan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/manhattan)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2001, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-british-and-tea-why/48052/12 "2001-01-02T23:26:49Z")
I say, old chap! Take that assault on my proper tea rights over to Great Debates. There’s a good lad. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Celyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9dc877/32.png) [@Celyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Celyn)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2001, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-british-and-tea-why/48052/13 "2001-01-03T00:24:54Z")
Well, before you do, let me just say that **Johnny L.A.** is wonderful, because, having posted a bad pun, I feared I was going to have to come back, grovel, possibly explain about Proudhon, and grovel some more. BTW, I have a book somewhere that explains that tea, when new to Britain, was viewed in many quarters (churches, for example) as an extremely bad habit, and an apalling vice altogether, one that would lead to terrible things, and the downfall of society and so on. I doubt whether I can find the book, but if do, I shall post the moral warning for your own good. As for the OP, yes, it’s because of the empire, but I couldn’t give any more solid fact without finding it on the 'net anyway. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2001, 4:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-british-and-tea-why/48052/14 "2001-01-03T04:40:11Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Celyn \* > BTW, I have a book somewhere that explains that tea, when new to Britain, was viewed in many quarters (churches, for example) as an extremely bad habit, and an apalling vice altogether, one that would lead to terrible things, and the downfall of society and so on. They seemed to go through that phase with every new thing. I’ve heard the same about both coffee and chocolate. ---
**Author:** ![Vinnie\_Virginslayer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/53a042/32.png) [@Vinnie\_Virginslayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Vinnie_Virginslayer)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2001, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-british-and-tea-why/48052/15 "2001-01-03T05:01:41Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by astro \* > \*\*Search engine use is recommended ([www.google.com](http://www.google.com)) before asking such a broad question. > Some links that will answer your question. > > [http://www.stashtea.com/facts.htm](http://www.stashtea.com/facts.htm) > > [http://www.thebritishshoppe.com/a\_tea\_history\_from\_the\_british\_shoppe.htm](http://www.thebritishshoppe.com/a_tea_history_from_the_british_shoppe.htm) > > \*\* Your right. As a matter of fact, why don’t we just shut the entire site down and use nothing but search engines instead? ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2001, 5:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-british-and-tea-why/48052/16 "2001-01-03T05:42:00Z")
> [@](#): > > what is it with the American obsession with coffee? > Easy! We drink it to spite the Britishers! **occ** is right on about that. The American coffee habit is said to have been jumpstarted by the Boston Tea Party. Coffee became the patriotic drink for revolutionary Americans – and, well, you know how addictive it is. The British cup of tea usually has milk in it. This custom came direct from India, where tea is _always_ milked. In India, milkless tea is considered only as a medicine for sick people. When I was in India, and putting away a dozen cups of sugary milky tea every day, it dawned on me exactly what its appeal was. Our first delight at the very beginning of our lives is warm, sweet mother’s milk. And an exquisite pleasure it is. The love for it is implanted deep in our souls and never leaves. Look at Indian tea: it’s got all the qualities of mother’s milk – plus something extra for grownups, the caffeine/theophylline kick. ---
**Author:** ![bagkitty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7ab992/32.png) [@bagkitty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bagkitty)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2001, 6:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-british-and-tea-why/48052/17 "2001-01-03T06:40:59Z")
Not British… Canadian, but grandparents were from Ireland and England (we will ignore the coffee guzzling grandmother from Belgium) – so I think I can respond to this one. A nice cup of tea (a cuppa) is the ultimate thermostat… it warms you up when you are too cold, it cools you down when you are too hot. Tea tastes as good as it smells (unlike coffee, which smells terrific… but…). Tea doesn’t leave a nasty aftertaste in your mouth like coffee does. Hint for the a great cup of tea… instead of using milk or cream (shudder at the last thought) – try using condensed or evaporated milk… yummy (Western Canadian perversion accounted for by lack of refrigeration amongst early tea drinking settlers). Would also like to point out that, in my experience, it is almost impossible to get a palatable cup of tea in the United States. They bring you a little wee pot of hot water with a tea bag to drop into it… IDIOTS!!! BOILING water has to be poured directly onto the tea. So if you have had tea in the United States and didn’t like it, try making it properly. Also, tisanes and herbals and greens and weed water in general can actually be quite pleasant… but they are not TEA… you need a rich red malty Assam or dark Darjeeling to really be TEA. ---
**Author:** ![Vinnie\_Virginslayer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/53a042/32.png) [@Vinnie\_Virginslayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Vinnie_Virginslayer)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2001, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-british-and-tea-why/48052/18 "2001-01-03T14:24:54Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by bagkitty \* > \*\*Not British… Canadian, but grandparents were from Ireland and England . . . > Would also like to point out that, in my experience, it is almost impossible to get a palatable cup of tea in the United States. They bring you a little wee pot of hot water with a tea bag to drop into it… IDIOTS!!! BOILING water has to be poured directly onto the tea. So if you have had tea in the United States and didn’t like it, try making it properly. > \*\* Another cheap shot at the Good Ol’ US of A. You Canadiens just can’t get over the fact that you are not a real country but simply a protectorate of the U.S., can you? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![handy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5a626/32.png) [@handy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handy)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2001, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-british-and-tea-why/48052/19 "2001-01-03T16:38:15Z")
The Japanese have a tea ceremony so do the chinese. Lots of cultures like tea. ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2001, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-british-and-tea-why/48052/20 "2001-01-03T18:21:48Z")
The Jeffster has become a green tea connoisseur, and he tells me that in China they’re careful to _not_ use boiling water on green tea. It will “scorch” the tea, as they say, and spoil the delicate flavor. For Chinese green tea you have to use the semi-hot water that the British tea snobs decry in such vehement terms. This is why Chinese teacups have no handles. The tea isn’t boiling hot, only warm. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-british-and-tea-why/48052.md?page=2)