# 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:** 5\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![ianzin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/ed655f/32.png) [@ianzin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ianzin)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2001, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-british-and-tea-why/48052/21 "2001-01-03T20:00:08Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Jomo Mojo \* > **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.** First of all, I’ll be very kind about your ‘British tea snobs’ remark. I shall assume you are someone unfairly denied a good education, rather than a stupid bigot. Either way, not on the SDMB please, except in The Pit. British people making ordinary (Indian) tea tend to use boiling water and milk, because that works best. British people making Chinese tea would use the appropriate warm water and no milk, because that works best. Two different kinds of tea, each prepared in the appropriate way. As for the OP, yes, we developed a liking for tea during our colonial days, and **Finagle** made some good points. At one time in our history, boiling water before use really was a matter of life and death - hence tea was one of the safer indulgences. The only other thing to add is that in more modern times tea has become institutionalised into the Brit way of life. It is heavily promoted and advertised, and is our number one drink year in year out. Every factory and office has tea-making facilities, and having a tea-break is considered a birthright. ‘Coming round for a cup of tea’ is probably the most popular social invitation. It’s just hard-wired into the society, much like coffee over there in the States. Guess that makes me a statistical anomaly, given that I never drink it! Notwithstanding the above, it’s as well to remember that Britain is culturally and ethnically very diverse, and getting more so all the time (which I think is very good news). So there are probably very large numbers of Brits who never touch the stuff. I know adherents to the Islamic faith never touch alcohol, and I believe they tend to avoid stimulants generally. So as I understand it, they are allowed tea \ coffee but generally avoid either. Could be wrong about that, though. ---
**Author:** ![occ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8c91f0/32.png) [@occ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/occ)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2001, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-british-and-tea-why/48052/22 "2001-01-03T21:42:15Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Jomo Mojo \* > \*\* > > > [@](#): > > > > what is it with the American obsession with coffee? > > Easy! We drink it to spite the Britishers! > > 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. > \*\* Wait, wait, you’re saying in India they _always_ drink tea with milk? You don’t mean cow’s milk, do you? Or am I missing something here? ---
**Author:** ![Tansu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/67e7ee/32.png) [@Tansu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tansu)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2001, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-british-and-tea-why/48052/23 "2001-01-03T22:38:28Z")
In India cows milk is used in tea (chai). Cows milk is used to make yoghurt (dhai) which is a very important part of Indian cooking. Cows are not eaten by Hindus, but they are milked. Hindu gods are said to be very fond of yoghurt and milk. ---
**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 4, 2001, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-british-and-tea-why/48052/24 "2001-01-04T02:48:27Z")
In India, tea (_câî_) always has milk and sugar in it. Cows’ milk _gâî kâ dûdh_). Same with Indian coffee. The only time they give you tea with no milk in India is if you’re sick and they consider it medicinal. In Islam, they don’t drink alcohol, but coffee & tea are just as popular among Muslims as anyone else. Maybe you’re thinking of Mormons who avoid coffee & tea in addition to alcohol. It was Muslims who introduced coffee to the rest of the world, in fact. There are parallel origin stories for tea and coffee: Tea was said to have been first used by Zen Buddhist monks in East Asia to help them stay awake during meditation. Coffee was first popularized by Sufi faqirs in Yemen for use in their late-night devotional gatherings. “Sacred origins of everyday things.” Tobacco, for that matter, was a sacrament for American Indians before the white man came along and profanized it. ---
**Author:** ![honkytonkwillie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/3da27b/32.png) [@honkytonkwillie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/honkytonkwillie)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2001, 10:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-british-and-tea-why/48052/25 "2001-01-05T10:09:58Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by occ \* > \*\*Wait, wait, you’re saying in India they _always_ drink tea with milk? You don’t mean cow’s milk, do you? Or am I missing something here? \*\* An Indian woman I used to work with explained that milk is okay because “the cow gives us the milk”. So I told her that in my view, the cow also gives us beef. She didn’t laugh. She was also a strict vegan. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-british-and-tea-why/48052.md?page=1)