UK dopers - Making tea & putting the milk in first?

[Hail_Ants]

Chalk this one up to pointless curiousity but as a yank who hates coffee (and therefore drinks tea) I’ve noticed that it seems to be pretty common on BBC shows (real & fictional) that when brits make tea they do it thusly:
[ul][li]Put teabag in cup[/li][li]Pour milk into cup (and onto teabag, yuck!)[/li][li]Pour hot water into cup[/li][li]Stir[/li][li]May or may not remove teabag before sipping[/ul][/li]Now, forgetting that 99% of the time I use lemon not milk, is there some reason to do it this way? I mean, I guess I should ask myself if there’s some reason not to. To which I’d say that, besides it being a little gross pouring cold milk over a teabag, you don’t add condiments (milk, lemon, sweetener etc.) until after the tea’s made. That is after its steeped for however long you like and you’ve removed the teabag (which in the US is almost always done before drinking).

I don’t know that there’s any chemical difference in how tea will come out based on the ingredients order but it just seems wrong to:
[list=a][li]Contaminate the tea leaves with cold milk before the hot water[/li][li]Cool the hot water with milk before steeping[/list][/li]
So am I just an annoying, classless American?

[Cunctator]

When I’m making tea, the sequence goes:

1. Tea leaves into the teapot (I don’t use teabags);
2. Boiling water into the teapot;
3. Milk into the bottom of the teacups;
4. Tea poured into the teacups, using a strainer.

[Athena]

I drink coffee with cream or milk, not tea, but I always put the milk in first, before the coffee. It mixes up better that way, and it stays hotter. When you put cold milk into hot coffee, you have to stir it all up, and it loses heat that way. Milk in first, the natural action of pouring coffee mixes it.

My WAG is that it’s similiar for tea.

[UDS]

Whether you use teabags or tealeaves, you should never add the milk before the water. The water should be as hot as possible for the tea to infuse, and the tea has already been soaked in cold milk it won’t infuse properly. You should add the hot water to the tea and wait for it to infuse before you add the milk (or lemon).

Separately, there is a semi-joking/semi-serious point about whether mik or tea (pre-infused, in a pot) should be poured first into a teacup. Pouring in the milk, and then adding the tea, avoids the need for stirring. However in England this procedure has traditionally been regarded as a mark of lower-class origins. Upper class people pour in the tea, and then add the milk. The only reason for doing so is that it establishes that they are not lower-class. Nancy Mitford wrote an extremely funny essay (U and Non-U) on this and other apparently random class markers in English society.

[don_t_ask]

Champion of the working class George Orwell went for tea before milk:

Tenthly, one should pour tea into the cup first. This is one of the most controversial points of all; indeed in every family in Britain there are probably two schools of thought on the subject. The milk-first school can bring forward some fairly strong arguments, but I maintain that my own argument is unanswerable. This is that, by putting the tea in first and stirring as one pours, one can exactly regulate the amount of milk whereas one is liable to put in too much milk if one does it the other way round.

From A Nice Cup of Tea.

[betenoir]

Well, my Englishman™ got quite cross (a very serious state in Britain) when I put the milk in before I stirred the tea. No, milk comes last…

But you’re telling me you’d trust a Brit who uses…tea bags ??? :eek:

[Barbarian]

You’d put milk in first so that your delicate bone china doesn’t shatter into millions of itty bitty pieces when you pour in near-boiling water (that’s coming from your teapot which had loose leaves in it, not a bloody bag). Of course, nobody has had delicate bone china likely to shatter upon contact with boiling water in 100 years, but that doesn’t stop the meme from propagating.

[UDS]

@Barbarian

You’d put milk in first so that your delicate bone china doesn’t shatter into millions of itty bitty pieces when you pour in near-boiling water (that’s coming from your teapot which had loose leaves in it, not a bloody bag). Of course, nobody has had delicate bone china likely to shatter upon contact with boiling water in 100 years, but that doesn’t stop the meme from propagating.

No, for three reasons.

First, this would suggest that is the upper classes, who would be most likely to possess delicate bone china, who would consitute the milk-in-first brigade, whereas the reverse is the case.

Secondly, the tea has been infusing in the teapot for at least five minutes, so it is a long way off boiling. It is, in fact, cool enough to drink, or nearly so.

Thirdly, I’ve poured boiling water from a kettle into a bone china cup (to make tea using a tea bag). It doesn’t shatter.

[Tapioca_Dextrin]

There was a thread about this years ago, but the gist of it is this.

Back in the eighteenth century, tea was a luxury product. It was only affordabable to the rich. There were also two types of china (porcelain): hard paste and soft paste. Rich people could afford soft paste china (made in Europe) and the super rich could afford hard paste (made in China).

What’s the difference? A cup made from soft paste china is much more suseptible to thermal shock and thus quite likely to break if boiling water is poured in. This doesn’t happen with hard paste.

[Q.E.D]

Douglas Adams had a different take on it, it would seem. According to him, the milk was to be put in first, so that it wouldn’t get scalded:

@The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

‘No,’ [Arthur Dent] said, ‘look, it’s very, very simple…all I want…is a cup of tea. You are going to make one for me. Keep quiet and listen.’

And he sat. He told the Nutri-Matic about India, he told it about China, he told it about Ceylon. He told it about broad leaves drying in the sun. He told it about silver teapots. He told it about summer afternoons on the lawn. He told it about putting in the milk before the tea so it wouldn’t get scalded. He even told it (briefly) about the history of the East India Company.

[quicken78]

This reminds me of Betjeman’s poem ‘How to Get on in Society’ (see below), which is basically a satirical attack on Britain’s aspiring middle classes. Notice the first line of the last stanza ‘Milk and then just as it comes, dear?’.

UDS is correct, the true upper classes would never think to put their milk in first and would all pejoratively refer to people who do as a ‘bit milk in first’. This is similar to the HKLP syndrome (“she’s / he’s quite HKLP”), as in ‘Holds Knife Like Pen’.

It is my understanding that these are all uniquely British characteristics/prejudices, which came about during the expansion of the middle classes during the 19th century. Things that seemed to be the ‘correct’ way to do things were quickly adopted by people who wanted to elevate themselves from their lower/middle class backgrounds. An example of this is the HKLP issue: this could easily be perceived as the more ‘correct’ way of holding your knife. In reality, the HKLP people only served to distinguish themselves from the crowd by becoming either a source of laughter or perplexion for almost everyone that doesn’t HKLP (upper/lower/whatever class).

The same is true for Milk in First: it may seem that expensive China would necessitate a cooler temperature and hence the reason for putting the milk in first. However, it is of course a completely ludicrous idea that the upper classes would only have pointlessly delicate china cups.

In Betjeman’s poem below, he also mockingly portrays the use of French words, such as ‘serviette’ instead of the more traditional ‘napkin’ (similar to ‘toilet’ instead of ‘loo/lavatory’ etc). Speaking French was something that the bourgeouis aspired to and hence the infusion of French words into the English language. However, such words are (rightly or wrongly) totally scorned by the UK’s upper classes.

Am sure that this will amuse the OP. How could even the most mundane issue highlight such absurd class distinctions? It’s a funny country generally though. You just get used to it.
How to Get on in Society

Phone for the fish knives, Norman
As cook is a little unnerved;
You kiddies have crumpled the serviettes
And I must have things daintily served.

Are the requisites all in the toilet?
The frills round the cutlets can wait
Till the girl has replenished the cruets
And switched on the logs in the grate.

It’s ever so close in the lounge dear,
But the vestibule’s comfy for tea
And Howard is riding on horseback
So do come and take some with me

Now here is a fork for your pastries
And do use the couch for your feet;
I know that I wanted to ask you-
Is trifle sufficient for sweet?

Milk and then just as it comes dear?
I’m afraid the preserve’s full of stones;
Beg pardon, I’m soiling the doileys
With afternoon tea-cakes and scones.

John Betjeman

[Hail_Ants]

In thinking about it, yeah, unless its one serving “to go”, in a styrofoam cup, it seems that Brits always make a whole pot which would negate the convenience of bags. Although it also seems that teabags there are like ‘instant’ coffee here, i.e. looked upon as an abomination!

Besides making it easier to judge how much milk, I think us Americans also get a childish thrill out of the neat ‘cloud effect’ putting the milk into the tea gives (I know I do).

One thing that bugs me ordering tea here in the States, besides the waitresses always being annoyed because pouring coffee is so much simpler, is that they always bring a gay little stainless teapot full of hot water and a cup. I don’t need both. I feel like some old granny pouring that silly little pot thing and mostly I prefer not to have my beverage in “kit form”. A mug of hot water and a teabag will do fine thank you (I long since gave up any notion that you must pour the water over the bag…).

Although, again, its probably incredibly ‘lower class’ to steep the tea in the cup!

Eddie the shipboard computer, "Why the human prefers boiled leaves? Answer, because he’s an ignorant monkey who doesn’t know better!"

[don_t_ask]

@Hail Ants

One thing that bugs me ordering tea here in the States, besides the waitresses always being annoyed because pouring coffee is so much simpler, is that they always bring a gay little stainless teapot full of hot water and a cup. I don’t need both. I feel like some old granny pouring that silly little pot thing and mostly I prefer not to have my beverage in “kit form”.

That probably harks back to how tea was served in England in a caf. In Australia too before teabags were commonplace an individual order of tea meant your own pot of tea and a jug of milk for the table.

[Sir_Doris]

We still get the little teapots, but with teabags in them, more often than not. Sometimes you might be given an extra pot of hot water in to top it up, since there’s usually more than one serving in the pot and by the time you have finished your first cup, the second could be too strong (there being nowhere to put the teabag).

The only tea maker in our office who makes tea in the manner described in the OP is Indian. We really thought he’d know better.

[Angua]

@Sir Doris

The only tea maker in our office who makes tea in the manner described in the OP is Indian. We really thought he’d know better.

Yeah, but where are you going to find the time/get all the trappings for proper chai in an office?

[GorillaMan]

@Hail Ants

In thinking about it, yeah, unless its one serving “to go”, in a styrofoam cup, it seems that Brits always make a whole pot which would negate the convenience of bags. Although it also seems that teabags there are like ‘instant’ coffee here, i.e. looked upon as an abomination!
…

One thing that bugs me ordering tea here in the States, besides the waitresses always being annoyed because pouring coffee is so much simpler, is that they always bring a gay little stainless teapot full of hot water and a cup. I don’t need both. I feel like some old granny pouring that silly little pot thing and mostly I prefer not to have my beverage in “kit form”. A mug of hot water and a teabag will do fine thank you (I long since gave up any notion that you must pour the water over the bag…).

Teabags are actually pretty common. But we have a far better selection than the ones we send overseas

And with a decent teabag, pouring the water over it is essential - as has been mentioned earlier, cooler water (such as that already in the mug) just won’t do the job.

[Sir_Doris]

PhD students are rarely pressed for time …

That’s reminds me, I did promise to buy the students a teapot. Our Kenyan student is using loose tea in a mug :eek:

[Angua]

@Sir Doris

PhD students are rarely pressed for time …

This one is. Yeah, don’t mention the fact that its 9:40am and I’m posting to the Dope. I’m having this coffee and then going into the office.

That’s reminds me, I did promise to buy the students a teapot. Our Kenyan student is using loose tea in a mug :eek:

:eek: You could just buy im a tea strainer instead.

[UDS]

@Hail Ants

. . . they always bring a gay little stainless teapot full of hot water and a cup. I don’t need both. I feel like some old granny pouring that silly little pot thing and mostly I prefer not to have my beverage in “kit form”. A mug of hot water and a teabag will do fine thank you (I long since gave up any notion that you must pour the water over the bag…).

A shocking crime, for the punishment of which hell is not hot enough, nor eternity long enough.

The problem is not redundancy; the problem is that by the time the little pot gets to your table, the water in it will be a long way from boiling point, and the tea won’t infuse. If you’re using a teapot you make the tea in the pot, first warming the pot, then putting in the tea, then pouring boiling water over it, and then leaving it to infuse. Omit any step from this process and the resulting fluid, while it may be brownish in colour, will not be something that your purist would call “tea”.

[Sir_Doris]

@Angua

:eek: You could just buy im a tea strainer instead.

A strainer won’t allow enough time to infuse. I could get him one of those little infuser things, I suppose. Don’t seem very manly, though. I’m on the look out for a teapot without flowers on that costs less than a fiver. Not that easy …