# UK Dopers: Tell Me About British Tea **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 27, 2011, 5:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-dopers-tell-me-about-british-tea/607494 "2011-12-27T05:55:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2019, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-dopers-tell-me-about-british-tea/607494/123 "2019-08-27T00:22:03Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > Y’all know that black tea and green tea are from the same plant, right? Black tea is fermented. Yup. See my post @#113. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2019, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-dopers-tell-me-about-british-tea/607494/124 "2019-08-27T02:41:50Z")
> [@Ukulele\_Ike](#): > > NOBODY puts cream into beverage tea, that I know of. I sometimes do, but only if I’m out of milk and really want a cup of tea that isn’t black. One of the women in Chernyshevsky’s novel _ **What Is To Be Done?** _ is addicted to tea with cream. Oh, those Russians! ---
**Author:** ![nightshadea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7ba0ec/32.png) [@nightshadea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nightshadea)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2019, 5:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-dopers-tell-me-about-british-tea/607494/125 "2019-08-27T05:07:24Z")
the only recent nonbottled/flavored tea I’ve drunk was twinnings English breakfast and Irish breakfast made in a Keurig brewer …there was a slight taste difference between the two but i grew up drinking jewel store brand tea that was refrigerated sweetened to different degrees However, I wont speak of the mistake i made ordering tea w/ lemonade at Denny’s… ---
**Author:** ![Filbert](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/filbert/32/3433_2.png) [@Filbert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Filbert)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2019, 7:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-dopers-tell-me-about-british-tea/607494/126 "2019-08-27T07:59:15Z")
> [@carrps](#): > > I had my first cream tea at the\*\* Jamaica Inn in Devon\*\*, so that’s what I thought a cream tea should be. It was a very touristy venue, unsurprisingly, and I bought a “Surf UK” tote bag on sale in the gift shop. I thought it was funny, but the clerk was profoundly insulted. Have since found surfing in Cornwall actually was a thing. It did remind me strongly of Big Sur – without the forests. [Bolding mine] :dubious: The Jamaica Inn is on Bodmin moor, in Cornwall. I drive past it regularly. If they’re serving cream teas Devon style, I’m amazed no-one’s got the flaming torches and pitchforks out yet. But then, they’re only serving to tourists… ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2019, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-dopers-tell-me-about-british-tea/607494/127 "2019-08-27T15:43:45Z")
Really? I could have _sworn_ it was in Exmoor. No, wait…Exmoor is **Lorna Doone,** Bodmin moor is **Jamaica Inn,** and Dartmoor is **The Hound of the Baskervilles.**. Phew. Thanks. Now I’ve got my moor literature back under control. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2019, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-dopers-tell-me-about-british-tea/607494/128 "2019-08-27T16:11:34Z")
> [@nightshadea](#): > > the only recent nonbottled/flavored tea I’ve drunk was twinnings English breakfast and Irish breakfast made in a Keurig brewer …there was a slight taste difference between the two Is there supposed to be a difference between English breakfast tea and Irish breakfast tea? I’ve always assumed they’re the same thing. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2019, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-dopers-tell-me-about-british-tea/607494/129 "2019-08-27T16:13:07Z")
> [@Ukulele\_Ike](#): > > Really? I could have _sworn_ it was in Exmoor. > > No, wait…Exmoor is **Lorna Doone,** Bodmin moor is **Jamaica Inn,** and Dartmoor is **The Hound of the Baskervilles.**. Phew. Thanks. Now I’ve got my moor literature back under control. Bodmin Moor is also the location of The Mary Meredith Retreat (“Health Through Harmony”) run by “Holy” Holloway (played by Cornelia Otis Skinner-- she could give Mrs. Danvers a run for her money) in one of my favorite movies, _[The Uninvited](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0037415/)_ (1944). Scariest movie I ever saw as a kid-- especially when that ghost came down the stairs. :eek: Now I’ve watched it about 50 times and only a little scared… 😉 That movie gave us the beautiful song [“Stella by Starlight.”](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xrs6x6iqeF0) ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2019, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-dopers-tell-me-about-british-tea/607494/130 "2019-08-27T16:34:36Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > I sometimes do, but only if I’m out of milk and really want a cup of tea that isn’t black. > > One of the women in Chernyshevsky’s novel _ **What Is To Be Done?** _ is addicted to tea with cream. Oh, those Russians! Painting with a broad brush and all that, but one thing some English will do is add white sugar _to_ the tea, despite warnings against it by Orwell and others, while Russians will serve you lumps of sugar on the side. They tend to brew it nice and strong, too, which is always welcome. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2019, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-dopers-tell-me-about-british-tea/607494/131 "2019-08-27T16:58:32Z")
> [@DPRK](#): > > Painting with a broad brush and all that, but one thing some English will do is add white sugar _to_ the tea, despite warnings against it by Orwell and others, while Russians will serve you lumps of sugar on the side. They tend to brew it nice and strong, too, which is always welcome. Did you read my earlier comments on Russian tea drinking? The traditional way of using sugar cubes was to keep them between your lower lip and front teeth and drink your tea through them. I’ve never seen this done, but I have seen older Russians with thoroughly rotten front teeth. As an aside, I’ve seen Russians dump six or seven spoonfuls of white sugar into a small cup of espresso. Yeccch! If you’re buying coffee at a canteen, odds are the vendor will automatically dump in a lot of sugar before serving it to you. If you tell her in advance you don’t want any sugar, she’ll look at you as if you’re crazy.\* \*The staff at such places is almost always female. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2019, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-dopers-tell-me-about-british-tea/607494/132 "2019-08-27T17:04:16Z")
I like my tea good and strong too, and I call it my “navvy tea,” after the British workmen who dug up the earth for civil engineering projects before the advent of the steam shovel. I assume they liked their tea fookin’ strong. The Russians also serve sour cherry preserves, which get spooned into the bottom of the tea glass before the pour. An acquired taste, but when in St. Petersburg, do what the burgers do. ---
**Author:** ![nightshadea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7ba0ec/32.png) [@nightshadea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nightshadea)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2019, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-dopers-tell-me-about-british-tea/607494/133 "2019-08-27T17:04:40Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > Is there supposed to be a difference between English breakfast tea and Irish breakfast tea? I’ve always assumed they’re the same thing. well in my experience the Irish has a moderately stronger flavor … or at least that brand does… but yeah I originally bought both cause we wanted to know if there was a difference I know here it’s hard to find … I had to buy it on Amazon… when I asked at a store near me there was a running conversation among the floor crew about “who drinks tea for breakfast?” well might be foreign or Mormon was a response" (Mormons dont drink coffee but some will allow tea as a compromise aka" ya gotta drink something " ) ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2019, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-dopers-tell-me-about-british-tea/607494/134 "2019-08-27T17:06:32Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > Is there supposed to be a difference between English breakfast tea and Irish breakfast tea? I’ve always assumed they’re the same thing. Slightly different blend: _Irish Breakfast tea is heavy toward Assam and may also include tea from Ceylon and/or Kenya. It is stronger and more robust than English Breakfast Tea, with a reddish hue and malty flavor. In Ireland, this tea is traditionally drunk strong with lots of milk._ I’ve had both, and I really didn’t see much difference, to be honest. But your mileage may vary. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2019, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-dopers-tell-me-about-british-tea/607494/135 "2019-08-27T17:11:55Z")
> [@Ukulele\_Ike](#): > > The Russians also serve sour cherry preserves, which get spooned into the bottom of the tea glass before the pour. An acquired taste, but when in St. Petersburg, do what the burgers do. Sour cherry is good, but almost any jam will do. It’s better if you just take a dessert spoonful of jam between each sip of tea. Gingerbread biscuits called _pryaniki_ are often served with tea too, and usually have some jam inside them (plum, I think). ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2019, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-dopers-tell-me-about-british-tea/607494/136 "2019-08-27T17:31:33Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > Did you read my earlier comments on Russian tea drinking? The traditional way of using sugar cubes was to keep them between your lower lip and front teeth and drink your tea through them. I’ve never seen this done, but I have seen older Russians with thoroughly rotten front teeth. I admit to having done it myself. Now, I know many Russians, young and old, but I could not tell you what any of them do with their sugar cubes; it’s never something I thought to pay close attention to! > [@](#): > > As an aside, I’ve seen Russians dump six or seven spoonfuls of white sugar into a small cup of espresso. Yeccch! If you’re buying coffee at a canteen, odds are the vendor will automatically dump in a lot of sugar before serving it to you. Reminds me of the difference between Turkish coffee and traditional Arabic coffee (Turkish coffee is often brewed up with a shitload of sugar added to the pot). Not something I would expect nor desire from a nice Italian espresso. I appreciate the tasteful service you get in cafes in France sometimes, where the espresso comes with a couple of wrapped sugar cubes, a thin piece of dark chocolate or a macaroon, and a glass of water, and you are free to employ or ignore any of the extras as you please. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-dopers-tell-me-about-british-tea/607494.md?page=6)