Dear readers,

No, I am not trying to be rude…

Here is a question?  How often do you drink your tea from a cup and saucer these days?

The thought I have just shared got me thinking about the evolution of our beverage of national choice.  According to some information I found on the internet, tea arrived in England in the 1660’s, and Charles II’s queen, Catherine of Braganza, introduced us to the habit.

This history of the drink is one thing, but do you remember the days when one of the first conversations any visitor would have when visiting any home in England would include a question from your host about whether you would like a cup of tea, and it would go without saying that the drink would come in a cup with an accompanying saucer? 

I blame our faster pace of life for making the ‘mug of tea’ more popular.  The saucer ensured that the tablecloth tea ringed stain was not the result of such visits, but we seem to have evolved into a world which has so little time that we need to multitask in all things.  We have learned to do everything in a hurry these days and when there is no table, you only need one hand to hold a mug leaving the other free to do other things. 

When I was young, my mother would receive any visitor of note, with the offer of this national beverage.  It would be made in a tea pot and definitely served with a matching saucer, after the ritual preparation, offer of milk and, of course, the mandatory question, ‘One lump or two?’ I also think that there was a definite art to looking good while holding and drinking your cup of tea; the multitasking aspect of the thing back in the day was mastering the art of polite conversation between sips.

Now I am older and have to admit that I would need a lot more than two lumps to help a cup down, so it goes without saying that I avoid the ritual in favour of cold fizzy drinks which aren’t that good for me either, but today is National Tea Day so I implore all readers who still have a tea set, to discard the mug just for one day and do the drink with style.

JN, Ladywell

LPG found a little related information…

(►►►)    (►►►)

 (►►►)     (►►►)    (►►►)    (►►►)