This morning's tea makes yesterday distant
In this fast paced age, it is almost a foregone conclusion that
upon hearing the question “How do you take your tea?”,
regardless of the answer you that give to the maker about
your milk and sugar preference, you are likely to be presented
with a mug of tannin tainted liquid, that is akin either to the
colour of fake tan or, if you’re very unlucky, as pale as dirty
dishwater. That leaves either a brown ring around the cup
or smudgy grey marks as you drink your way
(begrudgingly) down the mug. Not at all appetising when
you see it written like that is it?
Where has the style and class gone? What happened to teapots? Where is the “Britishness” gone? What happened to proper “tea time”?
Tea time was something to once be celebrated. Afternoon tea, credited to have been invented by Anna Maria Russell, Duchess of Bedford in the 1840’s, was once a proper meal. Delicate finger sandwiches, tempting cakes and pastries and, later scones with lashings of clotted cream and jam were the expected norm, with the crown of the meal being the tea - one of the most expensive commodities at one point in history.
Exquisite porcelain tea services lovingly handmade and painted by the skilled craftsmen at such companies as Doulton, Wedgewood and Minton only served to make the meal that much more sumptuous.
And yet now, we are reduced to novelty mugs and tea sweepings in a perforated paper bag. Although afternoon tea has made something of a revival in the past few years, there are still a generation
of people who do not know how to make a proper cup of tea. It’s sad really and I have set my stall out to say that we, as
dedicated “vintagers”,have a duty to ensure that
we all know the correct method!
So if you are now reading this, sheepishly admitting to yourself that you too do not have this vital skill in your repertoire, fear not! I’m here to help with seven simple steps to making “proper” tea:
by Charlotte Philips