Somebody asked how Brits make ‘a quick cup of tea’ and the answers were as impassioned and silly as you’d expect
The amount that British people love a cup of tea feels like a national stereotype, but is it actually a stereotype or simply an indisputable fact?
Hard to say, but a German person called Muted_Reflection_449 found out just how passionately we feel about leaves and hot water in a cup after asking this on the AskABrit subreddit:
How do Brits make a quick tea?
I’ve been interested in anything British as long as I can think. So I’ve seen, heard and read quite a bit about tea, both as a cliché and as a pillar of British culture (I am really fascinated by the fact that it seems to be made in mugs in most contexts!)
I am not sure about one thing though, because while watching The Royle Family, Detectorists, The Young Poisoners Handbook or similar I tend to forget to look out for it: Do people put sugar in the mug just before the tea bag so you don’t have to bring the sugar pot into the living room?
It’s a good question, for who wants the faff of carting the sugar about, and the people of the UK were keen to have their say, with varying degrees of seriousness…
1.
‘1. Tea bag directly in mouth.
2. Teaspoon of sugar directly in mouth.
3. Boiling water directly in mouth.
4. Hospital.’
–Tattoo-the-Cat
2.
‘If I’m making for more than people I’ll do a pot with a cosie and bring a little jug of milk and some sugar to the living room.
3.
‘Tea:
Teabag in mug
Boiling water in mug
Let steep (or don’t if lazy)
Squeeze teabag and remove
Milk and sugar if having and stir
Tea is always made standing at the kitchen counter next to the kettle. Making one quickly just means leaving the teabag in for less time but cups of tea take like five mins max to make it’s really not a long process!’
–Darneyday
4.
‘If I’m making for more than four people I’ll do a pot with a cosie and bring a little jug of milk and some sugar to the living room.’
–chappersyo
5.
‘Bollocks to that! I put four mugs in a row and squeeze all the tea bags.’
–Lulubluebelle
6.
‘I put the sugar in with the bag which gives it more time and agitation to dissolve evenly through the whole tea.’
–Littleleicesterfoxy
7.
‘I used to know a guy who had his tea as follows:
1. Fill the cup ¼ of the way with milk
2. Mix in 2x teaspoons of sugar and stir until it has dissolved
3. Put teabag on a teaspoon, hold it over the cup, and run boiling water over the teabag.
4. Dispose of the teabag
We are no longer friends.’
–0nce-Was-N0t
8.
‘Probably opening myself up to ridicule here but I have started putting milk in before removing the teabag – find it helps gauge the colour of the tea before removing the bag.’
–BloatedGoat21
9.
‘Try not squeezing the teabag. I’ve been told it releases bitter tannins and that tea tastes better without the squeeze. I stopped doing it after hearing that and think the tea tastes better? Never done a side by side comparison though.’
–skibbin
10.
‘I was once dubbed not British as I tried the squeeze against the side of the mug method – I am not entirely sure to this day how I did it, but the mug ended up flying across the room and smashing, the tea bag ended up ages away from me and I ended up covered in boiling hot tea… My brother was genuinely concerned for how I managed it, I was too – I use 2x teaspoons for this reason.’
–Alice_Da_Cat
11.
‘You put a teaspoon of loose tea leaves into the pot (one per person and an extra one ‘for the pot’). You leave to stand (for a few minutes) and then put the teapot in the centre of the dining table (on a mat, or you’ll mark the table).
There then follows the mother ritual. The first to exclaim ‘Shall I be mother?’ becomes mother and must pour the tea until they are too weak to do so.
The strainer goes over the tea cup, tea is poured through the strainer into the cup. Cup and saucer are then passed to the guest.
At this point lemon (sliced) is offered, or milk (if you think the guest is common). Sugar is grudgingly offered in the form of lumps.
Or you just shove a tea bag in a mug.’
–AlunWH