Tea time

I was trying to help out an American contact of mine with an explanation of 'tea time' in UK a little while ago. And of course, it's like trying to explain what the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is! Almost impossible to comprehend, even for some of its citizens! So as you begin to explain, the whole thing becomes more and more complicated.

So what is tea time? This was my explanation.

There's the 'come for a cuppa' at the very casual end. Maybe just an invitation for a neighbour or a friend to join you, when you've been out shopping. It might arrive accompanied by a biscuit or two lodged on the saucer or with the mug, but mostly suggests a fairly robust brew probably with some milk and/or sugar added to taste. And of course this is the kind of 'cuppa' which gets rolled out for every conceivable emergency and inconvenience.

Then there's the more formal afternoon tea. This might be a 'cream tea', involving scones with clotted cream and jam, or be stretched to a fuller afternoon tea with dainty sandwiches and a cake or two, alongside a scone. For these teas, the beverage part's likely to be brewed in a pot and served in cups with saucers. This is the time when other more exotic teas might be offered, such as Earl or Lady Grey, or lapsang souchong. (And of course those are generally offered with no milk).

Before moving on, it should be explained that there is debate about whether milk goes into the cup before the tea, or afterwards, and an even hotter debate about whether the jam or the cream is placed on the half-scone first. Lest war breaks out I shall move swiftly on.

After afternoon tea comes 'high tea' which you don't hear too much of these days but were common in my childhood and there was one aunt of mine in particular who went in for this kind of tea. As well as cakes, scones and sandwiches, the beverage is also served with some kind of warm dish, such as Welsh rarebit (a sort of cheese on toast), or scrambled or boiled eggs, but nothing substantial enough to merit being called a meal in its own right.

However, move to the north of England and there's another whole new scenario to learn about. For here, dinner is a lunchtime meal, whilst tea is a whole main meal eaten at what southerners call dinner time! It might not even come served with tea!

Whew! Even what should be the simplest of things can get so complicated! I'm thirsty now. I think I'll stop for a cup of tea!

Photo: K8, Unsplash.com