The Habitual Tea Drinkers Society

There still exists a stereotype of Britain in this day an age of people sitting down for "elevenses" or afternoon tea in top hats. I recently visited America and the amount of times a person thought it was amusing or just plain fantastic for us to be ordering a brew was phenomenal.

They probably also think we own tiny dogs called Tilly and Milly who we keep at our country home when in actual fact, this is what most of us see everyday.

2013 Tea Party

But then I got to thinking, what's wrong with this stereotype of Britain? Maybe we should embrace it! I used to hate tea, until I envied my mum and Granny for being able to sit down with a pot which is when I began to force myself to drink it...and now I love it! I'd never really considered myself as a "proper" tea-drinker until I contemplated my own daily tea-drinking schedule. After compiling the list, I feel a bit stupid...

Here is my daily tea schedule (open to change):

My Tea schedule

Morning:

Standard morning - Green Tea

In-need-of-a-pick-me-up morning - Apple and Cinnamon Tea

Lazy morning - Blackcurrant

Ill morning - Lemon and Ginger Tea

Elevenses:

Out-and-about elevenses - English Breakfast Tea (the run of the mill tea)

Already-tired elevenses - Another Green Tea

Lazy elevenses - Orange Tea

Still-throwing-up elevenses - Camomile Tea

Post-lunch:

Standard post-lunch - Red Bush Tea

Knackered-and-it's-only-just-been-lunch - Yet another Green Tea

Lazy post-lunch - Blackcurrant Tea

My-whole-body-is-now-on-fire - White Tea

Afternoon / returning home:

Standard afternoon - Red Bush Tea

I-still-have-work-to-do-at-home-this-evening- Apple and Cinnamon Tea

Celebratory-tea-for-my-lazy-day - Fruit Punch Tea

Urgh-I-want-to-curl-up-into-a-ball-and-watch-Pride-and-Prejudice-this-evening - Hot water with lemon

Settling down in front of post-watershed TV:

Standard evening tea - Camomile

Going-to-pull-an-all-nighter - Green Tea

Lazy evening tea - White Tea

If you're still trying to force down drinks after being ill all day.. stop. Just go to bed.

NB: If someone is offering to "fix a brew" for me, I find that it is common courtesy to accept/ask for a normal tea.. unless they SPECIFICALLY offer you something else.

Voila. So there is my average tea schedule. Just so you know, I'm neither massively rich nor have a tea compulsion, it's just that people often give me tea for my birthday and Christmas so I have compiled in my cupboard what I like to call the "Now" Album of all the best teas. (Excluding Earl Grey... I hate Earl Grey.)

So it's clear that I love tea. But I think that it's not the consumption of tea itself which has made the drink so iconic. It's the fact that everyone can bond over a cuppa - the event of drinking tea. It's the metaphorical bunting and Battenberg that accompanied the tea. You could offer your posh old Aunt a brew, or your builder, or your mum. And each time you do, there's a tiny invisible thread of tea leaves that connects you to another person, another tea drinker. And let's not forget the magical healing elements of tea. If someone is wins the lottery/loses a leg... it's only a matter of time before someone goes to put the kettle on. Drinking tea is a social event - whether it be celebratory or consolatory. And let's be honest, a mug is possibly THE easiest present in the world to buy someone.

So... what's your view of the whole tea thing? All hype or can't live without it? Favourite kind? (If you say Earl Grey I will hunt you down and make you eat all of the Earl Grey tea bags in your home.)

That's all for now, folks.