My Experience With European Tea Drinking Customs

I have a Scottish friend who came to visit me recently. I was slightly surprised to discover how much tea he drank. I mean, we've all heard of England's tea drinking habits, but I had never really thought about the rest of Great Britain.

The British take their tea drinking very seriously. They drink it in the morning, they drink it the afternoon, they drink it almost any time. Tea drinking is a very social event as well as a personal one, so if you were ever invited to drink some tea, it would be in your best interest to accept the invitation, as it would be rude to decline.

Now, when you do take someone up on their offer, there are a few things to consider or remember. If you are drinking with a friend, then you can rest assured that he or she will not think any less of you if you make a cultural faux pas. In that situation, there is virtually nothing you can really do wrong anyway. And it is common to drink from a mug instead of a teacup in your everyday situation.

However, in a more formal event, such as drinking with royalty, you will be using a teacup and saucer. When you are not sipping your tea, you should keep your teacup on your saucer, this is the polite thing to do. If you happen to be standing, which may be perfectly acceptable depending on the circumstances, just remember to keep the saucer in your left hand and drink with your right. Also, in that case, keep the saucer at waist level, and just as sitting down, keep your teacup on the saucer between sips.

Most everyone in the United Kingdom expects his or her tea to be served with milk, not to be confused with cream. Some people add sugar, or honey to sweeten. According to my Scottish friend, the "proper" cup of tea consists of one cup of black tea, 3 tablespoons of milk, and one tablespoon of honey. It is important to stir the honey clockwise, then anti-clockwise, and then clockwise again; this confuses the honey and makes for the perfect cup of tea.

Article by Skylar Windham, tea culture fanatic. Learn more at http://www.coolteasets.com

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