English Tea Culture

Tea in the United Kingdom
Since the 18th century the United Kingdom has been one of the largest per capita tea consumers in the world. The popularity of tea occasioned the furtive export of slips, a small shoot for planting or twig for grafting to tea plants, from China to British India and its commercial culture there, beginning in 1840; British interests controlled tea production in the subcontinent. Tea, which was an upper-class drink in Europe, became the infusion of every class in Great Britain in the course of the 18th century and has remained so.
In Britain, the drinking of tea is so varied that it is quite hard to generalize. While it is usually served with milk, it is not uncommon to drink it black or with lemon, with sugar being a popular addition to any of the above. Strong tea served with milk in a mug is commonly referred to as builder's tea.
Even very slightly formal events can be a cause for cups and saucers to be used instead of mugs. Whether to put milk into the cup before or after the tea is, and has been since at least the late 20th century, a matter of some debate with claims that adding milk at the different times alters the flavor of the tea. Some studies suggest that the heating of milk above 75 degrees Celsius does cause denaturation of the lactalbumin and lacto globulin. Other studies argue brewing time has a greater importance. Regardless, when milk is added to tea may affect the flavor. In addition to considerations of flavor, the order of these steps is thought to have been, historically, an indication of class. Only those wealthy enough to afford good quality porcelain would be confident of its being able to cope with being exposed to boiling water unadulterated with milk.
There is also a proper manner in which to drink tea when using a cup and saucer. If one is seated at a table, the proper manner to drink tea is to raise the teacup only, placing it back into the saucer in between sips. When standing or sitting in a chair without a table, one holds the tea saucer with the off hand and the tea cup in the dominant hand. When not in use, the tea cup is placed back in the tea saucer and held in one's lap or at waist height. In either event, the tea cup should never be held or waved in the air. Fingers should be curled inwards; no finger should extend away from the handle of the cup. Drinking tea from the saucer was not uncommon at one time but is now almost universally considered a breach of etiquette.
In 2003, it is reported that regular tea drinking in the United Kingdom was on the decline. There was a 10.25 percent decline in the purchase of normal teabags in Britain between 1997 and 2002. Sales of ground coffee also fell during the same period. Britons were instead drinking health-oriented beverages like fruit and/or herbal teas, consumption of which increased 50 percent from 1997 to 2002. A further, unexpected, statistic is that the sales of decaffeinated tea and coffee fell even faster during this period than the sale of the more common varieties. In 2011, tea sales fell further as espresso gained popularity.。