2 posts tagged “british”
Well, it's finally Friday evening, our first one at home for several busy weeks now. Tonight, my two older daughters are having two of their girl friends come over to watch the movie, "The Imporance of Being Earnest," based on an Oscar Wilde play. Ana, our oldest, received this movie, the version starring Colin Firth, one of our favorite actors [aka Mr. Darcy in the "real" - long - version of Pride and Prejudice]. Emily, one of our guests, just read the play and has been anxiously awaiting a date for seeing the film as well. In honor of the occasion (and it being a fish day within the Nativity Fast, in honor of the Entry into the Temple of the Mother of God), I made some British (Cornish) Fish Stew and Irish Soda Bread to have for supper. Also, I made some homemade whole wheat English muffins, to have with tea, jam and marmalade at just the appropriate point within the movie. One thing I discovered, which I'd never before known: English muffins are NOT baked. Rather, they are cooked on a dry griddle, after sprinkling it with cornmeal. Always some new revelation in this life. So, let all say and sing, "Lady Come Down" and have a jolly good evening and weekend as well!
"The muses friend, Tea, doth our fancy aid, Repress those vapours which our head invade And keep that place of the soul serene."
~ The English poet, Edmund Waller
From: Tea Ceremonies & Wikipedia
Russia - Samovar And Strong Tea
At the beginning of the 17th century, the Chinese Emperor presented the Russian Czar with a gift of tea. Thus, tea became an acceptable drink in Russia about 100 years before arriving in the European countries. The Russian population customarily drinks black tea. Russia was so strongly associated with black tea that during the 19th century certain types of black tea were called "Russian tea", despite the fact that the tea was actually produced in China. Tea culture is an integral part of Russian culture and is referred to in works of art and literature. The samovar, a metal container for heating water, can be found in almost every home and is part of the Russian cultural icons. The Russians tend to prepare a strong, bitter concentrate of black tea which is kept in a small teapot next to the samovar. The concentrate is diluted with boiling water to prepare tea according to the drinker's preferred strength.
In Russia, it is customary to drink tea brewed separately in a teapot and diluted with freshly boiled water ('pair-of-teapots tea', 'чай парой чайников'). Traditionally, the tea is very strong, its strength often indicating the hosts' degree of hospitality. The traditional implement for boiling water for tea used to be the samovar (and sometimes it still is, though usually electric). The podstakannik ('подстаканник'), or tea glass holder (literally "thing under the glass"), is also a part of Russian tea tradition, used nowadays primarily on trains and in inexpensive hotels, because broken glasses are cheaper to replace. Tea is a family event, and is usually served after each meal with sugar (one to three teaspoonfuls per cup) and lemon (but without milk), and an assortment of jams, pastries and confections. Black tea is commonly used, with green tea gaining popularity as a more healthy, more "Oriental" alternative. Teabags are not used in the traditional Russian tea ceremony, only loose, large-leaf black tea.
A samovar (Russian: самовар, IPA: [səmʌˈvar] literally "self-brewer") is a heated metal container traditionally used to heat and boil water in and around Russia, as well as in other Slavic nations, Iran, Kashmir, and Turkey. Since the heated water is usually used for making tea, many samovars have an attachment on top of its lid to hold and heat a teapot filled with tea concentrate. Samovars are said to have been invented in Central Asia, though its origin is a matter of dispute. For example, some argue that it is purely a Russian invention given that the samovar appeared in Iran not later than in 18th century, and it bears the same Russian name "samovar".
Though traditionally heated with coal or charcoal, many newer samovars use electricity and heat water in a similar manner as an electric water boiler.
India - Mass Production And Tea Stock Markets
The Indian tea industry began flourishing only during the 19th century. At this time, the British trade giant "The East India Trade Company" controlled the importation of tea from the Eastern countries in general and from India in particular. Today, the Indian tea industry is one of the most flourishing and influential branches of the Indian economy. India produces about 900,000 tons of tea per year. In the Indian tea stock market, the tea is traded among the growers, traders and marketers.
Among the various types of tea to be found in India are the popular Asam tea as well as the Darjeeling tea which is considered to be one of the best teas in the world.The Indians customarily drink black tea with milk, an English custom which remained as a testimony to the British colonial rule over India. The world's largest producer of tea, India is a country where tea is popular all over as a breakfast and evening drink. It is often served as masala chai with milk and sugar, and sometimes scented. Almost all the tea consumed is black Indian tea. Usually tea leaves are boiled in water while making tea, and milk is added.
Offering tea rather than alcoholic drinks to visitors is the cultural norm in India. Tea has also entered the common idiom so much so that the term Chai-Pani which translates to tea, or tea and water usually refers to wages, tips or even bribery.
There are three most famous regions in Indian to produce black teas- Darjeeling, Assam and Nilgiri. "Strong, heavy and fragrance" are 3 criteria for judging black tea. Darjeeling tea is known for its delicate aroma and light colour and is aptly termed as "the champagne of teas", which has high aroma and yellow or brown liquid after brewing. Assam tea is known for its robust taste and dark colour, and Nilgiri tea is dark, intensely aromatic and flavoured. Assam produces the largest quantity of Tea in India, mostly of the CTC variety, and is one of the biggest suppliers of major international brands such as Lipton and Tetley. The Tetley Brand, formerly British and one of the largest, is now owned by the TATA group.
Great Britain - Tea With Milk
Tea has always been associated with female chattering and gossip and in the early 18th century, when after-dinner tea drinking had become a feminine ritual, Colley Cibber said, "Tea! Thou soft, thou sober, sage, and venerable liquid, thou female tongue-running, smile-smoothing, heart opening, sink-tipping cordial, to whose glorious insipidity I owe the happiest moments of my life."
The British are among the world's most massive tea consumers. Perhaps it is possible to understand the importance of tea in British culture if we recall Sir Winston Churchill's declaration during the Second World War that: "Tea is more important to the soldiers than munitions".
Black tea was very common in Britain during the 18th century and the British founded the tradition of adding milk to black tea.
Afternoon tea – Drinking tea in the afternoon is a custom which began during the 19th century. Its development is attributed to the Duchess of Bedford. Due to the fact that the aristocracy customarily ate only two meals a day being breakfast and dinner, the afternoon tea was meant to abate the hunger between the meals. The afternoon tea was served along with a light meal between the hours 3:00-5:00 p.m.
High tea - A further development and refinement of the afternoon tea; this is actually an early dinner which includes tea. One assumption is it that the name was derived from the late hour in which the meal was taken: 500-7:00 p.m. Another suggestion is that the expression "high tea" originated from the custom of having this meal on high tables, in comparison with the afternoon tea which was eaten on low tables.
The British are the second largest per capita tea consumers in the world with each person consuming on average 2.1 kg per year.[8] The popularity of tea dates back to the 19th Century when India was part of the British Empire, and British interests controlled tea production in the subcontinent. As Tea spread throughout the United Kingdom people started to have tea gardens and tea dances. These would include watching fireworks or a dinner party and dance, concluding with a nice evening tea. The tea gardens lost value after World War II but tea dances are still held today in the United Kingdom.
Tea is usually black tea served with milk (not cream) and sometimes with sugar. Strong tea served with milk and often two teaspoons of sugar, usually in a mug, is commonly referred to as builder's tea. Much of the time in the United Kingdom, tea drinking is not the delicate, refined cultural expression that the rest of the world imagines—a cup (or more often a mug) of tea is something drunk often, with some people drinking as much as 6 cups of tea a day. This is not to say however that the British do not have a more formal tea ceremony as can be seen below in the British Tea Ritual section. For the working class of the United Kingdom, tea breaks are an essential part of any day. Employers generally allow breaks for tea and sometimes biscuits to be served.
British Tea Ritual
Even very slightly formal events can be a cause for cups and saucers to be used instead of mugs. A typical semi-formal British tea ritual might run as follows:
1. The kettle is boiled and water poured into a tea pot.
2. Water is swilled around the pot to warm it and then poured out.
3. Loose tea leaves are then added to the pot while the kettle is reboiled.
4. Water is added to the pot and allowed to brew for several minutes while a tea cosie is placed on the pot to keep the tea warm.
5. A tea strainer, like a miniature sieve, is placed over the top of the cup and the tea poured in.
6. The straight black tea is then given to guests and they are allowed to add milk and sugar to their taste.
7. The pot would normally hold enough tea so as not to be empty after filling the cups of all the guests. If this is the case the tea cosie would be replaced after everyone has been served.
The decision of whether to put milk into the cup before or after the tea has been a matter of some debate and has traditionally been seen as a class divide. Working classes who could not afford good quality crockery would add milk first to ensure that the sudden increase in heat would not crack the cups. Whereas middle and upper classes who did not need to worry about this would add milk afterwards so that guests would be able to take the tea as they personally preferred it. This latter tradition is considered to be the correct one according to etiquette.
There is also a proper manner in which to drink tea when using a cup and saucer. The cup and saucer should be lifted together from the table with the left hand on the saucer and the right on the handle of the cup. The right hand should then lift the cup away from the saucer to be drunk before replacing it. This rule is relaxed when having tea at a dining table, as opposed to having tea in arm chairs etc.
In the U.K. and the U.S., a tearoom is a small room or restaurant where beverages and light meals are served, often catering chiefly to women and having a sedate or subdued atmosphere. A customer might expect to receive cream tea or Devonshire tea, often served from a china set, and a scone with jam and clotted cream – alternatively a High tea may be served. In Scotland teas are usually served with a variety of scones, pancakes, crumpets and other cakes.
The tearoom arose as an alternative to the pub during the temperance movement in the 1830s. The form developed in the late 1800s, as Catherine Cranston opened the first of what became a chain of Miss Cranston's Tea Rooms in Glasgow, Scotland, and similar establishments became popular throughout Scotland. In the 1880s fine hotels in both the United States and England began to offer tea service in tea rooms and tea courts, and by 1910 they had begun to host afternoon tea dances as dance crazes swept both the U.S. and the UK. Tea rooms of all kinds were widespread in Britain by the 1950s, but in the following decades cafés became more fashionable, and tea rooms became less common.
TEA
Tender and Fragrant
Tea is Adored by Monks and Poets.
Prepared in White Jade Dishes Couched in Softest Red Silk,
the Topaz-hued Leaves Growing in the Fields are Yours in a Trice;
Ready to Accompany You to Enjoy the Bright Moon of Night and to Greet the Rosy Clouds of Early Dawn.
Never in Ancient or Modern Times Has One Ever Been Tired of Taking it --
Never Can it Be Praised Too Much in the Presence of Those Who Love to Be Drinking!
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