Colegiul Național de Informatică “Matei Basarab”

Rm. Vâlcea

LUCRAREA DE ATESTAT PROFESIONAL LA

LIMBA ENGLEZĂ

BRITSH TEA CULTURE

Candidat: Popescu Andrei-Cătălin

Clasa a XII-a D stiințe ale naturii – bilingv engleză
Profesor îndrumător: Carmen Sărdărescu

MAI 2019
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................. 2
CHAPTER 1 ....................................................................................................... 3
CHAPTER 2........................................................................................................ 6
CHAPTER 3........................................................................................................ 8
CONCLUSION.................................................................................................. 10
WEBLIOGRAPHY…………………………………………………………... 11
 INTRODUCTION

As someone interested in the British culture, and who is a tea lover as well, I have
chosen this topic in order to express my fondness for this type of aromatic
beverage.

For me, drinking tea is like projecting

yourself into an oasis of relaxation because it
calms and soothes the mind and body. I
consider it being a trusted friend – always
there to pick you up when you're down,
something your reach for in moments of
happiness or crisis. The feelings which
emerge while drinking tea could be very well
described as being hugged from the inside as
your soul drowns in sunshine and pleasure.
Of course, tea is supposed to be enjoyed on
any level, in concordance with your current
mood. Tea meets you where you are, whether
you sitting on cloud nine or feeling down.
That is what makes it so beautiful and
unique. You can sip it while working, when
you’re ill, when you need to wind down or
just to satisfy your taste buds. No matter
what, once you feel the warm liquid tickling
your tongue, you’ll be having a great time
with every rewarding sip.

Whilst many countries love their tea, UK citizens, and the English especially, are
particularly proud of being ‘tea people’. It’s a deeply entrenched part of the
national culture, as well as the country’s international reputation. Even though
the origins of this universally loved drink come from the faraway China, a
significant number of ways of savoring tea appeared during the rise and
dominance of the British Empire. Since then, tea has become an ordinary feature
of people’s lifestyle - tea in Britain is drunk daily, often many cups a day.
 CHAPTER 1 – A BRIEF HISTORY OF BRITISH TEA

Tea was first brought to Britain in the early 17th century by the East India
Company - a trading corporation that brought home vast riches and helped
England become a maritime power. The East India Company fixed tea prices
artificially high, and the British Crown added significant taxes to each pound of
tea. These exorbitantly high prices kept the middle and lower classes from being
able to afford legal tea. Instead, they purchased cheaper, easily accessible
smuggled tea. By the 18th century, as much tea was smuggled into England as
was legally purchased through the East India Company.
Tea was first sold in the UK at Garraway's Coffee House in London. To convince
people to buy tea, Thomas Garraway had to explain the new beverage through
advertising. Garraway sold and advertised tea as a medicinal drink, a product
which would cure almost any illness.

East India Company coat of arms Sketch of Garraway's Coffee House

Catherine of Braganza (1638 – 1705) was Queen Consort of England, Scotland

and Ireland from 1662 to 1685, as the wife of King Charles II. It is said that when
Catherine of Braganza arrived from Portugal to marry Charles II, she brought
with her a casket of tea. Since the Portuguese had been importing tea to Europe
from the beginning of the 17th century, Catherine had grown up drinking tea as
the preferred everyday beverage. Although Catherine didn't actually introduce tea
into Britain, she was instrumental in making it fashionable. Her use of tea as a
court beverage, rather than a medicinal drink, influenced its popularity in literary
circles.
Thomas Twining, an ambitious young man looking to break
into the tremendous business world of imperialistic London,
was fascinated by the possibilities offered by this fast-
growing beverage. He learned well and quickly and by 1706
knew enough to strike out on his own. It was in that year he
bought Tom's Coffee House on London's Strand and so
began the world famous tea business, opening the he first
known tea shop. Twinings holds the world's oldest
continually-used company logo and has occupied the same
premises at 216 Strand, London, since inception.
Despite its high price, the British took tea drinking with enormous enthusiasm. In
the 18th century there was a clear gap between the large number of people who
wanted to enjoy tea regularly, and the relatively small number of people who
could actually afford to do so. And into this gap stepped the smugglers. If tea was
smuggled in, no duty was paid on it, so it could be sold much more cheaply.
Highly-organised smuggling networks were developed to cater for the popular
demand for tea. Though these gangs of smugglers could frequently be ruthless in
their practices, such was the popularity of tea-drinking that many people were
prepared to turn a blind eye.
By the later 18th century, it is estimated that more tea was smuggled into Britain
than was brought in legally. This had two important effects for tea drinking:
firstly, because it made tea affordable, it made the beverage ever more popular
among all sections of society, and ever more integral to everyday life. Secondly,
because the smugglers were based in coastal areas and their networks spread
across the countryside, it drove the enthusiasm for tea drinking out of the larger
towns and cities and into rural areas.

Although the popularity of tea has been decreasing in the contemporary era –
correlated with a sharp increase in espresso sales – it’s still the nation’s favorite
hot beverage, as it has been shown by various surveys.
 CHAPTER 2 – CUSTOMS AND TRADITIONS

Afternoon Tea is a tea-related ritual, introduced in Britain in the early 1840s. It

evolved as a mini meal to stem the hunger and anticipation of an evening meal at
8pm.Afternoon Tea is a meal composed of sandwiches (usually cut delicately into
'fingers'), scones with clotted cream and jam, sweet pastries and cakes.
Afternoon Tea was initially developed as a private social event for ladies who
climbed the echelons of society. It was only when Queen Victoria engaged in the
Afternoon Tea ritual that it became a formal occasion on a larger scale, known as
'tea receptions'. These receptions could have as many as two hundred guests with
an open 'at home' invitation to visit between 4pm and 7pm, during which they
could come and go as they pleased.

This was all well and good for the upper classes, but the working classes ran to a
different schedule and a different budget. Tea was still quite expensive at the time
and the working classes could not afford to waste it on anything other than
necessities. A wearied factory worker wouldn't arrive home until six in the
evening. Thus, in the industrial areas of the working classes evening meal
evolved: high tea. By that hour, tea was generally served with generous dishes
which were substantially more than just tea and cakes. Workers needed
sustenance after a day of hard labor, so the after-work meal was more often hot
and filling and accompanied by a pot of good, strong tea to revive flagging spirits.
This traditional high tea still exists for some parts of the North England and
Scotland.
Due to its high price, lower classes couldn't really afford tea, however milk was
cheap. So the lower classes filled their cups with cheaper milk and added a dash
of the valuable tea, while the higher classes could afford to add a dash of milk to
a cup of tea - it is said that they did this to water down the rather bitter taste of
the tea. Up to this day, people do pay close attention to whether you add milk to
the tea, or tea to the milk. While per se this makes no difference to the actual
flavor, it does indicate which class your family is from.
The Englishmen improvised the idea of tea gardens. On private grounds or
estates, ladies and gentlemen were entertained by orchestras, flowered pathways,
concerts, games and other lavish arrangements, while they took their tea outdoors.
Women were allowed to mix freely, in public tea gardens, for the first time,
without societal criticism. Even the middle classes and upper classes gathered
freely, dissolving the lines of class and birth.

Elevenses might be a familiar term to Tolkien-loving readers, but for the

uninitiated, it refers to a late-morning - around 11:00 am, appropriately - tea break
with scones or cookies. It is often referred to as the ‘second breakfast’.
In a working shift of six hours, British workers have the right in law to a minimum
of a 20-minute break, described in government guidelines as a tea break. In
Britain, where there is tea, there are usually biscuits too—it's really hard to have
one without the other. Dunking biscuits in a ‘cuppa’ (cup of tea) is a custom that
Brits have exported around the globe.
 CHAPTER 3 – TEA PARTY

Some might think that inviting a friend or two over for a tea might require less
effort than a dinner invitation, but in Great Britain this isn’t always the case. There
are a series of ironclad rules that surround this ritual, which many consider to be
more social than culinary in nature.

Napkins, a tea pot (better to have two), cups, saucers and a serving tray with at
least two levels on which to display the sweet and savory snacks. The napkins
will be smaller than usual, and should be opened fully and spread out on the lap
when the tea is served.
The tea pot should always be warmed (rinsing it out with hot water), which
ensures that the porcelain (often called “China” as that’s where the porcelain first
originated) doesn’t undergo a “shock” when the boiling water is poured into it,
which may lead to cracking.
Calculate a teaspoon of leaves for each guest, plus one more “for the pot”. The
boiling water should be poured straight over the leaves. If you place the tea leaves
directly in the pot, you’ll need to use a filter over each cup. If instead, you don’t
want the leaves to keep infusing in the hot water, you should use a tea “ball”.
Infusion times vary from 3 to 5 minutes. True tea connoisseurs will have more
than one pot: one for Indian black teas, one for Chinese green teas, one for
aromatic teas, etc. Normally, two will suffice when serving: one for the tea and
another for the hot water (although a kettle will do) when the tea gets too strong.
Most Brits take tea with milk, a habit that originated from the fact that a drop of
cold milk in the teacup prevented the dark, boiling tea to crack or stain the delicate
porcelain. With today’s cups, you can safely pour the milk in afterwards. Sugar
should be present in cubes or crystals, white and dark, and you should also
provide honey or sweeteners.
Tea should be served with both savory and sweet snacks. There should be
sandwiches, scones, pastries and cakes: Savory (finger sandwiches with various
fillings); neutral (scones, crumpets, buns); sweet (cakes, biscuits, pastries). It’s
fundamental to serve each item in bite-sized portions, as tea should be consumed
without cutlery. One must eat the sandwiches first, and with fingers not cutlery.
Then the scones – they should still be warm. Scones should be broken in 2 by
hand, not with a knife, and each half eaten separately. It’s unthinkable to
sandwich them back together. One can spread scones how one prefers: the Devon
way is cream first, jam on top. The Cornwall way is jam first, then the cream.
One must save those delightful cakes till last!

The host or hostess can share the job of pouring the tea with close friends, but he
or she should always pour the first cup. Good form dictates that the plate should
be raised with the left hand, while the teacup should be held with the right hand.
Tea should be stirred back and forth, not in circular motions. One must also avoid
the temptation to bash the sides with one’s spoon. And watch those pinky fingers:
they should be aligned with the other fingers.
 CONCLUSION

There is no denying that tea had a considerable influence on the evolution of the
modern-day British society. Ever since the glamorous Victorian era, the steamy
taste of tea was in essence a way of transforming a nation - in which the line
between the poor and the rich was conspicuous - into a homogeneous civilization.

Tea makes everyone feel connected. It plays a vital role in the growth of our
relationships. Whether you plan to organize a fancy afternoon tea party or to share
some gossips with your best friend at home, drinking tea is a great way to catch
up with friends. Think tea to make your entourage happy.
By now it might seem like I mostly just drink tea when others are around but,
truthfully, the opposite can be said. When I do have tea by myself, I take
advantage of it. Whether it’s a quick cup at my laptop to work or an hour long tea
session at my tea table, the moments when tea connects me to myself is a very
meditative kind of experience. If I’m not having the best day, I always look
forward to unwinding with tea because just the thought of that makes things a bit
better. Tea can connect us with others, but what is probably more riveting is that
tea can connect us to ourselves. Reconnecting with myself makes everything
better.
In a nutshell, drinking tea is a ritual and when we share that ritual with others,
near or far, we can find a powerful connection that we will take with us in life.
 WEBLIOGRAPHY

http://clairepetras.com
http://www.pascalbonenfant.com
https://www.bostonteapartyship.com
https://www.twinings.co.uk
http://www.teahousetheatre.co.uk
https://www.telegraph.co.uk
https://www.statista.com
https://afternoontea.co.uk
http://victorian-era.org
https://www.myrecipes.com
http://britainandbritishness.com
https://www.finedininglovers.com