Afternoon Tea (Five O'Clock Tea)
Strong Black Tea, English Style
DrinkDocumented☕facile10 min
A strong black tea brewed in a warm pot, served with a splash of milk, in the English manner. A drink for the mind as much as for comfort.
Afternoon Tea (Five O'Clock Tea)
A strong black tea brewed in a warm pot, served with a splash of milk, in the English manner. A drink for the mind as much as for comfort.
First one warms the teapot with a dash of boiling water that is then discarded — never infuse in a cold pot, that is the whole art. A spoonful of tea per person, and one for the pot, as we used to say at home. I preferred it strong, barely softened with a splash of milk, for it was over this cup that Mr Mill and I held our longest disputes on the liberty of minds. Alcohol heats and troubles; tea, on the contrary, sharpens the thought.
Ingredients
- •Black tea from India or China — one spoonful per cup plus one for the pot (infusion)
- •Boiling spring water — as needed (extraction)
- •Fresh milk — a splash (softening)
- •Lump sugar — to taste (optional)
How it was made : In the 19th century, the debate over 'milk in first or last' already divided English households: adding milk first softened the thermal shock on fragile porcelain, a paradoxical sign of modest tableware. Tea, once expensive, became accessible to the middle classes.
Sources : Isabella Beeton, Mrs Beeton's Book of Household Management, 1861 · George Orwell, A Nice Cup of Tea, 1946 (late codification of English usage)