Which country drinks the most tea and why do the British love it so much? Also, why do so many Brits drink tea with milk?
You’ll learn the answers to these questions and much more in this episode about tea.

Tea originated in China, but Turkey drinks the most tea (more than 3 kilograms per person per year), followed by Ireland and the United Kingdom. It’s estimated that the British drink about 165 million cups of tea every day.

What does a Portuguese woman named Catherine of Braganza have to do with tea?
She married Britain’s King Charles II in 1662. She drank tea every day and, although it was initially only for the rich, the East India Company increased the amount of tea it was importing, and the price decreased. Gradually, everyone could afford to drink tea, and they did!

The first tea shop for ladies was opened in 1717 by Thomas Twining

ITALKI: https://go.italki.com/aprenderingles

Health benefits
Tea leaves are full of healthy antioxidants and contain substances that lower the risk of cancer, diabetes, and heart disease. Tea also reduces joint inflammation, helps lower cholesterol, encourages weight loss, and sharpens mental alertness. Just don’t add too much sugar!

Podcast episode on biscuits: https://inglespodcast.com/207

How do you like your tea?
Builder’s tea
With lemon
Black
With milk
With sugar

Famous teas

Black tea
Assam (from the Assam area of northern Indian)
English breakfast (a strong blend)
Darjeeling (fairly mild black tea)
Earl Grey (blended with bergamot)
Ceylon (from Sri Lanka, formerly known as Ceylon)
Kenyan
Keemun (from Anhui, China)
Lapsang souchong (smoked tea from Fujian, China)
Golden Monkey (from Fujian and Yunnan, China)

Green tea
Gunpowder (Chinese tea rolled in a way that resembles gunpowder
Sencha (very popular Japanese leaf)
Matcha (Japanese powdered tea formed by crushing the leaf)
Gyokuro (Japanese green leaf)

There are also white leaf teas. They aren’t so popular and are more delicate.

Herbal tea
Chamomile, Mint, Peppermint, Limeflower, Rosehip, Hibiscus, Ginger, Echinacea, Rooibus (Red bush), Dandelion, Fennel, etc…

How do you make a really good cup of tea?

Teabags / looseleaf
teaspoon
Teapot
To warm the pot
One for the pot
To brew
Teacosy
To pour
To add milk and sugar
To stir (side to side or circular?)
Cup and saucer

A cuppa
A nice cup of tea
A mug of tea
Fancy a brew?
Why do so many Brits drink tea with milk?
To stop expensive china cups from cracking?
To reduce the staining in porcelain?
Originally, milk was cheap and tea was expensive. Little tea was used?
Improve the taste of bad black tea?
From India? Chai is made with milk.

Craig’s favourite tea; Thompson’s Punjana tea: https://www.thompsonstea.com/

…and now it’s your turn to practise your English.
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On next week’s episode: Vegans and Vegetarians

The music in this podcast is by Pitx. The track is called ‘See You Later’
Photo by Calum Lewis on Unsplash and Photo by Alisa Anton on Unsplash

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