English Tea Time?
- Thread starter oobiecoo
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Oh now you are asking!!!.....Either go so beautifully on scones, but I think I would have to say clotted cream....
Oobs,
Mc Vities is the company name and the biscuits I listed are types of biscuits they manufacture. They have been around a long time now ( the company) and many of their biscuits are English staples! My faves are milk chocolate digestives, but these things are so addictive it is quite possible to eat a whole packet of them in one go!
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Mc Vities digestives come in plain, milk or dark chocolate and they are simple but good! They have a slightly malty flavour. Also plainer still are Rich Tea, they are a pale crispy biscuit which snap readily. They aren't strongly flavoured. Some people dunk them in tea which I personally think is revolting but each to their own!
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What are your house teas?
What is the difference between Irish breakfast and English breakfast? And are these "breakfast" teas usually brewed in the morning? And are taken with milk? I think Earl Grey is better with milk than without...
I live in a coffee house, and I use a gentler coffee in the morning, and something more potent and exotic for my after-dinner coffee.
What is the difference between Irish breakfast and English breakfast? And are these "breakfast" teas usually brewed in the morning? And are taken with milk? I think Earl Grey is better with milk than without...
I live in a coffee house, and I use a gentler coffee in the morning, and something more potent and exotic for my after-dinner coffee.
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Oh what a shame....I have some great recipes if you would like, just let me know and I will gladly post them for you! We know what we like!Date: 10/30/2008 2:17:25 PM
Author: Harriet
Lorelei,
You're a girl after my own heart.It's so difficult to find a good scone here that I've resorted to poundcake with lashings of cream and preserve.
Julie, normally traditional tea in the UK is something like PG Tips brand which is an all purpose tea which is used at any time, and I always make tea in the traditional way using loose tea and a pot and strainer. Tea is usually taken with milk here, or you can have hot with lemon if you prefer, but usually you find most English drink most kinds of tea with milk.
I don't know if these breakfast teas are more of a US thing, although we do have the Twinings company here which do a wider variety of teas and breakfast type teas. I also prefer Earl Grey with milk!
Po10472
Brilliant_Rock
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I have to say that the UK does tend to stop for a tea around 3pm, or they certainly do at my work, the queues at the vending machine are massive at this time of day.
I''d have to concur with Lorelei and Harriet that clotted cream is the way to go, but I do like me a some raspberry jam on ma scones! And with my tea, very partial to the custard cream, a small piece of heaven. Cheapest biscuits in the supermarket but the best. Oh, and milk with Earl or Lady Grey.
Tea is the solution to any problem. If you''re having a bad day, you have a cup of tea.......if you''re feeling happy, ''oh, let''s have a wee cup of tea''........if there''s a national crisis - ''stick the kettle on for a pot of tea''. There will always be teabags in a British home, there might not be any other foodstuff in the house, but always a tea caddy filled to the brim with Tetley or PG tips.
When I was in NYC last year it was absolutely freezing and snowing so every hour or so we would dive into a coffee shop for a heat up and a cup of tea. I failed to drink a good cup of tea whilst I was there, black tea? what is black tea? And milk...........OMG, half a pint of milk in every cup, what''s going on there?
I was so excited at getting my tea that it didn''t occur to me that it would be American tea..........so, I would be sitting down defrosting, excited at the scalding hot lovliness was going to arrive and it was black tea with lots of milk, not good, not good. Seriously, I cried, I was sooooo cold, and soooo disappointed, there were actual tears of disappointment that my tea was not tea as I knew it. My DH understood and just petted my hand. From then on in, we had to get 1 tea with milk and one without and spoon some of his into mine - I don''t like a lot of milk and quite particular when it comes to tea.
Tea is a serious business in Britain. I go on holidays now with a box of tea bags
.
Oh, I have two tea sets - one ''good'' one and one everyday one. If you''re really posh - you serve sugar cubes with tongs instead of just silverspoon in the bowl. Oh and if its the good set, always with the loose tea people!!
And coronoation chicken sandwiches. Coronation chicken was a recipe for the queens coronation in 1953 and is a mild curried mayonnaise with sultanas in it and cooked chicken. Its served cold in sarnies - well yummy!
I''d have to concur with Lorelei and Harriet that clotted cream is the way to go, but I do like me a some raspberry jam on ma scones! And with my tea, very partial to the custard cream, a small piece of heaven. Cheapest biscuits in the supermarket but the best. Oh, and milk with Earl or Lady Grey.
Tea is the solution to any problem. If you''re having a bad day, you have a cup of tea.......if you''re feeling happy, ''oh, let''s have a wee cup of tea''........if there''s a national crisis - ''stick the kettle on for a pot of tea''. There will always be teabags in a British home, there might not be any other foodstuff in the house, but always a tea caddy filled to the brim with Tetley or PG tips.
When I was in NYC last year it was absolutely freezing and snowing so every hour or so we would dive into a coffee shop for a heat up and a cup of tea. I failed to drink a good cup of tea whilst I was there, black tea? what is black tea? And milk...........OMG, half a pint of milk in every cup, what''s going on there?
I was so excited at getting my tea that it didn''t occur to me that it would be American tea..........so, I would be sitting down defrosting, excited at the scalding hot lovliness was going to arrive and it was black tea with lots of milk, not good, not good. Seriously, I cried, I was sooooo cold, and soooo disappointed, there were actual tears of disappointment that my tea was not tea as I knew it. My DH understood and just petted my hand. From then on in, we had to get 1 tea with milk and one without and spoon some of his into mine - I don''t like a lot of milk and quite particular when it comes to tea.
Tea is a serious business in Britain. I go on holidays now with a box of tea bags
Oh, I have two tea sets - one ''good'' one and one everyday one. If you''re really posh - you serve sugar cubes with tongs instead of just silverspoon in the bowl. Oh and if its the good set, always with the loose tea people!!
And coronoation chicken sandwiches. Coronation chicken was a recipe for the queens coronation in 1953 and is a mild curried mayonnaise with sultanas in it and cooked chicken. Its served cold in sarnies - well yummy!
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Date: 10/31/2008 10:15:09 AM
Author: Harriet
I ordered tea at a restaurant here. What came? A Lipton Yellow bag with a cup of hot water. $3. The next time you''re in NY, do try La Maison du Chocolat and Payard''s. They brew loose tea with a timer and then serve it to you perfectly steeped.
elrohwen
Ideal_Rock
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Date: 10/28/2008 3:49:04 PM
Author: Lorelei
Afternoon tea is traditionally served then daily, but most English drink cups of tea on and off all day. Some do break for tea at 11am and 3 - 4pm, but times have changed, there are some that still uphold the old traditions but it depends. I was brought up with afternoon tea and still like to have it with something sweet at that time, usually it is simplest on weekdays with just a small slice of cake or a scone- it depends on what you are used to I suppose! Afternoon tea is an important part of English tradition - however if in England do watch out for some using the term ' tea' to mean dinner - the term tea is not correct used in this manner, but it can be confusing to non English who think some Brits mean the drink. Many English also start their day with a cup of tea in bed and a plain biscuit, or just a cup of tea first thing.Date: 10/26/2008 1:50:14 PM
Author: Elmorton
Oobie, this has been such an interesting thread to read! Thanks for starting it. When DH and I honeymooned in Barbados, I threw a mini-trantrum and said we HAD to stay at a hotel that had tea time, because as an American, that just sounded cool. 'Tea time' was actually code for kinda icky crustless sandwiches on a cart with some really hard cookies and a 'serve yourself' hot beverage cart where I usually drank espresso, so I don't think we really got much out of it. But I will say that I like the idea of the little snack in the late afternoon, since DH and I do eat dinner late and always eat late when on vacay. That part was nifty.
A question I have about tea time: How often do you have tea? In the U.S., I think the understanding I gained from TV is that in England, everyone breaks at 4pm to drink tea. But from the descriptions in this thread, it seems like tea is more infrequent, sort of like a happy hour (as in most people don't do that every day, or just once a week on Fridays). What's the real story?
El, what type of Mc Vities biscuits did you have? They have Rich Tea, plain Digestive, Chocolate Digestive and other types so you might find some to your liking.
Lorelei, I tried the plain ones and the chocolate covered ones, but I just wasn't a fan. I will admit that I can be a picky eater when it comes to sweets, so that may be it. There just aren't a lot of cookies that I really like. I do love scones and I think it's because they're typically not very sweet (and because I like baked goods in general). I love scones with breakfast, for a snack, before bed, any time
What type of Mc Vities do you think are the most popular? The vendor I visited had the plain digestives, but the hotel always put out the chocolate covered ones.
ETA: I think clotted cream may be my favorite invention ever. I might faint if I ever find it at my local grocery store. I usually whip up cream as a substitute, but it's not as good as the stuff I had in England. I ate obscene amounts of it when I was there.
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I think the milk chocolate digestives would be popular choice for a favourite....To me they are the perfect chocolate biscuit ( but I can''t stop eating the darn things once I start!) I know our clotted cream is unique and so yummy.....
I hope you can find it somewhere!
oldmancoyote
Brilliant_Rock
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It may not taste like Devon or Cornish cream, but you can make clotted cream - apparently even with US UHT milk:
http://www.cornwall-calling.co.uk/food/clotted.htm
If the process is daunting to you (it's not - it's just tremendously boring, a bit like making dulce de leche or khoya), there's a link to someone who will sell and ship to the US in the page linked above.
Oh and my vote for savouries goes to tarragon chicken sandwiches.
http://www.cornwall-calling.co.uk/food/clotted.htm
If the process is daunting to you (it's not - it's just tremendously boring, a bit like making dulce de leche or khoya), there's a link to someone who will sell and ship to the US in the page linked above.
Oh and my vote for savouries goes to tarragon chicken sandwiches.
This explains what a crumpet is better than I can: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crumpet
panda08
Brilliant_Rock
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Me too!
My fondness for afternoon tea grew after a two week trip in the U.K. in 2000. Since then, I''ve had tea at a number of places in the greater Los Angeles and Orange County areas, San Francisco, and Hong Kong, in the constant pursuit for the best scones and finger sandwiches. Oh, how I love clotted cream... Mmmmmm!
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Yep! They are soft and yeasty with a chewyish top and crispy bottom, perfect hot with butter melting into the little holes...Date: 11/4/2008 2:29:05 AM
Author: Deelight
Crumpets as far as I am concerned one of the best foods known to man kind.
They taste like nothing else but are soooooo good with butter and vegimite
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