One of my best friends married a man who, upon spending some time with me and my family, remarked to his wife that we "were more English than the Queen of England herself."
Obviously this chap was being hyperbolic, but I saw his point. The truth is that my family does value English culture, aesthetic, habits, tastes, literature, and mythology to a very high degree. It seems I've been only noticing of late how deeply it runs in me.
For one thing, I grew up on stories with English characters, and often in English settings. I think many of them were set in the 1800s, when people still had customs like "dressing for dinner," and having tea at four in the afternoon. Or when people had problems like neighbors listening in on rural phone calls intended for other ears, or running to "fetch the doctor," when a baby had croup.
When I grew older, I began to read English Literature, and it was my favorite subject. The Wind in the Willows, Robin Hood, Frankenstein, Jekyll and Hyde, The Scarlet Pimpernel, The Black Arrow, Pride and Prejudice, The Secret Garden, The Hobbit, Peter Pan, Mary Poppins, The Five Children and It trilogy, The Railway Children, A Little Princess, Jane Eyre, Sherlock Holmes, Shakespeare, George McDonald, Chaucer, Wordsworth, Keats, Blake, Milton, George Herbert, and Sir Walter Raleigh, to name a few. Not to mention every work of C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien that I could get my hands on.
I grew up absorbing this world, along with all its aesthetics, language, and characters. The cities and countrysides have existed in my imagination for so long that they feel like home to me. They always felt more like my culture than the culture I experience every day in this postmodern age. I remember thinking as a child that London must be a magical city, and swore that one day I'd visit there. Which is satisfying to recall, because I've visited three times so far.
And now we come to the subject of tea. I have had this blog for years and never once written a post about tea, despite it being in the title. (Fie, for shame!!)
Ahem. My parents are both avid tea-drinkers. Milk for the children, tea for the adults was the rule when I was growing up. We were only allowed sweet tea on special occasions, and were strictly forbidden to drink it without permission. Which of course made us want it very much.
Every morning my parents each made a cup of hot tea to start their day. My mother kept a glass of sweet tea at her desk as she taught us. At supper we poured five glasses of milk and two tall glasses of sweet tea, and making a fresh pitcher of tea was part of preparing the meal. (My younger sisters can't remember tea ever being forbidden, which I think was a good example of a needless rule being lifted for the younger offspring.) Even today, my parents have a whole drawer in the pantry just for teas. Loose leaf and bags alike, and in every flavor you can imagine. Peppermint, Lemon Ginger, Chai, chamomile, strawberry-pineapple (?), spearmint, English Breakfast, Earl Grey, Oxford Afternoon, Sleepytime, and Constant Comment, to name a few.
There's something very comforting about tea. I think coffee gives something of the same comfort, but coffee is meant to stimulate the mind and to give energy. Tea is more for pleasure and/or comfort; at least, it has always seemed that way to me.
I love the whole process of making tea. No tossing a tea bag into cold water and zapping it in the microwave for me, thank you very much! Tea ought to be made properly. Even if I don't have time to make it properly, I at least use a kettle to heat the water on the stove.
You start by heating water on the stove in a kettle. While it's heating, you take your teapot and swirl warm water in it. That's so when the tea is steeping, it won't get cold too quickly. After you dry the outside, you place your tea into it. If you're using loose leaf tea, you use a teaspoon for every cup that will be served from it, and one extra, "for the pot," as they say. When your kettle begins to whistle, turn off the heat and pour the boiling water into the teapot. Place the lid on top, and cover the teapot with a tea cozy or towel to keep the liquid piping hot.
How long it will need to steep depends on what sort of tea it is. For black teas, 4-5 minutes is ideal. For green or herbal teas, it only takes 1-2 minutes. While it's steeping is a good time to get cups (or mugs) ready, as well as sugar, honey, or maybe even milk. (Look, milk in some black teas is actually delicious. Don't knock it till you try it.)
After the tea is steeped, take a strainer and place it over a cup, and pour the tea through it to catch all the loose tea leaves. Then you give each person their cup and let them "doctor," it as they please.
You're probably thinking that that process is entirely too long for you. Yes, it takes time. That's kind of the whole point.
When I make tea for myself and a friend or two, the making of the tea is part of the experience. It's meant to make you slow down and relax a little. And when you receive your tea, you can't just gulp it down and go. It's hot, so you have to sip it. Savor it. Chat a bit, then take another sip. It's not meant to be an easy "grab and go," beverage.
We make tea when someone is sick, or when your voice is tired. My roommates and I do this all the time. Whenever one of us is having a hard time, or when the day has been too long, one of us puts the kettle on and we all sit around the living room drinking it together.
A cup of tea always makes me feel better. Something about the heat of the mug between my hands, the fragrant steam rising into my face. Something about the nuances of the flavors. Something about the way it warms you from the inside as it gently slips down your throat. It's soothing. It's calming. Someone once said, "Tea is balm for the soul." I believe it.
Drinking a cup of hot tea always makes me feel that things are not as terrible as they seem. Or, even if they are, that there's no point in worrying. It helps me to quiet my mind and my heart, and to rest for a moment. Rest is vital. We don't get enough of it in this day and age. And look how it runs us ragged.
One wise man says, "Why do we retreat? In order that we may advance."
~Cadenza
Obviously this chap was being hyperbolic, but I saw his point. The truth is that my family does value English culture, aesthetic, habits, tastes, literature, and mythology to a very high degree. It seems I've been only noticing of late how deeply it runs in me.
For one thing, I grew up on stories with English characters, and often in English settings. I think many of them were set in the 1800s, when people still had customs like "dressing for dinner," and having tea at four in the afternoon. Or when people had problems like neighbors listening in on rural phone calls intended for other ears, or running to "fetch the doctor," when a baby had croup.
When I grew older, I began to read English Literature, and it was my favorite subject. The Wind in the Willows, Robin Hood, Frankenstein, Jekyll and Hyde, The Scarlet Pimpernel, The Black Arrow, Pride and Prejudice, The Secret Garden, The Hobbit, Peter Pan, Mary Poppins, The Five Children and It trilogy, The Railway Children, A Little Princess, Jane Eyre, Sherlock Holmes, Shakespeare, George McDonald, Chaucer, Wordsworth, Keats, Blake, Milton, George Herbert, and Sir Walter Raleigh, to name a few. Not to mention every work of C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien that I could get my hands on.
I grew up absorbing this world, along with all its aesthetics, language, and characters. The cities and countrysides have existed in my imagination for so long that they feel like home to me. They always felt more like my culture than the culture I experience every day in this postmodern age. I remember thinking as a child that London must be a magical city, and swore that one day I'd visit there. Which is satisfying to recall, because I've visited three times so far.
And now we come to the subject of tea. I have had this blog for years and never once written a post about tea, despite it being in the title. (Fie, for shame!!)
Ahem. My parents are both avid tea-drinkers. Milk for the children, tea for the adults was the rule when I was growing up. We were only allowed sweet tea on special occasions, and were strictly forbidden to drink it without permission. Which of course made us want it very much.
Every morning my parents each made a cup of hot tea to start their day. My mother kept a glass of sweet tea at her desk as she taught us. At supper we poured five glasses of milk and two tall glasses of sweet tea, and making a fresh pitcher of tea was part of preparing the meal. (My younger sisters can't remember tea ever being forbidden, which I think was a good example of a needless rule being lifted for the younger offspring.) Even today, my parents have a whole drawer in the pantry just for teas. Loose leaf and bags alike, and in every flavor you can imagine. Peppermint, Lemon Ginger, Chai, chamomile, strawberry-pineapple (?), spearmint, English Breakfast, Earl Grey, Oxford Afternoon, Sleepytime, and Constant Comment, to name a few.
There's something very comforting about tea. I think coffee gives something of the same comfort, but coffee is meant to stimulate the mind and to give energy. Tea is more for pleasure and/or comfort; at least, it has always seemed that way to me.
I love the whole process of making tea. No tossing a tea bag into cold water and zapping it in the microwave for me, thank you very much! Tea ought to be made properly. Even if I don't have time to make it properly, I at least use a kettle to heat the water on the stove.
You start by heating water on the stove in a kettle. While it's heating, you take your teapot and swirl warm water in it. That's so when the tea is steeping, it won't get cold too quickly. After you dry the outside, you place your tea into it. If you're using loose leaf tea, you use a teaspoon for every cup that will be served from it, and one extra, "for the pot," as they say. When your kettle begins to whistle, turn off the heat and pour the boiling water into the teapot. Place the lid on top, and cover the teapot with a tea cozy or towel to keep the liquid piping hot.
How long it will need to steep depends on what sort of tea it is. For black teas, 4-5 minutes is ideal. For green or herbal teas, it only takes 1-2 minutes. While it's steeping is a good time to get cups (or mugs) ready, as well as sugar, honey, or maybe even milk. (Look, milk in some black teas is actually delicious. Don't knock it till you try it.)
After the tea is steeped, take a strainer and place it over a cup, and pour the tea through it to catch all the loose tea leaves. Then you give each person their cup and let them "doctor," it as they please.
You're probably thinking that that process is entirely too long for you. Yes, it takes time. That's kind of the whole point.
When I make tea for myself and a friend or two, the making of the tea is part of the experience. It's meant to make you slow down and relax a little. And when you receive your tea, you can't just gulp it down and go. It's hot, so you have to sip it. Savor it. Chat a bit, then take another sip. It's not meant to be an easy "grab and go," beverage.
We make tea when someone is sick, or when your voice is tired. My roommates and I do this all the time. Whenever one of us is having a hard time, or when the day has been too long, one of us puts the kettle on and we all sit around the living room drinking it together.
A cup of tea always makes me feel better. Something about the heat of the mug between my hands, the fragrant steam rising into my face. Something about the nuances of the flavors. Something about the way it warms you from the inside as it gently slips down your throat. It's soothing. It's calming. Someone once said, "Tea is balm for the soul." I believe it.
Drinking a cup of hot tea always makes me feel that things are not as terrible as they seem. Or, even if they are, that there's no point in worrying. It helps me to quiet my mind and my heart, and to rest for a moment. Rest is vital. We don't get enough of it in this day and age. And look how it runs us ragged.
One wise man says, "Why do we retreat? In order that we may advance."
~Cadenza
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