Evening tea time

According to research by the UK Tea Council, the British drink 120 million cups of tea daily. But there was a time when they did not know this drink. The history of tea in England began in 1664, when the merchants of the East India Company presented two pounds of dry "Chinese leaf" to King Charles II. Suffering from eternal colds, the English immediately came to the court not only for its healing properties, but also for its pleasant aroma and tart taste. At first, tea was expensive and was available only to the highest nobility. They drank it from thin, fragile porcelain. The fear not to damage the exquisite dishes suggested a way out: first, pour milk into the cup at room temperature, and then hot tea. In addition, it was easier to clean the porcelain from the brown plaque that left the tea. This is how the British tea tradition was born. The same British practicality pushed the use of tea in the fight against alcoholism among workers who, due to lack of adequate drinking water, were forced to use alcohol as an antiseptic. Even the little children of the poor drank beer, port or gin for this reason. The desire to have sober and productive workers pushed the authorities to promote the use of tea instead of alcohol. And this was an example of an extremely successful propaganda.
The main secret of English tea drinking is very simple and lies in the fact that tea should be brewed on the basis that in cups it will no longer be diluted with boiling water. There are no standards for the amount of tea, but the recommended amount is 1 teaspoon of tea leaves per person, plus a spoonful in a teapot for 5-6 people. Tea is infused for 3-5 minutes and poured into cups. To control time, some families use an hourglass, which makes the whole process even more solemn and ritualistic.