A cup of tea with the queen
Author: Matthieu Deneuve
The essence of England is based on
Queen Elizabeth and her fascination
with tea. Legends about what kind
of tea she likes and how exactly she drinks
her tea, are thriving. Does she drink it with
or without milk? And how many sugars?
The answer, though not simple, now handed
over to you by The Butler.
The offi cial tea distributor for Queen Elizabeth
is unsurprisingly the Twinings, since
they represent premium quality ever from
the beginning.
The business between the Royal Family and
the Twinings began in 1837, when Queen
Victoria marked the brand as the Royal
Family’s offi cial tea distributor. For Twinings
it meant an immense business success, as
such type of recognition opened up gates to
the international tea distributor industry.
Consumption of tea is almost mandatory,
but by all means traditional in the British
colonies.
The afternoon tea is between 3 and 5 pm,
and initially the colonizers’ guests were
often-
times invited to this event. Hence the
saying, “Be our guest for an afternoon tea”.
Drinking tea in the morning is meant to
maintain internal balance, the afternoon tea
played a key role in daily stress relief, the
night tea prepared the body to a calmer resting
and sleeping.
Night tea blends are always lighter and softer
than teas consumed during the day, as
high caffeine content could even cause insomnia.
Black tea is made from the leaves of the tea
bush (Camellia sinensis), that contains caffeine.
There is no signifi cant change in the
caffeine content of tea leaves during processing.
When the tea is boiled, the caffeine
content of the tea leaf gradually dissolves in
the mug. The caffeine content of black tea
will thus be about 45-55 mg per mug.
The royal family signed a confi dentiality
agreement with all their suppliers, but now
the Twinings have announced the release of
the limited tea blend that the Queen consumes
and the exact way she has her tea made.
If yout want to drink tea like II. Queen Elizabeth loves. Then follow the advice of the butler.
The Queen always drinks her tea
from her ivory-coloured porcelain
cup. The types of teas are Assam
and Earl Gray, both teas are very popular
among the British because their aromas
remind them to their traditions. The water
shall be poured into the teapot before
it boils, then the tea strainer or the strainer
containing the tea grass shall be placed in
the cup.
After the hot water shall be poured over
it and be stirred, but not with circular
motions. The side of the cup shall not be
touched.
After mixing, the Queen fl avours the tea
with minimal milk and does not add sugar.
The teacup shall be lifted with the cup coaster
at all times.
The tea shall be consumed in small sips, in
such a way that the aroma can permeate
the senses in the mouth.
Contrary to the legend, the Queen never
pours milk into the cup fi rst, but the tea.
Why does she do so?
Well, the explanation is very simple: since
the 18th century, the traditional way of consuming
tea has been to pour the tea into the
cup fi rst and then fl avour it with milk.
The members of the Royal Family notoriously
revere the traditions, exemplifi ed
with the ivory-coloured porcelain cups. Josiah
Spode made the fi rst ivory-coloured
cups, the possession of which was already
a privilege at that time. The expensive and
high-quality porcelain became more and
more popular because it would endure the
almost boiling tea being poured directly
into it, without cracking. Therefore, those
who could not afford the ivory-coloured
porcelain, poured milk into their teacups
fi rst, so the hot tea did not hit the porcelain
directly and with this manner the cracking
of the cup could be prevented.