If the word "Tea" started with S, it might just have made the headline for my blog!
I love tea. Generally bagged tea, and my favorite tea makers are Mighty Leaf and Stash. I drink it black, green, and white. I drink Chai and herbal, jasmine and matte. The only "no thank you" type - in my book - is Chamomille. I'd rather have flowers, thank you!
One year, I had a daily tea-a-day calendar, and got a recipe or tea fact frequently! The only one I remember is that "Are you a MIFfy or a TIFfy?" (Milk in First is MIF, and Tea in First is TIF). It also told me how the Queen of England takes her tea- but I've forgotten that now.
Recently, I saw an elaborate post regarding Tea - and I thought I would share (repost) some of that information here!
Tea v. Tea v. High Tea v. Afternoon Tea
Tea (the meal): Some people in England, mostly in the North of the country it seems, refer to their evening meal as 'tea' and tend to eat it earlier than those of us who eat dinner (or supper or whatever you want to call it).
Tea (the drink): The topic of this post. And the most common use of the word - that is, if you aren't referring to the letter, "T".
High Tea: Here's where the confusion begins... When most non-British people think of high tea, they probably imagine a gathering of fancy victorian people drinking out of their best china tea cups eating dainty sandwiches. High tea is actually mostly the same as tea (the meal) listed above - a substantial early evening meal sometimes followed by a later lighter meal. The word high refers to the height of the table, distinguising it from low tea or afternoon tea (see below) which is often served in a sitting room at a lower table such as a coffee table.
Afternoon Tea: Afternoon Tea is generally held around 3- 4pm and includes the stereotypical finger sandwiches, scones and pastries served on those fancy tiered cake stands. Rumour has it that back in the day, (mid 1800s) the Duchess of Bedford started having a tray of tea with bread and butter served to her in the afternoon to stave of hunger until the tradtional dinner time of 8 or 9pm. The hungry Duchess then began to invite her other high-society friends to join her and soon, Afternoon Tea became the 'in-thing' for the upper-class women (and was served in a sitting room on a low table, like a coffee table, setting it apart from high tea.)
In modern times, Afternoon Tea is generally served at hotels, restaurants or tea rooms rather than in someone home and is really not as pretentious as it sounds. You don't have to dress in victorian garb, you don't have to fake a plummy accent, you don't have to hold your tea cup with your pinkie out, and you don't even need to drink tea (I drink coffee when I do afternoon tea).
Love: Tea!
Hope: I get to enjoy a fancy tea one day. The last one I remember was hosted by a friend in Austin - complete with the lemons in little "bag" things to catch the seeds!
Do: Enjoy the weather today - it is beautiful outside!
Steps: 2490 - will be a big night of stepping/walking to get to my 10,000 - if I make it!
