How do you take your tea?

[anniversay/grad trip]

May be a silly question to some, but just wondering what generally comes with your tea or coffee when ordered in Britain? In Canada, you have the choice of white sugar, brown sugar or artificial sweetner and milk, and either half and half or cream (18%)....I like my tea with milk and sweet 'n low and my coffee with cream and sugar....You cannot get real cream on any cruise I have been on (just half and half)...so I was curious.

[dogs4fun]

While I am by no means an expert, when I order coffee/tea in the UK, it is served with milk (not cream), white sugar (I don't ever recall brown sugar) & a sugar substitute.

Perhaps other tea experts will chime-in. My pal who is a tea-lover always adds her milk first & then pours the tea. I rarely drink tea ... mostly coffee.

jill

[Cornishpastyman1]

May be a silly question to some, but just wondering what generally comes with your tea or coffee when ordered in Britain? In Canada, you have the choice of white sugar, brown sugar or artificial sweetner and milk, and either half and half or cream (18%)....I like my tea with milk and sweet 'n low and my coffee with cream and sugar....You cannot get real cream on any cruise I have been on (just half and half)...so I was curious.

Ideally it will be leaf tea, with a strainer but that's rare as hen's teeth nowadays. Most places in the UK use semi-skimmed milk but as you're only putting a splash in tea it won't matter if you use full fat. If Sweet'n Low is critical to you take some with you, otherwise it will be white granulated. Occasionally you will find brown (Demerara). As I don't take sugar in hot drinks I can't say much more on this.

 

For proper coffee (from an espresso machine) it will never be pouring cream, as this has to be kept refrigerated, and as the water from an espresso machine is 92-93 degrees centigrade and not boiling it would instantly make the drink lukewarm. So it will again invariably be semi-skimmed, which has the best frothing possibilities (for cappuccino) anyway.

 

For filter coffee, as it can kept temperature nearer to boiling and may be drunk from a bigger cup/mug you might occasionally find cream offered, but it's a while since I saw that. Perhaps it's another one of those 80s fads (like shoulder-pads etc) consigned to the dustbin of history ! All the best, Tony

[aquilegia]

With tea you'll normally be offered milk and white granulated sugar, although many places will have artificial sweeteners available as well. With coffee, you'll occasionally be offered cream, though these days that seems to be mostly when you have coffee after a meal in a restaurant. A lot of cafes will have granulated brown sugar as well as white and some will have a bowl of white and or brown sugar lumps.

[tom_uk]

I agree with the comments regarding tea.

 

As regards cream with filter coffee, if we're having coffee after a meal we'll specifically ask for cream, and 9 times out of 10 we'll get it.

[marylizcat]

Reminds me of when we told some American friends we were taking them for a 'Cream Tea'. We were amazed to discover they thought we meant a cup of tea with cream in it! Never in a million years would anybody put cream in tea..... (in case anybody doesn't know - a cream tea means tea with scones, jam and cream, traditionally found in Devon and Cornwall where it comes with clotted cream, an extra thick special type of cream).

[anniversay/grad trip]

Thank you for the replies....when you are offered cream with your coffee, is it the half and half type or actual cream (18%)? I seem to be all set with my tea, I just hope my after dinner coffee will come with real cream?

[jocap]

My mum im law wouldn't let you put the milk in first, because it gets boiled!:p

Now I prefer to add it later ;)

Jo.

[LondonTowner]

Although I am a Brit I don't drink tea. However, I do drink coffee and never instant. In a restaurant in the UK if you ask for cream with your coffee, as previously stated, you should normally be served cream in a small jug. It will be proper, full fat, pouring cream.

 

If you have a filter coffee they will normally serve it with cold milk, but I ask for mine hot. These days in a good British restaurant they generally have decent coffee, more like the type you find in Italy, Spain or France made from an expresso machine.

 

I find most places serve white and brown sugar and sweetners for both tea and coffee, but it also depends on the type of establishment.

[4774Papa]

May be a silly question to some, but just wondering what generally comes with your tea or coffee when ordered in Britain? In Canada, you have the choice of white sugar, brown sugar or artificial sweetner and milk, and either half and half or cream (18%)....I like my tea with milk and sweet 'n low and my coffee with cream and sugar....You cannot get real cream on any cruise I have been on (just half and half)...so I was curious.

with ice

[Ashland]

Southern Sweet Tea (ice cold) :D

[aquilegia]

Thank you for the replies....when you are offered cream with your coffee, is it the half and half type or actual cream (18%)? I seem to be all set with my tea, I just hope my after dinner coffee will come with real cream?

 

If you're offered cream it will be real cream.

[jocap]

I remember a soft drinks firm trying to sell cold tea....it didn't do very well, I don't think. The whole point of tea is the flavour, which comes from the boiling water- the cans of cold tea tasted ersatz, and over sweet. :p

Jo.

[Twickenham]

Reminds me of when we told some American friends we were taking them for a 'Cream Tea'. We were amazed to discover they thought we meant a cup of tea with cream in it! Never in a million years would anybody put cream in tea..... (in case anybody doesn't know - a cream tea means tea with scones, jam and cream, traditionally found in Devon and Cornwall where it comes with clotted cream, an extra thick special type of cream).

 

Reminds me of the time we went to Sally Lunn's in Bath for cream tea... MamaTwick and I were quite well-versed and knew what it was about, but poor PapaTwick thought he was going for a cup of tea... He was quite relieved when he found out he could have his cream tea with a cup of coffee instead...LOL

 

I remember a soft drinks firm trying to sell cold tea....it didn't do very well, I don't think. The whole point of tea is the flavour, which comes from the boiling water- the cans of cold tea tasted ersatz, and over sweet. :p

Jo.

 

Proper ice tea is made with a freshly brewed pot of good, strong tea, poured over a glass full of ice. Unfortunately, you probably get that 0.01 % of the time (and certainly bears no resemblance to the bottled stuff...)

[anniversay/grad trip]

I remember a soft drinks firm trying to sell cold tea....it didn't do very well, I don't think. The whole point of tea is the flavour, which comes from the boiling water- the cans of cold tea tasted ersatz, and over sweet. :p

Jo.

 

In Canada Iced T in the can sells very well. It is made by either Arizona Iced T or Nestea. It's sold in restaurants as well, and is offered under the listing soft drinks with all the other pop. Only kind my family will drink. DH looks for it on every cruise. Sometimes they have it and sometimes they don't...