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British Tea Ritual

Even very slightly formal events can be a cause for cups and saucers to be used instead of mugs. A typical semi-formal British tea ritual might run as follows:

1. The kettle is boiled and water poured into a tea pot.
2. Water is swirled around the pot to warm it and then poured out.
3. Loose tea leaves are then added to the pot while the kettle is reboiled.
4. Water is added to the pot and allowed to brew for several minutes while a tea cosy is placed on the pot to keep the tea warm.
5. A tea strainer, like a miniature sieve, is placed over the top of the cup and the tea poured in.
6. The straight black tea is then given to guests and they are allowed to add milk and sugar to their taste.
7. The pot will normally hold enough tea so as not to be empty after filling the cups of all the guests. If this is the case, the tea cosy is replaced after everyone has been served.

Whether to put milk into the cup before or after the tea has been a matter of some debate and has traditionally been seen as a class divide. Working classes who could not afford good quality crockery would add milk first to ensure that the sudden increase in heat would not crack the cups, whereas middle and upper classes who did not need to worry about this would add milk afterwards so that guests would be able to take the tea as they personally preferred it. This latter tradition has been considered the correct one according to etiquette. However, some hold that adding milk second tends to scald the milk.

There is also a proper manner in which to drink tea when using a cup and saucer. If one is seated at a table, the proper manner to drink tea is to raise the teacup only, placing it back into the saucer in between sips. When standing or sitting in a chair without a table, one holds the tea saucer with the left hand and the tea cup in the right hand. When not in use, the tea cup is placed back in the tea saucer and held in one's lap or at waist height. In either event, the tea cup should never be held or waved in the air.

Drinking tea from the saucer (poured from the cup in order to cool it) was not uncommon at one time but is now almost universally considered a breach of etiquette.

* - Vintage Gold teacup painting courtesy of Jennifer Bellinger Studio.