The Great British Cuppa

First pour fresh water into a kettle to boil. A pan on the stove top does the same job if you don't have a kettle.

Whilst the water is coming to the boil, prepare your cups and saucers ( or mugs) and the tea pot.

When the water in the kettle is boiling rapidly, pour some into the tea pot and swirl it round to warm the pot then tip it away. For two people, add 3 teaspoons of loose black tea leaves into the tea pot. Pour the remaining boiling water into the pot to brew the leaves.

Allow it to brew for around 3 or 4 minutes.

When you feel the tea is ready, add milk to taste to each cup, place the sieve on top of each cup as you pour the tea into them. This will strain the leaves and prevent them from entering the cup.

Add sugar if wanted and stir that tea! I seem to recall being told it had to be stirred clockwise but I have no idea why.

Take a digestive biscuit, dunk it in the tea and enjoy the flavours.

Don't forget to add used tea leaves to the compost bin!

Many people who still use traditional tea pots with loose leaf tea also use a Tea Cosy. These are what I can only describe as knitted or crocheted jackets for the tea pot.

They insulate the pot so while you're enjoying your first cuppa, the remaining tea in the pot is being kept hot ready for your second! Most people have two cups at a time.

Cosies come in all sorts of varieties. I grew up in 50/60's England surrounded by multi coloured crocheted woolly cosies. Of course there are ready made cosies some which sit right over the pot others are put directly onto the pot. The woolly ones are usually home made, maybe by Great Aunty Doris or whoever, but they can also be seen for sale at church fetes, school Fayres etc. A must have for the discerning tea drinker!

Image found at John Arbon Textiles

Once opened, the contents of a pack of tea need to be kept fresh.

The way to keep tea in a perfect condition is to store it in a tea caddy. Tea caddies come in all shapes and sizes and made from a variety of materials.

Image found at Gifts 4 Heartbeat

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Reading tea leaves is a way of fortune telling. The tea is usually drunk unstrained, the leaves left in the cup after drinking are known as the dregs. The drinker finishes the tea, the swirls the remaining fluid and leaves around the cup. The patterns left by the leaves are then translated and read by a tea leaf reader.

Some people swear by it... honest!

Afternoon Tea at The Ritz or Savoy hotels in London is a very special treat.

They consist of a mid afternoon feast comprising of a selection of miniature sandwiches and very fancy delicate little cakes. Of course these are accompanied by lashings of steaming hot tea served gracefully in bone china cups with saucers.

It's not cheap to enjoy such a quint essential English treat but if you have the time and can afford it, then why not?

Image found at Elegant Lifestyle.com

You have a cup of tea... you have a packet of biscuits. Put the two together and you are soon dunking a biscuit in the tea.

Of course, there's an art to judging the dunk just right. Too short a dunk and the biscuit stays too firm. Too long a dunk and splat... the biscuit breaks off and goes all sloppy in the bottom of your cup. That is sooo disappointing!

Then of course which sort of biscuit dunks best? Is it a digestive, Rich Tea, or maybe a Hobnob.

The people in the following video seem to have had a dunk off to see which biscuit does best!

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I grew up watching and laughing at the Brooke Bond Chimps antics on tv commercials for Brooke Bond tea back in the 60's.

The chimps were dressed in a variety of costumes and were made to 'áct' in place of human actors. I remember one Saturday morning spent in a church hall at what I know now to be a publicity event, with the chimps. I came home with badges and balloons which all of course advertised Brooke Bond tea.

Nowadays thankfully animals aren't used by humans to promote goods.