Black tea is usually taken generally with milk and Brits ordinarily add a couple of teaspoons of sugar. The sugar is used mostly to invalidate a portion of the bitterness from the speed and strength of soaking and somewhat because of how Tea has always been served.
Milk also was used to balance the natural bitterness of tea, giving it a smoother, more delicate flavor. The porcelain would often crack due to the high water temperature. Therefore, people started adding milk to cool down the cup.
According to The UK Tea & Infusions Association (UKTIA), 84% of the UK population drinks tea every day. Around 100 million cups of tea are consumed daily, and roughly 98% of those brews are served with milk.
Tea was brought to Britain in the mid-seventeenth century by the East India Company. The earliest recordings of the sale of tea in London coffeehouses are from 1657, when green tea exported from China first appeared on the menu, along with a pamphlet explaining the exotic drink.
Originally an upper-class drink in Europe, tea gradually spread through all classes. Gradually tea shops started to show up all through England making the drinking of teas accessible to everybody.
Today, tea is still considered to be the national drink of Great Britain and continues to be widely enjoyed. Having a brew with a teabag and adding milk is customary in almost every household in the UK.
Tea in Britain
