National Tea Day

National Tea Day

Tea is the world's second most popular drink (after water!). In the UK, you can even celebrate drinking it on 21 April.

Do the preparation task first. Then read the article and do the exercises.

Preparation

If you've ever spent time in the UK, you'll surely have had a nice 'cuppa'. There's tea for breakfast, tea during break time, tea when visiting a friend's house, tea to wake up, tea to relax ... you get the idea. Tea even gets its very own special day in the UK, 21 April.

Is the UK the 'capital' of tea?

In short, no. While drinking tea is certainly a centuries-old tradition in the UK, many countries have their own strong cultural practices involving tea. The nation which drinks most tea is Turkey, where a 2013 survey showed that people drank an average of ten cups a day! This was followed by Ireland, with the UK coming in third place. Other countries with an obsession with tea include Iran, Russia and Morocco. It is also a popular drink in China and India, where most of the world's tea is grown.

What do the British consider to be tea?

Many forms of tea exist around the world. Green tea is popular in China and Japan. In India, tea is often prepared with spices and boiled in both water and milk, and Tibetans commonly drink tea with butter and salt. In the UK, tea is typically a variety of black tea and can be prepared with loose tea or teabags. It is made with boiling water, allowed to brew for about five minutes and then mixed with a little milk (and possibly some sugar). And thus, the perfect British cuppa is ready!

Milk: before or after the tea?

Despite the fact that tea has been popular in the UK for hundreds of years, the question of when to add the milk is one which still provokes many an argument! Most people first pour the tea into the cup, then add the milk, but others disagree. It is said that this was a way for the rich to show off their wealth. They often drank tea in porcelain cups, and it was only the better-quality porcelain that could withstand the temperature of very hot tea. This meant that people who had lower-quality cups needed to first pour the milk so that the cup wouldn't break.

What is a tea party?

Many cultures have traditions of people meeting to sit together and drink tea. For example, Japanese tea ceremonies can be formal, elegant affairs which last for hours. In the UK, such gatherings range from formal to very informal. The most famous British 'tea' stereotype is probably afternoon tea, where people dress formally and meet in hotels or cafés to enjoy tea and cakes, all served on beautiful fine porcelain. Nowadays, going out for a formal afternoon tea is rare, and people will more often simply have a nice cup of tea and some biscuits with friends or family, catching up round the kitchen table.

What happens on National Tea Day?

On 21 April, tea parties are held in cafés, pubs, hotels and tea rooms across the UK. Many of these events aim to encourage people to try different varieties of tea and to appreciate how drinking it with others can enrich their lives. Some of these events also promote sustainably produced tea and better prices and working conditions for farmers, while others raise funds for different charities from the sales. However people observe this special day, it's about appreciating the opportunity that sharing a cup of tea gives to people to connect with one another.

Want to know more about tea celebrations this April? Search for #NationalTeaDay on social media. And remember, tea-drinking isn't just for April – it's always the right time for a delicious cuppa.

Discussion

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Submitted by Speecx on Tue, 23/04/2024 - 14:36

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In Brazil, it's common to meet up and have a cuppa to enjoy a chinwag. However, it's not the strongest culture and people would choose brew coffee and cake to spent the afternoon.

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Submitted by SamySoliman on Fri, 12/05/2023 - 12:42

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How on earth isn't Egypt mentioned here. We drink tea more than water here lol.

Submitted by Janelyy on Fri, 12/05/2023 - 03:59

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In Vietnam, although we don’t have our own special day like the UK, tea is considered an indispensable drink in my country. There’s tea for breakfast, afternoon and special affairs when our guests come round the house. Vietnamese drank an average of 3 cups a day. Green Tea is popular in my country.
In order to have a nice cup of tea, people make green tea with boiling water in a porcelain cup, wait 5 minutes. Vietnamese don’t add any other ingredients into cups of tea such as salt, milk, or sugar like other countries. We fancy drinking tea with some biscuits and cakes or sweet candy with friends or homemates. We really appreciate this moment to share a cup of tea to people and tie good relationship.

Submitted by BritishBahar on Fri, 21/04/2023 - 19:45

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İt is good detection that turkısh people drink lots of cup of tea in a day. Actually drinking tea was occured as tradition by our ancesters.People living in türkiye want to drink tea ever time of day.We use black tea since tea get rest us it has antioxidant molecules as well as. Even , if you prefer green tea you can give more benefits than black tea.

Submitted by jyoti Chaudhary on Thu, 21/04/2022 - 12:25

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Is tea popular where you live? What is the best way to enjoy a cup of tea?

absolutely, tea Is very popular where I am. I'm from Delhi and many people may have different ways to prepare tea. like they make tea without milk and in my family, all take tea with sugar and milk and enjoy with some snacks for me it has been a long time I didn't take a single cup of tea. in 15 of Jan 2022, I decided to stop drinking tea and coffee. it is not good for my health instead of tea I take lemon and ginger water every morning.

Submitted by sithutun on Thu, 09/12/2021 - 08:28

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Tea is also a popular drink in Myanmar. People meet up at tea shop (in Myanmar we call cafe as tea shop) in the afternoon where they chitchat or discuss business or just relax. The elders love to drink the traditional tea - red tea mixed with condensed milk or just milk and sugar. Black and green tea are not very popular among the elders. Another kind of tea which is very popular among the young people is the Bubble tea or Boba tea originated from China. As for me, I prefer Bubble tea to traditional tea.

Submitted by Leila77 on Fri, 23/04/2021 - 13:37

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Hi, I have a question about a sentence in the paragraph titled "Milk: before or after the tea?". In the sentence "the question of when to add the milk is one which still provokes many an argument!". Why it is said "many an argument" and not "many arguments"?
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Submitted by Peter M. on Sun, 25/04/2021 - 07:52

In reply to by Leila77

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Hi Leila77,

It's absolutely fine to say 'many arguments' here. Many an argument is a alternative form and you can sometimes see it as a stylistic choice: many an argument, many a discussion, many a question, many a conflict, many a fight etc.

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/many%20a/an

 

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

Hi Peter, I appreciate your help. Every day, I learn new things with "LearnEngish". Leila
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Submitted by Bignon on Wed, 14/04/2021 - 00:20

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Tea is not a popular drink where I live, instead they often drink a traditional beer made from corn, which is called "tchakpalo", you can enjoy it after eating a delicious meal. Anyway I would like to try drinking tea, because I'm curious to know how it may taste. I also learn that it's healthier another kind of drinks so I think I is a good tradition which must last today and forth.