Next to my bed lies George Orwell’s Essays, the brickÂlike EveryÂman’s Library ediÂtion of the 1984 author’s thoughts on ideÂolÂoÂgy, coloÂnialÂism, the abuse of lanÂguage, crime and punÂishÂment, and just what conÂstiÂtutes a nice cup of tea. The astute essayÂist keeps his mind preÂpared to go anyÂwhere, and Orwell’s rigÂorÂous love of simÂple EngÂlish pleaÂsures places him espeÂcialÂly well to write on the subÂject of how best to preÂpare a servÂing of “one of the main stays of civÂiÂlizaÂtion in this counÂtry, as well as in Eire, AusÂtralia and New Zealand.” His essay “A Nice Cup of Tea,” which first ran in the Evening StanÂdard of JanÂuÂary 12, 1946, breaks the process down into eleven points, from “One should use IndiÂan or CeyÂlonese tea” to “One should take the teapot to the ketÂtle and not the othÂer way about” to, finalÂly, “Tea — unless one is drinkÂing it in the RussÂian style — should be drunk withÂout sugÂar.” These guideÂlines may sound to us a tad ausÂtere at worst, but Orwell presents some of them as downÂright “conÂtroÂverÂsial.” Dare he so boldÂly insist upon drinkÂing only out of a “good breakÂfast cup,” de-creamÂing milk before pourÂing it into tea, and nevÂer, ever using strainÂers nor bags?
He does indeed. HisÂtoÂry has rememÂbered Orwell as one of authorÂiÂtarÂiÂanÂisÂm’s most outÂspoÂken eneÂmies, but clearÂly he had moments, espeÂcialÂly when it came to his bevÂerÂage of choice, where he himÂself would brook no disÂsent. Decades latÂer, a much more easyÂgoÂing writer would make his own conÂtriÂbuÂtion to the litÂerÂaÂture of EngÂlish tea proÂceÂdure: A short piece by HitchÂhikÂer’s Guide to the Galaxy author DouÂglas Adams sugÂgests that you “go to Marks and Spencer and buy a packÂet of Earl Grey tea” (this may, dependÂing upon your locaÂtion, require an overÂseas trip), that “the water has to be boiling (not boiled) when it hits the tea leaves,” and that “it’s probÂaÂbly best to put some milk into the botÂtom of the cup before you pour in the tea,” since “if you pour milk into a cup of hot tea you will scald the milk.” Though we here at Open CulÂture have made no secret of our interÂest in cofÂfee, how could we turn down a cup of tea made to the stanÂdards of such well-respectÂed men of letÂters?
via BoingÂBoÂing
RelatÂed ConÂtent:
10 GoldÂen Rules for MakÂing the PerÂfect Cup of Tea (1941)
Epic Tea Time with Alan RickÂman
ColÂin MarÂshall hosts and proÂduces NoteÂbook on Cities and CulÂture and writes essays on litÂerÂaÂture, film, cities, Asia, and aesÂthetÂics. He’s at work on a book about Los AngeÂles, A Los AngeÂles Primer. FolÂlow him on TwitÂter at @colinmarshall.
next to your bed LIES
KeepÂing in mind that DouÂglas Adams spent the last years of his life in SanÂta BarÂbara, CalÂiÂforÂnia, it meant an overÂseas trip for him, too.
They’re entiÂtled to their half-assed opinÂions. Milk in the tea. Blech. Earl Grey? Kid stuff.
Can’t anyÂbody get anyÂthing right? Putting the milk in the cup first will result in scaldÂed milk. Milk after, when one can see what one’s doing.
And please do have some sugÂar if you like.
Don’t lisÂten to those two blokes, I’M mothÂer.
The “milk in first” is, I’m led to believe, for drinkÂing tea from chiÂna. It was believed that pourÂing boilÂing water in to chiÂna would crack it (and it was expenÂsive in those days). NothÂing to do with scaldÂing the milk (it would work both ways, sureÂly?)
If using a tea pot I tend to put milk in first, though it risks the tea being too milky.
If using a tea bag, milk afterÂwards, always, as the water needs to be boilÂing.
For amerÂiÂcans: boilÂing = boilÂing, not “very hot”. And you take the tea bag out after brewÂing, don’t leave it in.
But green tea: let the water cool first.
Earl Grey: just chuck it in the bin and get some propÂer tea.
Orwell was a litÂerÂary genius: but putting the milk in last … ?
Ye GODS
I preÂfer the tea plain.
Earl Grey?? Is he kidÂding?! A vile conÂcocÂtion. Why in heavÂen’s name would you want bergÂamot in your tea?
What I would realÂly like to learn about is all the EngÂlish Brands of Tea frim yesÂterÂyear like whay are some of the Brand Names of the Teas Orwell would have drank if he had the cash in hand at the time to buy good tea
This is one of my favorite examÂples of Orwell trivÂia.
I rememÂber, that in HighÂschool we had a text by Orwell for EngÂlish lisÂtenÂing comÂpreÂhenÂsion. It was him going on about how utterÂly inapÂproÂpriÂate it was to have sugÂar or milk in tea, because “tea is bitÂter and should be drunkÂen bitÂter”.
SomeÂhow this stuck in my memÂoÂry. Many years latÂer, at uniÂverÂsiÂty, I read Orwell’s “Homage to CatÂaloÂnia”, in which he comÂplains about the fact that his wife could not find dried milk and sugÂar to send to the front, where he served in the InterÂnaÂtionÂal Brigades. So that he had to take his tea withÂout milk or sugÂar.
Don’t get me wrong. I adore his writÂing, I visÂitÂed his grave sevÂerÂal times when I was livÂing in the area but I do find it a litÂtle amusÂing that he was first whinÂing about first-world probÂlems whilst sitÂting in a trench (so very British: less conÂcerned about being shot than havÂing a propÂer cupÂpa!), and latÂer turned it around to claim that only the realÂly tough and sophisÂtiÂcatÂed peoÂple drink tea the “right” way. ;-)