Mid-Brexit, Britons Pause to Debate What Really Matters: Tea

[elleng]

What should be poured into a teacup first? The tea? Or the milk? A World Cup celebration sparked a dayslong exchange of letters on the subject in The Times of London.

LONDON — Controversy over soccer star Alex Morgan’s tea-drinking World Cup victory dance has died down, but it has reignited debate among readers of The Times of London, Britain’s second-starchiest broadsheet, over a matter that has long troubled the British people: When pouring tea into a teacup, what should be poured first? The tea? Or the milk?

The dueling letters to the editor began on July 4, when Bob Maddams, of Brighton, mused aloud about whether Ms. Morgan, the soccer player, pours her milk in first. This inspired a response from Tom Howe, from Surrey, which was printed on July 5:

“Sir,

“Bob Maddams’ letter (July 4) on Alex Morgan’s tea celebration at the Women’s World Cup suggests that it is correct to put the milk in first. I was always led to believe that the milk first or second question was originally a signal of social standing. Cheap porcelain cracked when hot tea was poured into it, so the milk was poured in first to lower the temperature and avoid such a disaster.”

Mr. Howe’s letter really set them off.

On July 6, The Times printed not one but four responses.

Peter Sergeant wrote from a village in Leicestershire to point out that “tea stains porcelain, so putting the milk in first mitigates this.” The second response, sent from a village in Oxfordshire, argued that tea must be poured first so as to determine how much milk is necessary. The third referred to the Boston Tea Party. And the fourth, from the felicitously named Catherine Money, of Surrey, provided important cultural context, as well as an acronym for “milk-in-first.”

“Sir,” she wrote.

“Tom Howe is correct in his recollection of the message given by pouring milk into a cup before the tea. Describing someone as ‘rather MIF’ told one all one needed to know.”

The debate returned to the Letters page on July 7, with a reader noting that George Orwell poured the tea first, then the milk. But the point had been made: Facing an array of historic social dilemmas, Britons have not lost the capacity to become agitated about trivial ones.'>>>

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/08/world/europe/alex-morgan-tea-milk.html?

[Thomas Hurt]

1. important like mustard or ketchup on a hot dog...

or whether the toilet paper should go over the top or under.

[irisblue]

2. Tea first then milk

[SamKnause]

3. I am not sure if my opinion counts.

I am not British.

I pour the tea and then add the milk.

[Gumboot]

4. Brown sugar goes into the mug first...

... then pour in the tea. Leave enough room for a dash of whole milk, which goes in last.

Stir it all up, then leave the spoon in and use it as another stability handle for your thumb. This gives you extra control in windy conditions, if you're standing outside.

Oh, and always use proper Taylors or Tetley Yorkshire tea bags, for extra strong flavour. Those daft things with the strings, tags n' staples on 'em just don't get the job done.

Cheers - enjoy your cuppa! Then have another one.

[Kali]

5. no milk, sugar only!

[dawg day]

6. You want to see outrage--

just mention that you like to put a slice of lemon in your tea...
or that you really prefer iced tea.

[dem in texas]

7. Iced Tea always

with lots of ice, no sugar and a slice of lemon. I drank hot tea when I lived in Alaska, plain no sugar or lemon and never milk!